Advance Drum Programming

[azurepancake]

I listen to all kinds of music created by electronic instruments, both with percussion and without it, but there is nothing that makes me feel more enlightened then the effects I get from listening to a beautiful piece with soft pads, gentle leads and complex drum programming. The first few popular artists that come to mind who create such pieces are Squarepusher, Aphex Twin, u-Ziq and Jagga Jazzists.

The drum tracks in these songs are fast, but at times can appear slow. There are often little nuggets of insanely quick snare rushes inputed all over the percussion tracks. The tracks can sometimes slowly or almost violently switch between loud and soft with amazing complexity.

So I guess my main question is: how does one craft such drum tracks? I'd love to try and create them my self and have made some decent sounding tracks. What I've been doing is booting up Reason 4.0, load up a drum module with bass, snare and hi-hat hits. I then open the pattern programming on Reason's main sequencer, zoom all the way in and start putting in the events, changing the velocity and the size of the notes using the sequencer. Of course, all after pumping the BPMs up to 270!

But even with this method, I still can't produce tracks I am happy with. Maybe its just me and I have all the equipment I need, but just need more practice.

I assume there are several different methods to create complex drum tracks like this and I would love to hear everyones input. Any tips, advice or personal stories would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[ehdyn]

Sure, you should try working in reverse.

Open your drum pluggy in reason - turn on every step for every channel.
Now just start looping and recording and rhythmically bang on the mute button for each channel.

Now you have a patterned mute pattern that masks your faucet pattern.
If that makes sense?

You just have to start thinking out of the box. For instance, why not take your best lfo's - I think in Reason you have a maelstrom with powerful modulators + a curve generator - multiply these together, route them through your multiples and use them as triggers for your drums.

So now you have gates with variable frequency control-so nothings set in stone-always fluctuating.

Notice these techinques have nothing to do with Reason-it's just using triggers and CV's which you can do in any flexible enviornment.

Hope this was helpful.
Apologies if it confusing - Basing my information on Reason from reading reviews and trying the demo so I might be wrong about it's capabilities.

If all else fails - just download renoise and supercollider

[Kenneth]

I have done a bit of drone, pad, weird drums style music, the type you are talking about.

I got several methods for making drums, the easiest is to use a loop and simply run it into two delays, one having 5:4 steps and the other 3:4 steps delay (with or without the base drum, it can be added separatly if it makes to much noise). Then while recording change the amount of feedback for the delays up and down to make effects).

When I have more energy I can make a lot of loops that are about the same but with diffrent micro beats, all of the same length (normally 4 beats). Some of the loops I run in 4:4 and others 6:4 to make nice triols. Then I mix the loops together.

If I wasn't allergic to music compression I would upload some examples but no way I MP3 my tunes, newer in my life. I'm found of 100 meg WAV files but have no place to upload that large files. If someone can offer me a bit of room? I can upload at least one

[Rykhaard]

One of the techniques that the Squarepusher dude was using, was 1/48th, 1/64th and 1/96th notes of repeated drum sounds. With muting, as had been mentioned above. The more portions of the drum sound that are muted, (IF, I remember correctly) the lower the pitch of the sound would become.
I had discovered this technique in the late 80's or early 90's when I was programming drums in the my MIDI sequencer software on my computer. I used it with hihats and snare drums especially, for coming up some wild zipper noise drum effects.
Another way that I came up with complex drumming in Reason 3.00, was doing with simulating at least 2 'drummers'. (Programming in the mindset of progressive rock.)
My most complex drumming piece had 2 full kit drummers as well as 2 other drummers playing only, tomtoms. Rhythmically, that one were the most complex progressive rock / ambient percussion piece I'd ever done.

Squarepusher may have also used drumloops. It's been so long since I last heard of of his stuff, I can't remember for sure - except that he WAS using 1/64th and shorter notes, with rhythmic muting, a LOT.

[epexen]

the secret is to use the hyper editor.

[aaronleese]

For live drum machine style beats, check out FlyLoops, at www.flyloops.com.

You can record drum loops, then use a beat splicer (similar to Abletons BeatRepeat, if you know that one), to create live electonica beat patterns based on your recorded loops.

If you have a midi foot controller, you can do it all without touching the mouse too.