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I make industrial and synthscapes and one of my drum "tricks" was to run my drum machines thru a Korg Pandora - the effects modeling made for some of the most aggressive and unique drum sounds. I've since rex'd them all out into one shot wav's for complex programming- if you happen to have access to a buddies Pandora- try it on your drums- it's like aquiring an entire new drum synth.
While I don't really bang on things, I definitely like to tap out the rhythm parts (NS2 is good for this) and program the drums that way. I've never liked drawing notes into a piano roll or sequencer, it just feels soulless.
I really don’t like grids for drums. For one thing they go the incorrect way (it probably only makes sense to right-handers). For another, when I first started I’d ‘paint’ what seemed to be an interesting pattern, only to be fooled each time in that the pattern as I painted it was a parallel art form, but the drum machine would then chew through it serially and make no audible sense.
Instead I think there’s a big future in things like the display in apps like concentric (although — again — please make it rotate the correct way round, not continually perpetually relentlessly backwards!). That cyclic type of approach is far more akin to what I’m about to hear, whereas a grid doesn’t - it’s an isolated unit with a start and finish and nothing after the finish, that’s apparently the end of the drums.
Taking things further, I think a bit of simple 3D or AR in drum pattern representation is a field with lots of potential exploration, very little of which has been started yet. I said simple - don’t go crazy with full 360° walk arounds, that’s unnecessary and a distraction.
This is for Reaper on a computer..but there are some great concepts that can be applied to iOS drum programming.
Some good tricks for creating more human sounding beats and fills that aren't robotic. ghost notes etc
_
Fat people can drum with the best of them! (they're also better cuddlers
Oh, OP- If you like, I can take screenshot of the Drum Pattern Templates in Reason for you - that will help you type up the basics.
I spend some time learning the drum machine or identify the hurdles I need to jump to get closer.
One thing is to make just one pattern I like and change the probability for the bass drum and some hats. For me is to make more than one pattern and find meaningful ways to vary them.
I get into midi FX and learn how to vary the pattern, and change the parameters of open and close hi-hat and decay of the bass drum through the track with apps that send changes.
Identify the hurdles
Gotta try that, thanks!
For me Roland Zenbeats has been the solution. I wanted to be able to play around with ready-made drum loops as well as creative my own when my inner drummer eventuelly surfaced. Still waiting though😊… but having loads of fun waiting!
The TR-style user interface is working very well for me and I also now have tons of patterns to play with from the Zenbeats store.
Regards,
DMfan 🇸🇪
Drums?
There isnt really any that work like a volca drum ( which isnt even an advanced drum synth/machine )
Only some Drambo modules and maybe a random synth can be mapped in drambo to be sound locked.
The good apps for sound. Fac drum. Hammerhead. Cant be mapped to be sound locked, when needed.
I guess HH. Might be ok. If using its own sequencer and try and make patterns work with Drambo patterns.
SB drum sounds like a bad Aum recording but has the mappable parameters.
I was very pleased learning a melodics course on drum programming with MPC style pads.
General, my advice is to just get in and start simple with your bass and snare drum, and go from there just a little bit at a time. Honestly, a lot of music relies on pretty simple bass and drum patterns.
Maybe Im just used to sound locks. Know you can with Drambo modules but dont really like the modules. With fac though. If I dont want every sound to be the same on every step. I need to add a variation of that sound from the banks. It means its 60x slower than a volca drum. Just to get something similar to a sound lock. I think it were made for people who just want an original sound. A drum synth but cant be made to sound like a synthy drum. Like a volca. Drambo modules or HH, using its own sequencer.
Thats probably the most needed/not needed sound lock I think Im saying. Bass lock movement, from a drum. When I guess you might just add a bass synth instead. Still. Its annoying that no apps can be sound locked in Drambo apart from an au like opl or chow kick.
Fac drum is cool though. You just can tweak a knob to alter sound. You have to make variation banks.
2nd this suggestion. Pick your genre. Very easy to build new or edit presets. iBassist by same dev works brilliantly with his drum apps I understand.
Perhaps this thread is out of OP's current interest, given the date of the post. So my posting this video is simply due to my preference.
I have skimmed through this thread, so I understand OP is not positive about the use of Pad.
(To begin with, I am not posting this video for the purpose of recommending this product to anyone. This video is 7 years old. Besides, Launchpad is probably more versatile.)
A site I used to frequent (until the owner finally decided to shut it down after about a decade of running it) featured collaborations between musicians. There's really no reason more of that couldn't be happening here.
If people need other musicians to help out on some tracks or contribute some of their own skills, why not post them here?
That's a great idea and it sounds like fun too.
I do like to write bass lines and drum tracks if the material somehow inspires me.
Back in the olden days we had this crazy idea that if you wanted to be good at something you practiced until you got better. We sort of summed it up with the saying, if at first you don't succeed try, try again. If something was really hard I just got Mummy or Daddy to do it.
What I still do is to hear what drummers play. Fills et c.
How about some beats books
https://www.amazon.ca/Drum-Programming-Handbook-Complete-Creating/dp/1480392871/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=VNLB1T6A8BS4&keywords=drum+beat+midi+book&qid=1653956351&sprefix=drum+beat+midi+book,aps,93&sr=8-4
https://www.amazon.ca/Drum-Machine-Patterns-Leonard-Corp/dp/0881888877/ref=pd_aw_fbt_img_sccl_1/147-8250765-0918629?pd_rd_w=kIliY&content-id=amzn1.sym.59ab47d8-6790-4383-abd9-f57e8a39cf2c&pf_rd_p=59ab47d8-6790-4383-abd9-f57e8a39cf2c&pf_rd_r=YD7K7SHGW59CJBE9VGZY&pd_rd_wg=RC8z4&pd_rd_r=3334a16d-2222-4b66-bf41-56f03b6d04f8&pd_rd_i=0881888877&psc=1
https://www.amazon.ca/Drum-Machine-Patterns-Leonard-Corp/dp/0881886327/ref=pd_aw_fbt_img_sccl_1/147-8250765-0918629?pd_rd_w=THmu1&content-id=amzn1.sym.59ab47d8-6790-4383-abd9-f57e8a39cf2c&pf_rd_p=59ab47d8-6790-4383-abd9-f57e8a39cf2c&pf_rd_r=84EYEJWBF0GG4HY94JK6&pd_rd_wg=YB2Ki&pd_rd_r=cdbf0bf0-16bc-40c7-a642-12320aa67d07&pd_rd_i=0881886327&psc=1
I really suck at programming drums and switching up styles so I use loops, either MIDI or audio. I'll edit the MIDI, splice the audio, and process things. I'll sub in my own sound choices, but I usually start with a pre-made groove of some sort.
Lately, I like using Beatly Pro patterns and loading in my own samples and editing as needed. Then I use a GB drummer for percussions or layering. I'll drop in some ear candy one shots or something on top. I basically just layer a ton and then subtract parts to fit the section.
I love the Rozeta Particles suggestion here. It's such a creative little tool, for all things ambient.
This might be too basic for all of you, but I feel I got something useful out of this course. They have sales very often and if you wait you can get it for $10 or $15
https://www.udemy.com/course/create-amazing-sequenced-drum-tracks-that-pop/
It doesn’t hurt to slow everything down considerably when learning to drum. I would suggest you stick with 4/4 and avoid triplets before moving on to other time signatures as the counting is much easier.
Think in terms of everything else falling on or between the hi-hat and you should be able to count how many hi-hat hits (or rests) it takes to place drum hits.
If you don’t have access to a drum kit, try playing an imaginary kit on your knees and count out loud. If you stick with it you’ll be surprised how quickly it becomes natural to convert a rhythm in your head to counting or a grid pattern.
Nothing wrong with a simple drum pattern.
An app/drum machine/groovebox with simple probability settings - like play this extra snare hit 34% of the time or something like that - can easily add some interest to a simple drum pattern.
Using separate instances of midi gates on a drum machine with multi outs can also be very useful to add variety
Oh yeah, simply turning steps off and on while the pattern is playing is another way.
Before going for elaborate approaches, it's best to explore the simple ones that you haven't tried yet first. At least that's what I found.
I am not much of a Pinterest fan, but it’s a great way to save info graphics.
Look at my music making board in the drum section. Tons of patterns.
https://pin.it/4A3E7BM
Sometimes I’ll just make one simple pattern with rozeta x0x and give everything varying settings of mutate and let that run the whole time