Category Archives: Drum Programming

Think Like A Drummer – Four on the Floor

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One of the first beats you learn if you take drum lessons is a beat called "Four on the Floor".  This beat consists of the kick drum hitting on every beat and the snare hitting on 2 and 4.  The hi-hats are usually played with 8th notes but can be changed up as long as the kick is hitting on 1, 2, 3, and 4.  The notation looks like this.

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Think Like A Drummer – The Half Drag Rudiment

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One of the biggest things I noticed when I started this journey is that a lot of drum libraries include an articulation called a “half drag” or a “ruff”.  These would sound good at some tempos and at others not so good. Since I did not “Think Like a Drummer” at that point, I had no idea what a drag articulation was and avoided it altogether.  

When you first start to think like a drummer you will start to notice things that are happening within the drum pattern.  The pattern within the pattern so to speak. The hi-hats for instance not only have a rhythm that gets played, but also a pattern of velocity.   

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Think Like A Drummer – The Single Stroke Four Rudiment

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The single stroke rudiment is the most basic of all drum rudiments.  It consists purely of alternating hands playing the drum or drums.  It is most likely the first rudiment anyone who has ever taken drum lessons will learn.  They will usually learn it on a practice pad or snare drum first.

In this week’s blog we look at how to create a single stroke rudiment using a drum virtual instrument.  More specifically we will look at using the Single Stroke Four rudiment.

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Think Like A Drummer – Closed 8th Note Hi-Hats

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Non-drummers have thoughts on what a drum part is, and we are usually WAY off in what it actually is.  In order to program drum parts correctly, we need to change our mindset and begin to “Think Like a Drummer”

I remember the first time I tried a virtual drum instrument.  The demos sounded so good, I thought it would solve all my drummer issues.  To say the experience was underwhelming would be an understatement. No matter what I did it did not solve anything and it sounded only slightly better than me hand placing samples onto the timeline.

It turned out, as it usually does, that it was user error.  You see, if you are not a drummer, programming a drum part is nearly an impossible task.

This blog series will teach you to think like a drummer.

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