Developing independent rhythm

[Hi-Lo]

what up illmuzik fam, got a question i hope some of you might be able to help me with. before i got into making beats i had no musical training whatsoever, so drums in particular have come difficult to me if i dont use a step sequencer and try to tap them out on my mpc because i have a poor sense of internal rhythm.

anyway ive gotten to the point where i can tap out fairly complex and syncopated kick/snare patterns, basically training myself daily by tapping out timbaland or alchemist kick/snare patterns, but this is where i've hit a brick wall. i cannot for the life of me seem to get a second hand involved in my drumming- i.e. using my left hand to play some rolling hi hats on the second row of my mpc buttons while tapping out a kick and snare on the bottom row (it isnt just hi hats, it can be any other percussive element). i mean, i can add these sounds to my drumbeat, i just find that it usually throws me off beat on the kicks/snare and i have to stop and start over again, or when i manage to not get off beat i notice its because whatever other element im adding im playing completely in sync (like if my kick is hitting on the 1 and 3 in my basic loop, the sound im trying to add i'll find myself playing only on the 1 and 3) with my kick drum or whatnot. what im wondering is for those who have drum training or experience or who taught themselves to do this if there are any rhythm exercises, books, or music readings they found helpful in developing this kind of independence

 

[Lazy Eyes]

u can try to do the kicks with the left hand and the snare with the right.. instead of doing both the kick and the snare with one hand..

Hope this helps..

 

[MarkN]

i've seen people do this but why not just record them on seperate takes ?!

 

[dahkter]

Practice at slower tempos until you can do it, the gradually speed up...

 

[Hi-Lo]

i've seen people do this but why not just record them on seperate takes ?!

because im convinced this is an important part of rhythm. I have a friend who produces and while my stuff sounds a whole lot better than his because I spend a lot more time in the studio, the one thing I will give him is that he is a trained musician and played both the drums and piano when he was younger. he came over and just started messing around on my mpc and literally in 5 seconds was tapping out a pattern with kicks, snares (using 1 hand) and a shaker that was syncopated and coming on the weak beats (with his other hand), it sounded rediculous. maybe it will just come to me with practice but i'd like to be able to have that sense of rhythm since I am trying to develop a whole lot more syncopation in my beats, I just cant imagine it would hurt a producer to have that rhythmic skill.

Practice at slower tempos until you can do it, the gradually speed up...

no doubt i will give that a try, thanks man

 

[Relic]

Dude its not your rhythm its your coordination.

I got rhythm out the ass but my coordination is similar to what your saying.
Im sick with the drums just not ON the drums. Only thing is I can bang on anything and make beats but I never learned on an actual drum set.
I wouldnt worry about it, and if you really want it then just practice, that will make anything better.

 

[adomav17]

i got the same problem... lol... i'd say just to practice... the slower tempo thing that dahkter should help too... because i'm currently learning piano, and whenever i got broken chords that aren't exactly hitting at the same point as the right hand's notes then i have problems.... like my right hand and left hand can't do seperate things(my biggest problem as of yet).... but yeah i guess it'll come with time

 

[Relic]

i got the same problem... lol... i'd say just to practice... the slower tempo thing that dahkter should help too... because i'm currently learning piano, and whenever i got broken chords that aren't exactly hitting at the same point as the right hand's notes then i have problems.... like my right hand and left hand can't do seperate things(my biggest problem as of yet).... but yeah i guess it'll come with time

You should have menge trois until you can get your hands working simultanious and independent of one another..
Even if it doesnt help with the drum machine youll have some good memories of the training.


On the real I want to take pianoi myself..I really oughta, how much can it be?

 

[Hi-Lo]

You should have menge trois until you can get your hands working simultanious and independent of one another..
Even if it doesnt help with the drum machine youll have some good memories of the training.


On the real I want to take pianoi myself..I really oughta, how much can it be?

been learning piano myself also. i'll be real if you are dedicated and practice everyday you do not need a teacher, there is a book out there called the piano handbook by carl humpries that is just as good. teaches you everything from hand and arm position to reading music to playing, and there's an audio cd of every exercise included so you can check your work. it goes from extremely beginner stuff to bach pieces at the end so you do this book and you'll be good

 

[dahkter]

Good tip on the book, I've always wanted to learn some piano, nice instrument...

 

[The Bastard]

try using yur dick to hit the kicks,your right hand or the snares and yur nose or the high hats , and just wave yur let hand in the air

 

[mono]

what helped me very much with my rhythm skillz, was a time when i had to study notes, particularly notedictation and tapping notes from sheetmusic. simple and effective, you do it with one hand, then the other. after a while you can start with more complicated rhythm, doing both hands simultaneously.
it improved my game on the drums dramatically. simply because i learned to know certainly (and further intuitively) in which place i want to have that kick or snare. like i know now, the way i want it to sound, that kick is supposed to hit a 16th before the snare which is on the 2, i dont think about it anymore but if you ask me, i can tell you.
i wouldnt say you cant learn playing drums without theoretical knowledge of rhythm, just as you can speak without knowing your grammar, but... well try it, if you need improvement, it will help. the biggest problem with people who have problems with drums is uncertainty (aka shakiness aka wack drumloop).
and yet there are others you see, they make tight beats using quantization, overdubbing, multitracking or just copy-tapping drumrhythms from hiphoprecords. its ok, but to some people it'll just look corny if you cant tap a nice simple loop.

edit: i wrote "study", but its really not more than a few afternoons of practice, so dontt get scared.