Drum programming basics

[beaverbiscuit]

Hey, I need some advice on writing drum parts, and who better to ask than drummers, eh? The one piece of advice I hear most often is to include only notes/beats that a real drummer could pull off playing live. That's good advice as far as it goes, but how does a non-drummer determine what's physically for a decent drummer? Any guidelines, folks?

 

[theletterq]

What kind of music are you trying to do?

 

[sonusman]

Hey, I need some advice on writing drum parts, and who better to ask than drummers, eh? The one piece of advice I hear most often is to include only notes/beats that a real drummer could pull off playing live. That's good advice as far as it goes, but how does a non-drummer determine what's physically for a decent drummer? Any guidelines, folks?

I know songwriters that cannot play drums at all, but can program the hell out of them.

Go watch a bunch of very good, tasty drummers. Basically, you need to learn to "think" like a drummer (I know, I know, this is an oxymoron...) to be able to program like a drummer.

It is helpful I suppose if you have some rudimentary training of some sort behind you. If you can read music, you at least understand rudiments at a basic level. From there, it is just a matter of paying attention to what good drummers do.

The sky is the limit. You are basically asking people to suggest how to be "creative" in a way. Just pay attention to what good drummers do. Start maybe practicing playing some drums yourself.

Ed

 

[cordura21]

beaverbiscuit:

you have to go to http://www.sospubs.co.uk/search/query.asp
Use the search button and in your search enter "drum programming". I didn't post the links directly cause there are so many of good articles there. There are basically 2 series of articles.
One is just 4 articles and the other is 14, so you see there's plenty of info there. There are also single articles about realistic parts. And don't forget to search for Craig Anderton's articles about tempo maps, they are also full of great tips.
Have fun with that.
Cheers, Andrés

 

[Chris Tondreau]

An awesome resource for "all things drums" on the net is Drumbum.com . They have everything from sticking techniques, to rudimentary rhythms and beats, to tuning drums, to physical health for drummers, etc.

Chris

 

[beaverbiscuit]

the letterq — I play mostly metal/rock stuff, but I don't limit my playing or writing to that style. I do lots of lighter stuff, including some things that border on funk and ersatz jazz.

sonusman — Yeah, I know the issue is more complicated than my simple question. That's why I don't expect any specific "fixes" or answers as much as viewpoints or opinions on the matter. That you replied to the question is encouraging, knowing your reputation as an engineer and salesman (still haven't gotten around to playing with the patch bay you sold to me ). One thing I have on my side is several years experience playing with a great drummer (my brother) and working with him on drum parts for songs. I anticipate that he will eventually be my sounding board for drum stuff I create, and he's brutally honest.

cordura21 — Thanks for the link, Andres! I just skimmed through the links for drum programming, and there is a wealth of info there. Should come in handy as a reference if nothing else.

Chris Tondreau — Interesting site! Like you said, lots of good info about the art of drumming. I'm sure it will be useful to me.

As to learning to drum myself (I think sonusman suggested it), well, I doubt it's a skill I'll ever learn. The few times I've sat behind a kit have traumatized me. It's bad enough trying to make my hands cooperate without trying to get my feet into the act as well. But never say never, eh?

Thanks again, y'all, for your replies. The beat goes on!

 

[mikeh]

The main things to remember (on a very general basis)

1. Drummers have four limbs, and in most cases only two or three limbs actually play notes at the same time (the snare, kick and hi-hat may all be hit at the same time.

2. Drummers use "ghost notes" to move the groove along (softer notes in between the backbeats on the snare)

3. Drummers tend to change the rhythem on the ride/hi-hat - mixing 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 (possibly 1/32 notes) to move the groove along

4. Drummers tend to play fills leading into (and possibly out of) a chorus, or bridge - the rest of the time they tend to support the song by maintaining a steady groove (with subtle pulse shifts as indicated in 2 and 3 above)

5. When a drummer does a fill, the snare backbeat often drops out until returning to the main groove (with only 2 hands you don't normally do a roll around the toms and still play the snare

6. Drummers tend to accent the downbeat at the end of a fill with a crash cymbal (often supported with a bass drum hit)

7. Drummers tend to play the rhytem pattern on the hi hit during a verse and shift to the ride cymbal during a chorus

Candidly, when programming it is normally best to get a convincing snare/kick/hihat groove with a miminum of fills (programmed fills can sound very "stiff" unless you are good at programming the right levels of velocity change, etc.

To really help think like a drummer, get half drunk before you start, program with your shirt off, and sweat a lot when you program.

 

[theletterq]

To really help think like a drummer, get half drunk before you start, program with your shirt off, and sweat a lot when you program.

Mike's post is excellent on what a drummer physically does when they play. The simplest method of obtaining more "human" sounding drum tracks is velocity changes. For instance, on a quick, double bass drum hit, the second note will always be quieter than the first. Also, a hi-hat or ride hit that happens with a snare hit will inevitably be louder as well.

No drummer plays cymbals in general at the same volume on every single hit. A word of caution though: if you program in velocity changes, you don't want them happening in a repeating type pattern (as in using a 2 bar loop). The random nature of them is what gives the more "human" feel. Good luck!

 

[cordura21]

and if you can get your hands on a sampling drum machine (or sampler) that works with multilayered samples of drum kits, that along with the velocity changes can help alot to get a more realistic part.
There were some free samples around called Natural Sound Studio that were multilayered, you should search for those.

Cheers, Andrés

 

[Sennheiser]

I recently bought a Roland R-5 unit. The programming options are seemingly endless. Nuance, tuning, panning, velocity, and half a dozen others I can't even remember using right now.

I programmed my first drum track start to finish last night for my next song. It took five and a half hours to write all the patterns in real time and arrange them at the correct measures.

This evening I went back and panned everything, made velocity adjustments and randomized the main rhythm part for random subtle changes in groove, volume, and velocity. That took about two hours.

This is a hell of a lot of work, but I think it's because I was learning how to work the machine as well as programming at the same time. The track sounds better than anything I've ever heard coming out of a box. Life-like, and believable. Even if you can tell it's a box.

It was worth the time spent.