It's very complex, difficult, expensive, interesting and fun to be an independent music producer. Volume three covers my attempts to: make acoustic improvements to the studio; cut down my production times; learn the art of mastering in-house ad muc...
I don't have the luxury to hire a session drummer for every track and, to put it bluntly, there are so many details around the time consuming job it is to record and edit drums properly, I have begun to program them manually.
A simple drummer track in Logic Pro is always a good way to start. With the proper bpm in place, it really helps to set the beat in general. Some times it is all I need, but in some cases, however, I don't get the sound or vibe that I have in my head no matter how I try. So I get as close as I can to the right loop and the amount of variation I want and then use the drummer track as a reference when creating a midi drum track.
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I plug in my Novation keyboard and rip off as good a drum track as I can, concentrating on the kicks and the crashes. Later, I quantise them and remove any distracting elements. After that, I add snares, high hats and so on. It is time-consuming but fun.
In order for the drums to not sound like a simple loop I choose to vary the strength of the notes and I always keep in mind how a real drummer would play. The pic above is when I was adjusting things to take away unnatural moments in the midi track (editor window).
2 hands and 2 feet only!
I added the video (on the top) so you can see what I keep in mind - a drummer only has two hands and two feet. Keeping a drum track clean and uncluttered is so important. If the track is supposed to blend well and you are new to this - keep it simple. You can come a long way with a tight kick, a snare and a cymbal now and then.
Today (March 11th 2019) I am creating these drums for the song Now That I Have You. It is a country ballad in 3/4 time. I have a second layer of a cajun I recorded myself that I am not sure I want to use, a tambourine and a shaker. I am trying to get all these to complement each other and they all have to follow the baseline that was created by a professional bassist, Jesper Nordberg. Wish me luck!
Update
The fifth song, Our Father is now in Melbourne being looked over by a professional mastering guru. I hope I don't have to many things I need to fix on that track after I get the feedback tomorrow.... When I submit Now That I Have You and it and Our Father are cleared, then half of the album (Change My Mind) will be ready for mastering! Whoohoo!
I am pretty new to programming drums, so please feel free to share your tips and tricks on how you create great drum tracks in the comments below. Much appreciated! I read all comments! I'd love to hear from you!
That's all for now. Have a great one! Until next time.....
