Lows: Kick drum. The anchor of the drum section, the main beat is built off of what happens with the kick. Combined with the snares, the kick forms the basic beat pattern.
Mids: Snares/Claps/Tom-Toms. The mids consisits of snares, claps and percussion instruments such as the congos and bongos. The mids accent what is occurring in the kick drum or accent different beats other than the kick in order to give the song a syncopated feel. The combination of the kick and snare/clap pattern establish the main beat of a song.
Highs: Hi-hats, shakers, maracas. The highs link the lows and mid together and gives a sense of timing and movement to the beat.
Because drums are so important to hip-hop, it is important to take the time to perfect your drum tracks. Often, the difference between a good sounding track and a great sounding track is what occurs in the drums. Drum skills consist of two parts, sound selection and programming the actual beat pattern. For those serious about beat making, devote time to building a good drum library. Two sources for drum sounds are:
Self-Made: You can use a sampler to "sample" isolated drum hits from vinyl records, or it can be using a synthesizer to craft sounds. There are many tutorials on the internet about how to do this. Doing it the self-made way will give you a unique sound that no one else has. However, sound design is a skill and craft within itself and it takes time to develop good sounds (time that can be spent making beats). In addition to creating sounds from scratch, "tweaking" existing sounds in your library by adding effects like compression, eq, delays, reverb, can help to make a new sound out of an existing one.
Sample Libraries/Companies: There are now companies dedicated to providing drum sounds to producers. Going this route, you'll have quality sounds without having to design them yourself. However, other producers will have these same sounds. Modern Beats and Bangin Beats are good places to start.
The route you choose is a matter of choice. Whatever you choose, I encourage you to move beyond the stock sounds in your synth as they are generally almost always out of date.
As we close, there is one concept I'd like to leave you with. The hi-hat is often forgotten as it is not as prominent as the kicks and snares. However, the hi-hat changes how timing is perceived in a track even though the tempo stays the same. Good beat makers often use this in their advantage in changing from verse to chorus and back again. For example, program a drum pattern with a kick on beat 1 and 3 and a snare on 2 and 4. Add 8th note hi-hats across the whole beat. Now switch to 16th notes on the hi-hat and notice how the song "moves" more. Also, by slightly nudging the hi-hat before or behind the beat, you can make a track sound delayed or rushed.
Take your time to perfect your drums as they are the core of hip-hop. Next week, we'll discuss pads and their role.
Mids: Snares/Claps/Tom-Toms. The mids consisits of snares, claps and percussion instruments such as the congos and bongos. The mids accent what is occurring in the kick drum or accent different beats other than the kick in order to give the song a syncopated feel. The combination of the kick and snare/clap pattern establish the main beat of a song.
Highs: Hi-hats, shakers, maracas. The highs link the lows and mid together and gives a sense of timing and movement to the beat.
Because drums are so important to hip-hop, it is important to take the time to perfect your drum tracks. Often, the difference between a good sounding track and a great sounding track is what occurs in the drums. Drum skills consist of two parts, sound selection and programming the actual beat pattern. For those serious about beat making, devote time to building a good drum library. Two sources for drum sounds are:
Self-Made: You can use a sampler to "sample" isolated drum hits from vinyl records, or it can be using a synthesizer to craft sounds. There are many tutorials on the internet about how to do this. Doing it the self-made way will give you a unique sound that no one else has. However, sound design is a skill and craft within itself and it takes time to develop good sounds (time that can be spent making beats). In addition to creating sounds from scratch, "tweaking" existing sounds in your library by adding effects like compression, eq, delays, reverb, can help to make a new sound out of an existing one.
Sample Libraries/Companies: There are now companies dedicated to providing drum sounds to producers. Going this route, you'll have quality sounds without having to design them yourself. However, other producers will have these same sounds. Modern Beats and Bangin Beats are good places to start.
The route you choose is a matter of choice. Whatever you choose, I encourage you to move beyond the stock sounds in your synth as they are generally almost always out of date.
As we close, there is one concept I'd like to leave you with. The hi-hat is often forgotten as it is not as prominent as the kicks and snares. However, the hi-hat changes how timing is perceived in a track even though the tempo stays the same. Good beat makers often use this in their advantage in changing from verse to chorus and back again. For example, program a drum pattern with a kick on beat 1 and 3 and a snare on 2 and 4. Add 8th note hi-hats across the whole beat. Now switch to 16th notes on the hi-hat and notice how the song "moves" more. Also, by slightly nudging the hi-hat before or behind the beat, you can make a track sound delayed or rushed.
Take your time to perfect your drums as they are the core of hip-hop. Next week, we'll discuss pads and their role.
About the Author:
A part of the Jam Sonic production squad, "The Architect" has been producing and composing music for over a decade. He currently produces music full-time for artists and small businesses. Please check out his site to access beat making articles and videos and hip hop beats for sale.
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