Odd song timing, need help

S

SilverSurfer

New member
I am trying to copy a drum track of a song I want to cover. The song says the timing is 114 but when I run the track I made with the song, it starts out in time and ends up starting to be off time about 30 seconds in to the song. If I go to 115, it's definitely off time.

Is there a way (I'm using Beatcraft) to get the song in time?! I think it's 114-1/4 or 114.5.

What does the SWING option do?
 
drummerdude666 said:
I dont understand.....You've got a cd of a song? and you want to take the drums off it?.......nope. I'm lost.
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Not exactly.

I have a song I want to cover. I have Beatcraft so I can make my own drum tracks. I want to copy the drums, beat for beat, so that when I finish my cover both songs align perfectly. It's kind of a lame way I check to see how close I came to the original.

However, I am finding the song is between 114 and 115 BPM and my software doesn't allow for quarter or half beat adjustments in timing.

That's really what I am asking, is how to add 1/4 or 1/2 beat of timing?!
 
Oh i see......But sorry, i don't have a clue. I don't think any band would record to 144.5 it's just not realistic. Why wouldnt you just round it up and down???
 
drummerdude666 said:
Oh i see......But sorry, i don't have a clue. I don't think any band would record to 144.5 it's just not realistic. Why wouldnt you just round it up and down???
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Dunno. I set the timing in Beatcraft to 114, counted measures, etc. It starts in perfect time and then 20-25 seconds later you can hear that my track is starting to lag behind the original.

But if I use 115 it starts out of time, 30 seconds later is in time, then 30 seconds later is out of time again. So I am assuming the timing is truly 114.5. They probably did it that way to be different.

Kind of like Mutt Lange having Def Leppard record photograph 1/4 step down instead of 1/2.
 
SilverSurfer said:
What does the SWING option do?
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Swing is when you have a difference in time between beat 1 & 2 and beat 2 & 3 (considering 4/4 time) Like a shuffle type of beat. Think old Van Halen tunes! Hope that makes sense, not sure how to explain it any better...

I'm still not sure why you need to match up that tempo EXACTLY?? It seems like such a subtle difference that no one would ever notice.
 
metalhead28 said:
Swing is when you have a difference in time between beat 1 & 2 and beat 2 & 3 (considering 4/4 time) Like a shuffle type of beat. Think old Van Halen tunes! Hope that makes sense, not sure how to explain it any better...

I'm still not sure why you need to match up that tempo EXACTLY?? It seems like such a subtle difference that no one would ever notice.
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Well, unless it times up, I can't get the drums perfect. :(
 
I may be wrong, but I would think that if listening to two drum tracks that were .5 bpm different in tempo - you would still be able to pick out any differences...even if we're talking about "Spiral Architect" (perhaps a bad reference as I don't know anybody else that listens to Spiral Architect so I guess I included that for my own amusement :D )....Do you paste them together and listen to them at the same time or what? I would think that with perfect quantizing and all those sorts of things, the programmed drums would never exactly line up with human drums even if you did nail the tempo. But to answer your question any further - I am incapable. Good luck.
 
metalhead28 said:
I may be wrong, but I would think that if listening to two drum tracks that were .5 bpm different in tempo - you would still be able to pick out any differences...even if we're talking about "Spiral Architect" (perhaps a bad reference as I don't know anybody else that listens to Spiral Architect so I guess I included that for my own amusement :D )....Do you paste them together and listen to them at the same time or what? I would think that with perfect quantizing and all those sorts of things, the programmed drums would never exactly line up with human drums even if you did nail the tempo. But to answer your question any further - I am incapable. Good luck.
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Hmm, don't they record in a studio to a click track in tempo? I always have. That's how you nail the timing.
 
Maybe that's it. Maybe they didn't record to a click track.

Many bands don't, some can't and others just choose not to. So the reason it changes is that they're playing by ear.

*500 post*
 
Yeah I was gonna say a band wouldn't round up the number because it would be a different tempo. I've only ever recorded one band that really wanted to use a click track, their first take with the click was horrible, the second without the click was amazing. I think a metronome is great for practicing but if you're recording I think you should have it down. Maybe I've just been spoiled recording great musicians.
 
SilverSurfer said:
Dunno. I set the timing in Beatcraft to 114, counted measures, etc. It starts in perfect time and then 20-25 seconds later you can hear that my track is starting to lag behind the original.

But if I use 115 it starts out of time, 30 seconds later is in time, then 30 seconds later is out of time again. So I am assuming the timing is truly 114.5. They probably did it that way to be different.

Kind of like Mutt Lange having Def Leppard record photograph 1/4 step down instead of 1/2.
Click to expand...


So now I get down to this end of the thread and see that other people also thought it might be that they played without a click. Actually, I'm thinking the guy just laid back really deep in the pocket while listening to the click. Any drummer that's decent at playing with a click, can play around the click without being "enslaved" to it. The click actually gives a lot of freedom, because it's a reference point for the entire band.

Those might also be areas that were cut and pasted, or actually sped up.

During choruses, a lot of bands speed up because it adds "excitement" (for lack of a better term) to the song - even though most listeners don't realize it. The Beatles were notorious for speeding up during the choruses, and slowing back down during the verses.


Why don't you just copy the song into your software, and then lay each drumpart by hand if you have to have it perfectly in sync? Play a snare when he does, then go back and play the kick where he does. etc.


Tim
 
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