How to create cool percussion?

[johnsonsx]

Hey everyone!

I have a very big problem with percussion!
I'm trying to make progressive house but in every track there are missing good percussion!

So my question is maybe there are some good tutorials or something where i could understand that how to use percussion right?

I have searched in youtube and google but i can't find excatly what i'm looking for- i think it's because i can't explain excatly what i'm looking for so it can't be found there!

Thanx!

[Lunatique]

The first thing you need to do is to learn the basics about time signature, beat division, timing...etc. Once you have gotten a handle on it, you can simply just listen to percussion examples that impresses you and analyze them. You'll then discover things like how they all seem to use syncopation, or how they use low or high pitched percussion on the up or down beat, and so on. As soon as you recognize there seems to be a general template or pattern to how those percussion examples are structured, you'll have found the "secret." That's when you'll easily be able to compose your own original percussion tracks that sound just as interesting and authentic as the examples you have studied.

[johnsonsx]

The first thing you need to do is to learn the basics about time signature, beat division, timing...etc. Once you have gotten a handle on it, you can simply just listen to percussion examples that impresses you and analyze them. You'll then discover things like how they all seem to use syncopation, or how they use low or high pitched percussion on the up or down beat, and so on. As soon as you recognize there seems to be a general template or pattern to how those percussion examples are structured, you'll have found the "secret." That's when you'll easily be able to compose your own original percussion tracks that sound just as interesting and authentic as the examples you have studied.

Yeah i know some basics but that's the problem i don't know how to analize the other sounds they are sounding so quickly i can't understadn that beat using for all the perc sounds :d

So i'm looking for tutorials where are explanations for how to use and what king of sounds have to be used in progressive house percs!

[qa2pir]

I like kick on the beat, snare on the upbeat and hihat on the 8ths.



If you find you can't keep up with the tempo when analyzing a percussion track, why not pitch it down a bit so you can hear the intricacies easier?

[johnsonsx]

I like kick on the beat, snare on the upbeat and hihat on the 8ths.



If you find you can't keep up with the tempo when analyzing a percussion track, why not pitch it down a bit so you can hear the intricacies easier?

good one!!
thanx!

[ariston]

Why not just experiment until you feel comfortable with it? I mean, you can spend weeks analyzing tracks and reading learned treatises, and eventually you will die of boredom. Use a sequencer, load up some good samples, and go for it. Even better: find a teacher and really learn how to play, or just bang away on your kneecaps and thighs to a track you know and like.

As a starting point, it's good to remember that most percussion is designed to enhance the main rhythm, so if you've got your good old boom-tchak-boom-tchak, try placing percussive sounds anywhere but on the fourths. You can use a simple metronome and begin improvising.

I know this takes effort, but it's good to remember this: even though all electronic musicians have the same tools (more or less), it's frighteningly easy to spot those who don't know what they're doing or can't really play an instrument. Time spent on practicing actual musicianship will go a long way for you.

[Bonteburg]

Here's a quick way to get very funky sounds:

- make a 1 bar percussion sequence with instrument A.

- make a 3 bar percussion sequence with instrument B. It's important that the number of bars be uneven.

- make a, say 7 bar persuccioon sequence with instrument C.

-throw in an even sequence with instrument D for good measure.

-etc.

There are no hard and fast rules but just run a few 'mismatched' sequences alongside of each other and there'll be s sense of unpredictability and constant movement.

I'm not sure if this is the fabled 'polyrhythm' or just some entry-level variant thereof but it's pretty damn cool!

[KiwiKrunch]

I'm with ariston on this one. Nothing destroys creativity like analysis and technical issues. Get a decent midi controller and some samples and start swinging. Throw out what you don't like and keep what sounds good. Do that enough and with a little copy and paste you'll end up with something. In the process your muscle memory will kick in eventually. Once mastered, that which you struggle the most with is often what you end up enjoying the most.
Good Luck!

[Lunatique]

If you don't want to learn properly so you really understand how/why percussion work the way it does, then you'll always be mystified by it, and every time you try to compose for percussion, it'll be a guessing game instead of having real creative control.

some quick and dirty tips for composing groovy percussion tracks:

-Mix up your note lengths so there's a good variety of 16th, 8th, quarter, 32nd...etc notes for an organic and human feel.

-A good way to simplify your thinking with percussion is to treat the low pitched ones like the kick and the toms, and the high pitches ones like the snare, hi-hat, and cymbals. But this works best when there isn't a drum kit playing already. If there is a kit playing, then you shouldn't try to make your percussion play like it's a second kit.

-Bonteburg's suggestion is a good one for creating a constant morphing and organic variety. I would suggest you also have some that are looped in even numbers so there's always a constant foundation for the odd numbers to ride on top of.

[johnsonsx]

If you don't want to learn properly so you really understand how/why percussion work the way it does, then you'll always be mystified by it, and every time you try to compose for percussion, it'll be a guessing game instead of having real creative control.

some quick and dirty tips for composing groovy percussion tracks:

-Mix up your note lengths so there's a good variety of 16th, 8th, quarter, 32nd...etc notes for an organic and human feel.

-A good way to simplify your thinking with percussion is to treat the low pitched ones like the kick and the toms, and the high pitches ones like the snare, hi-hat, and cymbals. But this works best when there isn't a drum kit playing already. If there is a kit playing, then you shouldn't try to make your percussion play like it's a second kit.

-Bonteburg's suggestion is a good one for creating a constant morphing and organic variety. I would suggest you also have some that are looped in even numbers so there's always a constant foundation for the odd numbers to ride on top of.

Thanx everybody for your feedbacks!

I'm just interested in those basic percs and hihats that are using almost all the progressive producers! We can hear those sounds in their tracks!

What i want is- maybe someone know where i could get those original and basic samples that are used mostly in progressive house? Maybe it is able to buy them or maybe they are free! It doesn't matter!

Thanx again!

[cosmicdawn]

I make many of those sounds. I know a lot of producers gets them from samples from for example the Vengeance series. A lot of the most popular synths also has some cool programmed percussion presets. Or you could make your own in many synths. I often actually draw some random noise with the pencil tool in sound forge and mix it with some simple sine wave or something.

[johnsonsx]

I make many of those sounds. I know a lot of producers gets them from samples from for example the Vengeance series. A lot of the most popular synths also has some cool programmed percussion presets. Or you could make your own in many synths. I often actually draw some random noise with the pencil tool in sound forge and mix it with some simple sine wave or something.

I'm not so good in making my own drum loop and percussion sounds
But that vengeance pack is really good!

[seether]

One way i found of learning more about drums is to score some full kit midi loops.

Plenty around. Another option is to get something like groove monkey or microtonic and check out the premade midis.

[MOK19]

If you don't want to learn properly so you really understand how/why percussion work the way it does, then you'll always be mystified by it, and every time you try to compose for percussion, it'll be a guessing game instead of having real creative control.

+1
During the period where you're learning, it can make the artistic process more difficult. But once that particular subject is taken care of, and the subtleties of rhythmic production are more 'second-nature' for you, then your artistic horizons are greatly enhanced by your in-depth understanding of what's going on.

I suggest doing a bit of focused practice. Find a song whose percussion you really like, load it into your DAW and COPY IT. Get all the timings right, get the volume/velocity variances right, try to approach the sounds used, get the mix right. No, it's not original, but that's not the point; this isn't a song project, its an exercise. It doesn't need to take that long, and by doing it, you'll be better able to correlate what you see with what you hear.

IMO, random noodling around isn't as effective a use of time, nor as effective practice, as a focused, goal oriented session of practice. You'll get more improvement faster if you set little goals, and stick to them. Give it a shot.

[Redmerkurii]

Practice here is the key. Use a step sequencer you are comfortable with. Pwn the sequencer. Experiment with a single drum sound. Hear how rhythmical a sound can be just using position (16ths) and velocity alone. If you can tap your hands rhythmically on a desk this should make sense.

Drums should "talk". Good drum phrasing when practiced will become the foundation and essence of your tracks. Stick close to one bar phrasing to begin with. When happy with your one bar "sentence". Clone it and from that clone create a subtle "rephrasing of the sentence".
Now you have two different ways of "saying the same thing" or driving the track forward.
From these two bars alone you can create a 4 Bar sequence.
Create a third "sentence" with an end phrase in the last four beats of the bar and you got an easy way to make an 8 bar sequence out of just 3 slightly differing drum patterns.
You got 8 Bar sections et Voila! Instant House.