The Theory of Drum Programming

[JPeg]

A decent read peep it

http://www.alandmoore.com/TheoryOfDP.htm

 

[afriquedeluxe]

nice article, shud help out da beginners. wen i started i didnt kno nuttin bout programin drumz but i eventually figured it out by ma self. this shud speed up da learnin 4 da begineers tho, very gd

 

[light]

oooo yes i like that.

The way it describes swing is great. and tells exactly which notes to swing. damn ive been guessin and havin troubles with it but i just tried, following that write up, and it sounds great.

Good Post

 

[Craig Gantt]

I dont know I was so confused in fact the only part I really understood was the swing part but the lost me when it was like 2e,1a,e2,3,3,3,4 I sont really understand what they were tryin to tell me (maybe because Ive never played drums before)

 

[Fila]

yea i didnt understand that shit either, anyone care to explain?

 

[light]

I re-read it and its gonna be hard to explain it any better. id try writing it down on maybe graph paper or programing the drums as you read.

 

[eka]

maybe this will shed some light:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_make_original_drum_tracks.htm

it is tweakheadz.com and they got tutorials on about every subject of beat making.

 

[maddogg]

Originally posted by Goldy_C
I dont know I was so confused in fact the only part I really understood was the swing part but the lost me when it was like 2e,1a,e2,3,3,3,4 I sont really understand what they were tryin to tell me (maybe because Ive never played drums before)

he was refering to the 8th notes etc if you have no musical background this will be new and what i mean by musical background is that you have played a instrument that required reading music.Its basic music theory you dotn ahve to know but it helps alot...

this is a 4/4 measure layed out for you

Whole notes are 1,2,3,4
eigth notes are in between and refered to as & so it goes 1,1&,2,2&,3,3&,4,4&

and the 16th notes are 1e,1a,2e,2a,3e,3a,4e,4a


so this is a 4/4 measure with the whole,8th,and 16th notes

1st measure1,1E,1&,1A, 2,2E,2&,2A, 3,3E,3&,3A, 4,4E,4&,4A,

2nd measure1,1E,1&,1A, 2,2E,2&,2A, 3,3E,3&,3A, 4,4E,4&,4A,

3rd measure1,1E,1&,1A, 2,2E,2&,2A, 3,3E,3&,3A, 4,4E,4&,4A,

4th measure1,1E,1&,1A, 2,2E,2&,2A, 3,3E,3&,3A, 4,4E,4&,4A,

so say your counting 8th notes in your head while you bangn on your mpc youd say 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & x4 for 4 bars

hope this helps a little this article is bad ass by the way.
Peace

 

[SpLitPerSonaliT]

I understood the article, it was very helpful
thanks jpeg

 

[AMG]

so this is a 4/4 measure with the whole,8th,and 16th notes

1st measure1,1E,1&,1A, 2,2E,2&,2A, 3,3E,3&,3A, 4,4E,4&,4A,

2nd measure1,1E,1&,1A, 2,2E,2&,2A, 3,3E,3&,3A, 4,4E,4&,4A,

3rd measure1,1E,1&,1A, 2,2E,2&,2A, 3,3E,3&,3A, 4,4E,4&,4A,

4th measure1,1E,1&,1A, 2,2E,2&,2A, 3,3E,3&,3A, 4,4E,4&,4A,

so say your counting 8th notes in your head while you bangn on your mpc youd say 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & x4 for 4 bars

hope this helps a little this article is bad ass by the way.
Peace

I get this part, but where do you put the hi hats @ on which note to get that "feel"?

 

[Obsidian Blue]

Very nice article, for beginers as well as the more experienced. I'm always up for learning something new, especially concidering that I'm always trying to improve the sound of my drums(and there's plenty of room for improvement).....

 

[bigdmakintrax]

All I have to say is, you can program drums effectively without any training....BUT, it helps 100% to have some clue of drum rudiments, timing and breakdowns....I am only speaking biased since I learned how to play the drums and Keys in music classes and from playing in bands, remember all of the old Skool patterns etc that were made on Gear like the SP1200, MPC60 and the Drumulator were machines that were meant to program realistic drum patterns without having a Studio drummer.....those machines weren't originally made with hip hop in mind, they had studio applications for lots of other forms of music.....those pieces of gear cost upwards of 10-20,000 dollars...way out of reach for the average consumer to have in his house........it just happened that way....that was the reason for the swing percentages, velocity sensitive settings and quantization percentages......being skooled on drumming formally gives me a lot of respect for cat that can program realistic patterns without know any theory..........the reason a lot of people don't understand the difference in some of the older gear was the theory of why they were created.....to make patterns that sound realistic.....a lot of computer software still has a mechanical sort of swing.....but this shouldn't get off on the which one is better debate by no means....LOL.....oh and I have given this hint out many times......your key......53%....when you increase the swing above 53% you start approaching a JAZZ swing to the pattern.......so around 53% is the swing you need for that hip hop feel..........50% swing means there is no offset and no swing.....not that you can't make a beat without any swing but it will have a straight robotic feel to it.....this I picked up straight out of the SP1200 manual a long time ago as they explain what swing is and how to use it.....

 

[LMNO]

Ok there's that swing button on the Redrum in Reason and the swing knob on the transport. I can't hear any difference when I adjust it. What's wrong?

 

[orpheus]

that was a dope article. lots of helpful info. some of those links at the bottom should be checked out too if people haven't already

 

[AMG]

.....oh and I have given this hint out many times......your key......53%....when you increase the swing above 53% you start approaching a JAZZ swing to the pattern.......so around 53% is the swing you need for that hip hop feel..........50% swing means there is no offset and no swing.....not that you can't make a beat without any swing but it will have a straight robotic feel to it.....this I picked up straight out of the SP1200 manual a long time ago as they explain what swing is and how to use it.....

Good hint, but I'm gonna need a little more

 

[benny beatz]

that is a great link... I've never used swing... I thought it was for "swing" music lol... You pro's out there use "swing"??