If you're one of the multitudes of rappers that have the great lyrics down pat, but you're kind of out in the wilderness as to beat editing, and creating rap beats for your drum tracks, which is the foundation of hip hop, and/or rap, then this is a great tutorial that addresses all the issues you'll face. Let a real percussionist that has played drums and/or percussion for forty-five years share the secrets to finding, and tweaking samples, and making beats sound truly natural. Rather than a tutorial about a particular software, this is one that it's hard-earned principles are pretty much universal across all MIDI sequencing products.
Let's continue in a still broad category of how drums, and even tasty percussion in your arranging, and songwriting can add incredible dimension, and space to an otherwise very boring sound. How do we accomplish that? Well, probably the most critical, but subconscious aspect of songwriting is instilling enough tension and release in the song at just the right places. After all, tension and release is the essence of life itself, which is why it's so critical in great music. In fact, great producers, which are often great arrangers...hello Quincy Jones, and/or Phil Spector, know all too well how to use tension and release in rhythm, harmony, and space with the greatest of skill.
So, with drums, in general, this tension and release usually occurs every eight bars or so. Think Michael J's original version of "Got to be There". WOW! The epitome of tension and release in a pop record. However, with most rap beats you'll just need 2-bar phrases, along with at least a dozen or so fill bars to kick you into another section. But you can produce some real magic using natural, but eclectic percussion sounds to create, and/or add layers to the sound in order to build tension, space, and dimension along with the foundational groove of the drum kit. Again, there are tons of free loops out there to get you inspired, and when you get better, you can customize you're own based on some of the masters mentioned above.
Getting into the weeds of beat editing, the real secret to making the sequences sound like a real drummer, instead of a machine is learning how to effectively use multiple-velocity samples. You see, most musicians familiar with MIDI are under the illusion that it's the zero quantization that makes the sequences sound like a machine...NOT!!! It's the subtle differences in velocity, or lack thereof, that make you feel like you're breaking out in hives. Here is where you can really separate the boys from the men.
If you've ever noticed when you hear a drum machine play a roll it sounds more like a machine gun than it sounds like a real drummer. So, how do you make it sound normal?
1.) Well, for hi-hat, snare, and toms you can usually adjust the velocity for alternating strokes, or events about 7-8 clicks lower than the counter events. Most step-sequencers let you slide the mouse up or down while hovering over any note/event.
2.) If you want to create a crescendo you can experiment by establishing the softest, and loudest levels between the starting and finishing point using say 8th notes of 1 hand, or velocity level, then inserting notes in between those (16th notes) with the velocities adjusted for alternating strokes.
3.) When you're writing flams keep the alternating stroke velocities the same, but make the timing about 5-7 ticks apart.
4.) Yet another subtle trick, instead of making the phrases only 2 bars, as most rap beats are written for, make them 4 bars, and maybe change up the velocities slightly to give a little more realistic feel.
5.) On the kick drum you can make the 1st beat maybe 5 clicks higher than beat 3. Further, if you're playing a 16th note just before beat 1, or 3, you should lower the velocity maybe another 5 clicks.
6.) Whenever you insert a crash cymbal make sure you insert a kick drum note with possibly a max 127 velocity exactly simultaneously with each other for added realism.
If you're a beginner at making beats, but you aren't making money...YET, DubTurbo beat maker is DEFINITELY your first choice for your sequencing tool box. So, take your mouse immediately to http://gizmobutler.com/.
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