One thing i have seen a fair few times, are great songs that are ruined by it’s drumming…and i really hate to see that because the drumming can drag down the whole song if it’s not done properly.
I understand how for some people it can be hard to get the hang of this…so, this thread will be to give people help and tips to somewhat improve their drumming so that this doesn’t happen as much…
I will show some strategies and what effect they make to the song and some basic drumming stuff…
-Basic Drumming:
We will start with a few things…
One thing that is quite important is this drum beat:
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It is the most basic drum beat. Most beats are based around it…mind you, half the time you don’t even notice this.
From this you can start adding in a few extra bass drum hits… (Tom drums indicate new bass drum hits)
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The beat is now much more exciting then the first one.
Another thing you can also do, is change a few snares around, but not too many, you can also add them in (with moderation). You need to be somewhat careful however, as this can be quite hard to do successfully.
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In this case…changing the place of one of the original snares is quite hard to do…so i just simply left them there…also, keep in mind that if i was to change the place of a couple, i’d have to move a few bass drum hits around as seen in sheet 1. Also, experiment with different tempos, it can really change the feel of the drum beat, for example: 150 is a slower beat but also more powerful, 120 is probably too slow for this particular drum beat.
By now your probably thinking…this is quite complicated compared to the original…yes that’s right, and would you have guessed that it originated from the first beat if you didn’t read this? Possibly not.
Another thing you can do is change these hi-hats around, add open hi-hats, or get rid of them altogether if you want. NOTE: If you get rid of them, you may loose some power from the drum beat depending on how you do it, try some beats with and without the hi-hats and see which is better. You can also add some cymbals in as well.
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So i’ve added a variety to the two beats to show what is possible, keep in mind in a proper drum beat you should keep it reasonably consistent, not changing like i have done.
Now for a nice little drum fill!! Drum fills usually consist of snares, all the tom drums and bass drums. It is also quite common to start the fill with a cymbal hit.
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I have added a basic drum fill, and following it are an example of two other drum fills. The one i have used is the most basic drum fill but you can basically experiment and create your own fill, its basically just a “hit some other drums for a bar, then move on” thing…
Finally, you may want to include a drum solo into your song, there is no specific rules for a drum solo, it just needs to sound good. Drum solos can consist of anything you can possibly find on a drum kit, this includes all the drums and cymbals, as well as cowbells (yes they are actually used on drum kits).
6. ?id=63694 (I took this out of a song by the way)
There’s not really much to explain here, its a drum solo, it can consist of pretty much anything drum related…(it can also have a background melody behind it as well)
I think that will do for basic drumming, its covered most of the basic construction of a beat. You can do these steps in any order you desire, and you may even want to repeat a certain step more than once.
It can…just usually not with the hi-hats, techno can be a lot less restricted as well…just try making a nice simplistic beat, and take out the hi-hats when you’re done.
Example: Let It Burn - RED
This song has a techno-ish beat to it, (when its not the rock-ish part)…If you are looking for the more conventional techno stuff then…
Example 2: Random techno song i found by youtube searching “techno”
Find the beat in this song, and imagine if there was hi-hats there, it is basically the same as the basic beats, just using an electronic drum kit…so all you need to do is change the drum types and you can make a techno beat
-Breakbeat:
Well going from 1:51 in that video…it basically shows a beat which is then added to with some flashy extras with open hi-hat, cymbal, and tambourines.
Breakbeats are sometimes improv…so made up on the spot but if you want to create one…a simple method is the following:
Make a nice beat (you can change the tempo later so just start of slowish if you want) using the method shown in the basic drum beat, and add somewhat more snares, and bass drums, so make your beat more compact, you can then speed it up until you see fit
Breakbeat 1
Step 0: Your basic beat.
Step 1, 2, 3: Add complexity to your beat.
Step 4: Up the tempo until its breakbeat-ish enough for you.
Step 5: Add some flashy hi-hats/cymbals in there
Notessimo doesn’t really handle (proper) drum rolls etc that well…but if you want to try, double/quadruple the tempo (keep the right spacing) and add a few quick snare hits in there…
Step 6: If you’re doing liquid drum and bass, add some distortion…but you can’t really do that in notessimo
-Drumming Strategies/Tips:
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Towards the end of your song (end of the bridge, or even during the last chorus/last half of the chorus) or even a build-up (pre-chorus) you can add a constant snare hit, every quarter (assuming your song isn’t too fast). This adds suspense to the section and you will find that when those snares finally stop, its relieving…but in a good way…(assuming it is used right), they can also be use to add more power into the last chorus, or any certain part for that matter, when used in this way, double kick is usually added if it is a metal (or heavier) song.
In-song examples:
Light In A Darkened World - Killswitch Engage 2:08 onwards, used as extra power in the chorus along with double kick.
[More will be added when found]
Other Member’s Examples: -
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In a metal song, the double kick can be used for a lot of added power in the specific part of the song…however…use it a little too much…and it gets a bit ordinary…
The technique is very often used in the repeat of the last chorus (so its basically the last chorus but with double kicks through it all) and often with screaming instead of clean vocals (if there are clean vocals).
In-Song examples:
Funeral - Silent Civilian 4:52-5:54 [Heads up…it is screamo…but its a perfect example of its use.] It is used for an extreme add to the power along with the the snares (technique/tip 1). -
“The Gallop”
The gallop is basically 3 hits, then a pause which makes a galloping type effect. It’s used in songs that range from punk to metal (and possibly rock if you do it well).
An example of The Gallop in a full song: Frozen Soul by Kamarai (Its just slightly altered however in this case…) -
Coming soon (when i think of one or if someone else shares/requests one)
-Other Notes:
This tutorial WILL be added to, at the moment i can’t think of (and don’t know) every drumming strategy known to man, so please be patient if you are using this to learn, or please contribute more to it if you know a bit about it =)
Yes, drumming can require a good sense in rhythm, but with some practice you could start making some epic beats
If you would require some of my help with ANY beat you may have (whether in a song or not) I would be glad to help you and show you what steps i took to edit/add to it
You can either use this thread or just PM me.
Any contributions are welcome as the more examples there are, the better =D
You can contribute by:
-Making example songs/beats.
-Telling me about songs which use any of the tips/strategies.
-Making your own songs/beats including a tip/strategy.
-Adding more to the tutorial.
-Helping to correct the tutorial (As i might have (and probably have) badly worded something).
Extra Random Drumming-related stuff:
Drum Solo - Thomas Lang
Drum Cam of Nightmare - Avenged Sevenfold
or if you’re up…like 2-4am XD)