What is the best software to do this......

  • Thread starter Thread starter schismatic
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schismatic

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Hey guys,

I'm looking for some software that will be able to generate random drum patterns (or rolls etc) for a song I'm doing, but based on an original midi file that I've programmed e.g. I program in a 4 bar pattern in 4/4 time and save it as a midi file. I'd like some sort of program that would be able to analyse the file i've created and offer me some alternative patterns that are different but are in fitting with the time and style of the original that I could then just save individually and drop into the song how and where I feel appropriate. This is just to save me having to think of lots of different patterns, then program them all individually and also maybe suggest things that I wouldn't have thought of. Anything out there that can do this effectively?? I would ideally want to be able to save a collection of different 4 bar midi rhythms, or even just single bars, just so that I have a sort of database then that I can choose from based on the original style that I created.

Cheers,

Tom
 
This is going to be very hard to find. What you are basicly asking is for your computer to become musical and "think up" drum fills/grooves that work well. This means that first of all, your computer has to know when something is musical, and when it is not, which is a very, very, VERY complicated thing. I mean, musicans can spends years and years studying just how to catch a certain groove.

There is something like Steinberg's Groove Agent, which is a VSTi that has both drum sounds in it and also drum grooves, with multiple levels of complexity and a number of fills per complexity level. This works fairly well, but even these grooves/fills are preprogrammed, probalby tracked using a high quality midi drum kit, with a very good drummer.

I think Groove Agent is your best bet. Another problem though, is that Groove Agent is General Midi based, and general midi is not exactly detailed as far as drum sounds go (1 snare hit only, for example).

As a last note: keep in mind that this is our job. I don't know how professional you wanna get with your music, but I see it the producer/musician's job to do these things, after all, it is this what makes us a good musician, an worth more than a computer.

Ok, now the actual last note: many keyboards (like the Yamaha PSR series) offer a whole bunch of "styles", which are basicly small arrangements (drum grooves also) on a certain style. These are very good indications of what defines a certain style, and you can learn a lot from them.
 
Two programs come to mind, check out:

Band in a Box (PG Systems)

and

SoundTrek Jammer Pro (Trek)

Both programs are relatively inexpensive, and can import midi files. They both "think" new parts for you, and if you're into midi, are great compositional tools.
 
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