Hello,

I have always known there are many knowledgable artists here. So perhaps I can get a little help with my questions that I really appreciate having them answered from you guys.

I have been lately studying some theories and gaining up my knowledge.

2 main things I'm having no answer yet to:

1. Drums programming in Dance music or any other genre. Is there any kind of rule or anything other than listening to other tracks to be able to make great drums? Like what makes a great groove?

2. In regards to intervals, Why do we need to know them? OK the distance between to notes in a scale is something eg a perfect fifth, but how knowing that gonna help me? Other than the Names?!


Cheers

 

shuffles, naturalizing midi, switch ups on the end of a 4 bar (e.g. drum roll). Subtle velocity changes are also a useful tool in creating groove. Theres a myriad of patterns you can deconstruct from whatever genre you are creating. Just literally listen and reverse engineer them if they are complex. Also pattern timing could be important (5/4 over 4/4)

 

I've come to the conclusion that the answer might be "if you can't immediately see the advantage, don't bother with that".

Later on if/when your taste in music changes you might understand the need and have use for it.

 

Actually, there are some conventions, like using the ride cymbal for bridges or choruses and hi-hats for verses, but even those rules are not so clear cut. You can check how sample libraries are grouped and laid out to have a clearer idea on how composing drum parts works. More important than that, in my opinion, is keeping in mind the song sections and how the energy is built up and managed from beginning to end in a song. For example, the last chorus is louder and more exciting in groove/arrangement than the previous chorus patterns. Verses tend to be the quietest, and the second verse is a little louder than the first one, etc.

In drum programming, knowing the musical notes helps you to place drum hits correctly in a piano roll view when arranging. It's a visual thing and you get the hang of it in no time. However, in my experience, knowing deep musical theory hasn't really influenced my drum programming more than knowing how to arrange the parts of a song.

 

1) offset, swing, "hang"/"stress", dynamics, rhythmic variation, syncopations, accenting, flams, etc etc. Especially with a bass/bassplayer (and other instruments/sounds) that has the same "feel".

2) The same reason why we have maps, letters, numbers, measurements of all sorts, etc. Tools/language/measurements for understanding/explaining music.
How would you tell a story if you couldn't use words?

 

Music theory and written music are not rules, they are ways to communicate. Steve Gadd always makes a great groove.Nobody will ever program or create an artificial drum part that sounds like "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover". On the other hand, Phil Collins cheap little drum machine parts on his Face Value album have their own little "groove". (Phil's a kick ass drummer, too) For a whole other kind of "groove", check out Dirty Projectors. Who knows what makes the brain lock on a rhythm? You just know it when you feel it. I met Alex Acuna once. He said "Let the clave speak for itself!" Not sure what it meant, but I like it....I think it's an almost spiritual reverence for the power of rhythm. (Latin musicians spend a lifetime learning all the ways the clave rhythm can be played over others.)

 

Last edited: Dec 20, 2015

Well, if you want to dig deeper into the topic of groove, I suggest
http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/groove-9781441166272/

 

Hey pamjadi.Download a few(not all) of the different genres from the net and compare the music.Keep listening till it gets into your brain.Yes, there are rules if you are going to program the drum parts.It is easy to program straight beats like disco, or EDM.These beats can be quantized among other ways to create them,but...programming some grooves for other genres like Cumbia for example is a different matter altogether.Paradiddles,ghost notes etc.Beats here are laid back and notes have to be pushed a few ticks manually to get the right feel...for that you have to listen to a lot of music.Takes a bit of time but you will get there.....eventually I hope.This site has some fantastic musicians willing to help you if you ask the right plausible questions.Don't ask daft questions.If you are writing a tutorial etc then you can go ahead and ask relating to intervals and note and stuff. But,if you want to program your drums then F@#$ all that and start programming .All the best