Programming Drums
Programming drums means placing drum sounds in time and shaping how those hits work together. Start with a clear kick, snare and hi-hat pattern. Then adjust the sound, accents and variation to suit the song, instead of trying to make every hit different.
- Build the basic pattern
- shape the accents
- check the bass relationship
Where you run into this
- Beat making
- Production
- MIDI sequencing
How do I program a first beat?
Use one bar of 4/4 with an eighth-note grid. Place kick on beats 1 and 3, snare on beats 2 and 4, and closed hi-hat on each eighth note.
| Count | 1 | and | 2 | and | 3 | and | 4 | and |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | Hit | Rest | Rest | Rest | Hit | Rest | Rest | Rest |
| Snare | Rest | Rest | Hit | Rest | Rest | Rest | Hit | Rest |
| Hi-hat | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit | Hit |
Build this pattern in your own sequencer and repeat it for four bars. The displayed groove above is a variation, so compare its kick rhythm with this simpler starting pattern.
Which sounds should I choose?
- Kick
Listen to the initial attack and the low tail separately. A shorter sound may leave more room for a moving bass line; a longer pitched sound can become part of the bass arrangement.
- Snare or clap
Choose a sound that gives the backbeat the intended weight. Check its tail under the melody, where a long wash may cover the next phrase.
- Hi-hat
Use its rhythm to define the subdivision. Start quieter than the main kick and snare, then adjust in the full pattern.
How do I use velocity?
On your drum instrument, make the main backbeats more prominent than any quieter snare notes around them. Try slightly stronger hi-hats on the main beats and softer ones on the offbeats, then reverse that emphasis for comparison.
Velocity may change the sample or tone as well as its level. Listen after each edit. There is no universal set of values that creates a good groove across all kits.
Does everything need to move off the grid?
No. A deliberately precise beat can work very well. First get the pattern, accents and sounds right.
If you want swing, compare straight and swung subdivisions while keeping the main pulse steady. If you want a slightly late snare feel, adjust that relationship carefully in your DAW and compare it in context. Randomly shifting every hit can weaken the rhythm rather than improve it.
Why do kick and bass sound fine alone but unclear together?
Their sustained low sounds may overlap, or their rhythmic parts may compete. Try shortening the kick tail or changing a bass note's length before adding more processing.
If you use a long, pitched 808-style sound as a bass part, check its note against the harmony. A brief kick transient is a different case: it does not always need to be tuned to the song's root. Judge what the sound is doing in the arrangement.
What should happen in bar 4?
Add one variation that leads into the next section. You might place an extra kick before beat 4, add two short snare hits or leave a brief gap.
Keep the following beat 1 clear. A fill is useful when it helps the transition; it does not need to occupy every available position. Play all four bars back so you hear the fill's purpose.
What makes acoustic-style programming more convincing?
Listen to what the drummer's limbs and instruments can do. A closed hi-hat hit often cuts off an open hi-hat, which many samplers can model with a choke group. Rapid repeated hits may also benefit from a library's alternate samples, when available.
These are choices for a particular sound. Electronic programming can deliberately layer impossible combinations, use identical repeated hits or sustain percussion beyond an acoustic instrument's behavior.
Build and compare
- Make the basic barUse the kick, snare and hi-hat pattern in the table with a kit you can hear clearly.
- Shape one accent patternChange the hi-hat velocities while leaving kick and snare unchanged.
- Add a bass partCheck whether the kick tail and bass note lengths fit together.
- Vary the final barAdd or remove one event before the next section. Compare it with the unvaried four-bar pattern.
Keep going
Everything in production and arranging
- Synthesis
- Sound Design
- Sampling
- Programming Drums
- MIDI and Sequencing