Making music to the drums?

  • Wanna Join? New users you can now register lightning fast using your Facebook or Twitter accounts.
Oct 21, 2006
1,812
1
0
54
#1
usually i match the drums with the first melody but now i laid down some hot drumz and i ended up making some shit that didnt match the drumz at all. i cant get shit.. maybe when i wake up tommorrow
 
Apr 12, 2005
6,109
5
0
54
www.freeloadmp3.com
#3
what genre is this for? If its for rap..id scratch the whole thing....I almost always lay down a simple tracks of drums....the kick hitting on the 1st and 3rd part of the bar while the snare hits on the second and 4th with some simple hi hats....The only concern at this point is tempo..Am i in the mood for something fast or slow. then i build around that and if i want i can do some better drums..my thinking is why spend all the time on the drums if you arent gonna come up with something you like..it usually only takes me about 1 minute to turn everything on,load my drums and have these three tracks done at a 4 bars. Then i mess with some keys and with in about 15 minutes if i havent done anything worthy i turn everything off...cant force creativity..it eityher comes or it doesnt
 
May 1, 2003
6,431
25
0
53
#4
I've been setting my end measure at some off ass numbers lately as well. I recall Quik sayin in a song something about "it's not 4, 8 or 12 it's 6" or some shit like that in regard to his beat. I tried it and it forced me to come sideways with some unorthodoxed shit to keep the timing right. It worked. I listen well.
 
May 1, 2003
6,431
25
0
53
#6
Not literally, just changing up from what I normally do. He said it in a song...refering maybe to the song he was rhyming on... If I come across it I'll post it. but you can hear it in most of his drum patterns. Sounds like some of the drums have slow gate times too. What ever it is...sounds dope.
 
Apr 12, 2005
6,109
5
0
54
www.freeloadmp3.com
#7
Doberman said:
Not literally, just changing up from what I normally do. He said it in a song...refering maybe to the song he was rhyming on... If I come across it I'll post it. but you can hear it in most of his drum patterns. Sounds like some of the drums have slow gate times too. What ever it is...sounds dope.
i THINK HE WAS REFFERING TO making the verses different in bars instead of 16 bars every time....changing time signatures is another thing which he probably does as well,but for the beginner i wouldnt even think about anything besides..8bar intro 16bar verse and 8 bar hook...thats enough, might as well as concentrate on mastering the basics first...you got that doberman...(pops in my medication)
learning how to layer sounds to make shit thicker..like a jazz guitar over a bass...etc,etc, or how different sounds compliment or contrast.
I rarely have anything in my head when i have a beat and being I have no talent at reproducing a sound i want in my head ( I can but not efficiently) I just hit some keys until the melody or whatever im doing sounds good...process of elimination....of course who am I?...nobody but thats how i duz it..
 
Apr 26, 2006
4,496
3
0
38
#8
50cal said:
I rarely have anything in my head when i have a beat and being I have no talent at reproducing a sound i want in my head ( I can but not efficiently) I just hit some keys until the melody or whatever im doing sounds good...process of elimination....of course who am I?...nobody but thats how i duz it..

That's exactly how I do it as well. Nothing wrong with that method though. Only thing is, since I use that method A LOT, it's tough for me to play shit that I have in my head. Not that I can't, I just find it a bit harder to do. I find it hard to try to listen to your head and listen to what's coming out of the speakers at the same time. For me it creates a conflict, slows me down or something. Sometimes I mute the sound coming out of my speakers and just play the keys silently so I can listen to my head better, haha, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So most of the shit I do is created on the fly. I kind of like it better that way. Just fiddle on the keys till you come up with some shit you like. Sometimes you just gotta hit that record button and just jam till you find something you like. Sometimes you might come up with more than one or two, three things you like, and if that happens just save it for other beats. That's the good thing about midi editing.
 
Jun 2, 2002
4,244
34
0
38
www.myspace.com
#9
I normally just fuck around on my acoustic guitar, or on my piano until I get a melody I like. Then I go lay it down, add skeleton drums, lay down a bass, etc.

Theres no best way to do it, you either start with drums (keeping a melody or idea in mind) or you start with a melody.

Shit is basic.

The real challenge is how far can you take your idea and surpass your original expectations?

Peace.
 
Apr 26, 2006
4,496
3
0
38
#11
I usually start off by trying to find the tempo/timing, so I lay down some hi-hats & snare/clap to get an idea like a metronome, then usually a bassline or other non-bass melody. There's really no proper way to do it though, as sometimes I start off with the main melody or bassline as well, then lay the drums after.


But like Mr. Samos said, I usually do the same, I usually start off with a Piano patch or Guitar patch when trying to come up with melodies. Sounds like he uses a REAL guitar to come up with melodies, if you can do that, do that as well.

There's really no formula to follow. It all depends on your style and what's more effecient for you. Like one of my homies loves to pretty much always start off by coming up with basslines, so that's his thing. I personally do it in different ways. So if my homie was to have a formula for his shit, it would be bassline 1st, perhaps drums next, etc...etc...

I guess you can try to come up with a formula of sounds to follow by. So you can have beats that have simliar sounds in them. Might sound repetitive, but I think it's a way to try to establish your OWN sound and identity. As I personally strive to use the piano, guitar, E.Bass, strings most of the time in my beats. I guess it's the same thing as a rock band using their favorite guitars, favorite drum sets, ... Like a mariachi group using their trumpets, guitars, violins, accordians, etc... The thing is though with Rap, your sounds can be so diverse, these days they range from piano to techno sounds, so who the fuck knows. So I guess Rap doesn't really have any correct sounds to follow by, I personally just like using a lot of piano and guitar especially so that's kind of the formula I've been sticking to.