Discuss the various methods you use in music production, from compressor settings to equipment type.
By Brochacho Wed Mar 18, 2020 8:15 pm
Do you program them into the 4th/8th bar of your sequence or do you create a 1 bar sequence.

At the moment I copy a 4 bar or 8 bar sequence and edit the last bar in the newly copied sequence.
Then I just toggle between sequences.

What methods do you guys use for creating drum fills?
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By The Jackal Sun Mar 22, 2020 6:10 pm
how to create drum fills: hold note repeat button, fux wit note variation slider

but seriously...

i usually work with a 2 bar pattern just so i have something to play ideas & jam over, then i copy that to itself to make a 4 bar pattern with some changes on the last measure. then i copy that again to make an 8 bar pattern with changes on the last measure. then i sprinkle in an extra kick & snare somewhere every 4 bars for variation.

if i have a part that's 16 bars long, it's usually the same 8 bar drum pattern underneath it with a little extra taken out of or added to the last bar or two of the last pattern.

i usually do 4 bar hat patterns. or copy 2 bars several times and add variation every 4th bar with fills on the 8th. hats give music a lot of locomotion & the feeling that it's moving, so getting the timing & placement of those in your fills is important

any time i do fills or drop sounds out, it's usually every 8 or 16 bars because the hook/drop/chorus/lead sound whatever will typically be that many bars long and i either drop drums out to make emphasis for other sounds coming in, or i add fills to signify something is about to change; fills are also good for breaking up repetition in other parts of the song i.e. a simple 2 note bass line 1 bar long repeated for 16 bars doesn't sound as boring or repetitive if fills are being introduced every 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th bar to break up the monotony.

you just have to think like a drummer lol.

i just think that's funny because it gets kinda ridiculous when you have to think like the drummer, a bassist, lead guitarist, some mixing guy, vocalist, the audio engineer, masterer...like as bedroom producers, we have to assume all these roles. and then it's like once you've got one thing figured out, you realize there's a whole other part you have to learn.

i really do try to think about the different parts of a song respective to the people who play them. so when i do drums, i try to think like a drummer. i try to visualize what they've done on stage every time i've seen them live (they don't just hit a kick & snare like a robot, they move and reach about to a rhythm). i think about what i do with my hands when i'm in the car and playing air drums on the steering wheel. if you actually think about the drum kit layout and a drummers hands, you can replicate those movements on the MPC to get the same effect and groove to your fills.
By Brochacho Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:03 am
Hi Jackal,
Thanks for the reply.
I can create sequences for Intros Verses Chorus Bridges name it.
I find the transition for each happens on the last measure before the change.
I wish there was a more dynamic way to create fills on the MPC.
I record mainly rock music and really cant make much of the note repeat.
I really like your idea of how your 2 bars become your verses. Thanks for that.
However do you go in and edit the events or do you do the fills in real time.
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By peterpiper Thu Mar 26, 2020 2:30 pm
I'm not into drumfills that much but if I had to do some drum fills right now I would watch Bernard Purdie videos first.
This video alone has so many things to learn from



peace
By 6/8 Stanley Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:09 pm
Brochacho wrote:
6/8 Stanley wrote:I make a track for the fills and finger drum them in. Nothing special.

Do you use note repeat on top of everything playing?


I usually like to lay down a basic drum beat first, then do melodies with bass and horns or keyboards etc. Then I can hear where drum or percussion fills would sound good and pound them in with no time correction. Seems like a more organic way to do it. Not as organized though.

Never used note repeat but I'll check it out.
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By dabmeister Mon Mar 30, 2020 4:58 pm
8 bar patterns as the main beat with variant fill patterns (copies of the main but with different rolls or augments at the 8th bar or within the main pattern itself) dropped in to give a real fill to the overall sequence. Plus all of this used in "song" mode too...which is the only way I know how to recreate a real drummer imo.
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By NearTao Mon Mar 30, 2020 5:18 pm
If you're having a hard time getting changing velocity hits, don't forget you can use 16 Levels on velocity. Not perfect, but can get a lot more feel into your upbeats and downbeats. I see a lot of folks just reach for FULL LEVEL and then complain that their drum hits sound like an 80's kit.