Percussion in the modular world

>For so many genres of music it is the drums that lay down the fundamental feel of a track, underpinning everything else and giving other instruments a foundation to play with or against, depending on the desired outcome. A drummer will do this for a band, but if you are a modular synthesist, how do you go about taking on the job of a drummer, even if your percussion voices aren’t totally (or even close to) the sounds of a drum kit?

Well, the answer is sequencing, where you program your drums. There are a multitude of ways of doing this, along with just as many modules to aid you in the task. Here we will look at a few basics to get you off the ground, as well as taking a look at a few modules that are great for this type of work. We’ll talk through creating a kick drum sound using modules you probably have in your rig, but there are of course dedicated modules for replicating specific sounds like an 808 or 909, along with claps, cymbals and so on. Those are great, and we have many in our rig, but really, the focus here is on pattern and beat creation. With that in mind let’s look at various methods and tools that can get you off on the front foot.

One thing worth mentioning is that you don’t have to be a drummer at all, although you could use an electronic kit to trigger your rig, with a MIDI to CV converter. Some drum sequencing can be completely generative, where you input some parameters and let the modular do its thing, other methods are more akin to a drum machine, where you choose an instrument and dictate which beats it plays on, rinse and repeat for each drum.

However, there are other methods like using modulation sources to generate triggers, which we will look at later.

A series of books could be written on this topic, but hopefully you’ll pick up a few basics that will allow you to start your journey and aid you in either setting up a more generative patch, or give some tips on building an x0x-style system, or a modular groovebox. There is no wrong or right in this. What works for you is all that matters, but you should enjoy the process (or what’s the point?) so use these pages as a launch pad or bootcamp to help you start your sequencing journey.

Before you get started, familiarise yourself with a couple of your favourite tracks and see if you can jot down the pattern, or at least grasp what is going on in your head – which beats do different drums fall on, are any of them nonrepetitive, or a few ticks ahead or behind the groove? Then, read on…