country drummin'

[grinder]

My cousin wrote a country song and I'm going to record it for him.It's pretty old school/hillbilly sounding.I need to program drum parts and need help.I'm a hard rocker and don't have any country in my collection for referance.Any links to country tabs or suggestions appreciated.I've been searching the web with no luck.Thanks, Grinder

 

[Bulls Hit]

The only country I know is from the Blues Brothers at that gig where they played both kinds - country and western. 2 songs I remember are Rawhide and Stand by your Man.

As for playing country drums, well you can forget about double kick and get rid of the toms while your at it. Play a 4/4 at 70-80bpm on snare kick and hats and hit the crash on the very last beat of the song. Do not, I repeat do not play ANY fills

 

[Chrisjob]

Program a four-on-the-floor kick drum beat, and the snare on two and four. You could either play the hi-hats on the beat, or on the off-eighths, but avoid a 8th note pattern, it will probably sound too busy.

Another option is to roll lightly on the snare on the 8ths, and play accents on 2 and 4, but if you're programming it'll will sound too mechanical unless you've got some very versatile samples.


To make the track come alive, add some hand clapping (and foot stomping) to simulate the down-home vibe, and a shaker playing sixteenths will help plenty too.

Good Luck
Chris

 

[designbyt]

Set your machine to "suck" and turn in up.... just kidding. The previous posting hit it right on the head. Nothing too complicated. Country drummers pretty much just keep tempo. Most of the old-schoolers only use a snare drum, so it depends on what era of country you're going for. But the foot-stompin', hand-clappin' thing is a nice touch. Also, you might want to consider using a rim shot or a wood block instead of a traditional snare sound. Country guys use that alot.

 

[MidiPunk]

I listen to a lot of "old school/hillbilly"
Basically the only drumming you'll hear in this genre is snare & bass. Chugga-chugga brushes on snare, soft felt half/quarter notes on bass.