Where to use toms within a drum pattern

I've had the MPC for a couple of months, and I've got some basic drum patterns down, but I don't ever use toms. Does anyone have any advice on where to put toms within a drum riff, or can someone maybe refer me to a song that utilizes toms? I just feel like I'm ignoring this drum that might be useful.

oli83 wrote:I've had the MPC for a couple of months, and I've got some basic drum patterns down, but I don't ever use toms. Does anyone have any advice on where to put toms within a drum riff, or can someone maybe refer me to a song that utilizes toms? I just feel like I'm ignoring this drum that might be useful.

depends on what you are trying to do... some people have alternate drum beats using a floor tom instead of a kick drum... some people add a tom or two.. or even a tom roll at the last quarter of the drum loop.


listen to some genesis, or phil collins music... he displays a bunch of ways to use toms. I personally dont like his music, but he is a beast with toms.

Most modern electronic or sample based music styles neglect toms for some reason. I haven't got any links, but maybe search out some drum fill samples and then deconstruct them, or use them as is.

Listen to music that isn't hip hop (hip hop avoids toms like a crazy old gf) and then bite the shit out of what you hear. Copy the coolest tom stuff you hear in jazz, rock, metal, whatever. Eventually you'll be able to be more original when you get used to their function in a drum pattern.

I listen to a lot of rock music for my drum fills and toms.
One of my favorites is hotel california. the way the drum parts (in the last part of the song) interacts with the guitars make me wanna cry sometimes. Especially because almost every fill is different.

Well, 80s Hip-Hop certainly didn't mind the tom so much.

Listen to the most popular breaks in Hip-Hop. Most of them are tomless too; it's just that those elaborate tom breakdowns don't work in a genre that originated on a strong funky drummer like beat going non stop.

Coz wrote:Most modern electronic or sample based music styles neglect toms for some reason. I haven't got any links, but maybe search out some drum fill samples and then deconstruct them, or use them as is.

TRUE!

bedouin wrote:Well, 80s Hip-Hop certainly didn't mind the tom so much.

Listen to the most popular breaks in Hip-Hop. Most of them are tomless too; it's just that those elaborate tom breakdowns don't work in a genre that originated on a strong funky drummer like beat going non stop.

True, especially that original boom bap hiphop didn't have toms. Almost never heard any toms in one of premiers' beats.

But it can give a song more depth in 2009.