Sequencing Tips and Tricks (Part 1 - drums)

[Cheez]

Let's start a series of tips and tricks on sequencing so we can learn from one another. I know some may want to keep their techniques secret, but let's try to share as much as we can.

Let's start with drums. What are your methods in sequencing drum tracks? Please be as specific as you can.

 

[lowjk]

No particular secret or method but I feel that sounds are very important. Start with weedy sounds, and you probably not be inspired to come up with anything great or interesting.

Also, the sound must be appropriate for the genre. Using a snare with a long decay in a dance music instead of a love ballad is asking for trouble.

I personally don't really like loops but do listen to other music for inspiration.

 

[bongman]

halo ALL

halo ALL,

Pls dun feel I'm not trying to share info,
haven't been doing much sequencing lately.
Used to sequence with a drum machine but
the box died then slowly stopped doing.

I've been more of a jam band player but after
much encourage from a friend, now start to do
sequencing again.


.bongman

 

[Cheez]

Tip 1: Use appropriate drum sounds.

I personally don't like to quantize. Doesn't matter if it's drums or anything else. It makes it unrealistic since nobody plays drums accurate to the millisecond.

Anything thing I find common (after listening to many sequenced drum tracks in songs) is that programmers forgot that drummers have only 2 hands and 2 feet. I hear 16 beat hi-hats (semiquavers) playing away consistently with toms and snares playing at the same time. Impossible in a real situation.

Any other tips? I'm sure there are many programmers out there. Anyone using drum pads/ electronic drums to sequence?

 

[Cheez]

Are people keeping quiet, or are there generally few people who are into sequencing? Perhaps there are many more live musicians than programmers.

 

[iansoh]

yeah.. i would think so.. actually i find sequencing quite a chore. if i really have to sequence drums, i'll bring in a loop or plug in a groovebox. or use some VSTi such as steinberg groove agent. lotsa limitations.. but it gets the job done, albeit not in the best possible way.

 

[seekz]

I'm really new into Cubase and now Cubase SX 3 is out... The technology outmanuvered me...

Anyway, I'm just posting a question regarding the way do drums tracks.

I'll usually open an empty project, add a midi track then draw an area of midi, and the edit it with the drum editor with the GM map.

Is that the way drum tracks are suppose to be done? or am i missing out on sometihng? Subsequently i'll just add in the Bass, guitars and vocals. Naturally, the song comes out really "dry" sounding. Not in the dry/wet sense, but more of like the Mix is really whacked kinda sense...

 

[Mr_KeyboardMan]

Drum Sequencing... hmmm ... tips and tricks?... hmmm not much nv do anything special ... just a little habit of mine(Not really a tip though) when deciding what kind of rhythm i should make(or out of ideas):

1. Use a metronome, set the tempo, time signatures.
2. Create Bassline or use the bass line from the song.
3. Record BassLine.
4. Create your Rhythm by focusing the bass drum on the lower note of the bass line or if you want more funky rhythm, try to make as tight as possible with the whole bass line.
5. Try to create the rhythm as simple as necessary, easier to spot for mistake that way(Sometimes i feel there's more groove that way, it also path way for other sounds and making other variations).



Cheers

 

[soft]

other than learning how to play the drum like a drummer. some fine tuning on the software that i do are:

1. Adjusting the velocity - this is because the sound triggered depends on the velocity just like a real drum. for example, if we hit a snare drum softly=low velocity, the sound will be more of the skin+body. If we hit hard=high velocity, the sound will be skin+body+wire.

find out what is the velocity zone for each drum sound you want to use by manually editing the event velocity in the sequencing software.

step-write 4 bars of snare drum (1,2,3,4) with velocity of 10. then another 4 bars with velocity of 20. then another 4 bars with 30... and so on... until velocity 120

play back the track and listen to how the velocity affect the sample.

:lol:

 

[Mr_KeyboardMan]

hi soft ... just wondering what software u used to sequence your drum?

 

[soft]

I use Cakewalk.

 

[Mr_KeyboardMan]

Cakewalk, yeah I have it oso, but seldom use, i tried using easy beat as well, quite fun. But mostly i done it using my key ...

 

[veganbleu]

Lately it's been turning on the metronome and playing to click with simple kick snare, and then adding the high hats in later. On more electronic days it's step sequencer all the way.

Not keen on trying to upkeep a multivelocity kit of samples because that takes too much time. Currently though i like to run the drum sounds through a bit reductor or distortion to add some unpredictability.

 

[Mr_KeyboardMan]

hmmm sounds interesting ... veganbleu

How do you pass through the sound to distortion?

 

[veganbleu]

VST effects. Just insert in some distortion effects in to give it that bit of bite. Or some filters like waldorf's free but now defunct northpole filter. The cutoff and resonance on that is very musical.

 

[Cheez]

Great inputs! Forgot about this thread for a while. Had been busy. One more thing to add. There are some midi drum files out there that's programmed with electronic drums. They are therefore the most realistic as compared to programming with keys.

One good free midi drum site is this:
http://www.mididrumfiles.com/

Cut and paste is easily done. Furthermore, they include different fills etc.

 

[joel68]

Great inputs! Forgot about this thread for a while. Had been busy. One more thing to add. There are some midi drum files out there that's programmed with electronic drums. They are therefore the most realistic as compared to programming with keys.

One good free midi drum site is this:
http://www.mididrumfiles.com/

Cut and paste is easily done. Furthermore, they include different fills etc.

Aagh ! Cheez ! :twisted:

Must buy...Nothing is free...trial ones sucks :?:

 

[Cheez]

That's me speaking as a non-drummer! But at least it has the basic rhythms in different velocities per hit and unquantized to sound like real playing.

 

[turbochicken]

hmm.

i'm primarily using BFD to sequence my acoustic drums, and loops for other genres and aux tracks.

i second cheez's take on not quantizing to make the drums sound more human. personally, humanization's a chore for me when it comes to drums sequencing. even a simple straight 4 on the floor beat with hats on quavers, you'll have to humanize 1 n 2 n 3 n 4 n with accents on the downbeats, to make it sound closer to a live player.

some rhythms can really cause problems, eg semiquavers on hats with snarehits on 5th 8th and 13th semiquaver, then fill(double crash with left then right hand). in this case, to emulate a live player, we'll have to take note of little things like

1. the left hand crash will definitely be softer than the right.
2. the kick will be louder on the right hand crash.
3. the first semiquaver of each bar will be louder than most of the rest.
4. no hats on snarehits.
5. the semiquaver immediately after every snarehit tends to be softer.
6. the 10th semiquaver(hats) will be louder(drummers, try the beat and you'll know)

and the list goes on.

as for loops and the rest as aux / backing tracks for acoustic drums, i usually focus on the rhythms not clashing(DUH) and perhaps the freq of the sounds. no point putting in fanciful and impressive rhythms when all you'll hear is a single rhythm - amplified. instead of different sets of rhythms complimenting one another.


oops. i failed summary writing.

 

[Cheez]

Excellent tips.