New to producing, need some advice

[xDisarmed]

So I just got into producing EDM, been doing Death Metal and Hardcore for years now but the transition is quite difficult. What I'm having a lot of trouble with is kick, snare, hi-hat placement/automation (step recording) and song structure in general. I actually have bass lines/wobbles down, but the drums are throwing me off. Can anyone help me out? I'm using Logic 9.

[Teknicyde]

So I just got into producing EDM, been doing Death Metal and Hardcore for years now but the transition is quite difficult. What I'm having a lot of trouble with is kick, snare, hi-hat placement/automation (step recording) and song structure in general. I actually have bass lines/wobbles down, but the drums are throwing me off. Can anyone help me out? I'm using Logic 9.

You didnt really ask a question man, what is wrong with your drums?

[Turnipish_Thoughts]

In dubstep drum programming the emphasis is almost always on the snare. The snare pretty much always falls on down beats 3 and 7 of an 8 bar loop. If you think of a basic rock drum rhythm. You'll have a kick > snare relationship on the downbeat (1 - kick) and the back beat (2 - snare) repeating. Dubstep has the Snare offset to the downbeat and the kick would be syncopated in a variety of different ways to create the groove.

Its pretty important to have a kick on the first downbeat of a measure/motive and the snares always falling on beats 3 and 7, the snare is the most important functional element of dubstep beats as it retains the rhythm around which the rest of the drum pattern syncopates.

Other than those rules, you have a lot of room to play about with different kick/snare timings to create a strong groove, try and think of it as a call and response relationship between the kick and snare (much the same as rock) but the syncopation creates a more shuffled groove.

The other really important functional element of the beat are the hats/shakers. The hats create a sense of motion/fluidity around the main accent of the kick snare rhythm and also provide a lot of the swing/sway. Hats are often set to a triplet time scale in relation to the standard 4/4 of the other functional elements.

A good idea is to picture how a drummer plays a drum kit and program the beat around what could be realistically possible to a drummer. Even though it is electronic music, we are still culturally bound by the pre-concieved expectations of a drum pattern in the western world, hearing 7 different drums being hit at the same time and in impossibly unusual and intricate patterns will always sound off to us, so remember that constraint.

The Kick, snare and hats/shakers are known as 'functional elements' because the perform a primary function of setting out the beat and groove of the rhythm, it is usually a good idea to stick with using quite classically sounding samples for these elements, as in realistic sounding kicks/snares/hats e.t.c. of course the concept can be extended realistically within the specific nature of what the certain deviations of how these elements sound within Dubstep, but nothing over the top is the point.

The trick in adding flavour, style and uniqueness to a drum pattern is by supporting/augmenting the main functional rhythm with 'flavored' elements. This is where you can be a lot more experimental with the types of sounds you use, Reversing samples, using ethnic/regional samples to add an exotic flavour (bongos e.t.c.), all manner of different percussion type samples can be used, even electronic zaps, quick a punch samples of things... you name it.

The important rule to understand is to first get the main functional groove fleshed out in a pretty classical and structured manner, then add flare to that framework through augmentation of flavoured timbres and sounds, swapping out elements of the functional rhythm with flavoured elements if/when required.

The whole structure of the beat should follow a pretty defined 'call and response' pattern. Using the basic 4/4 time signiture, have the first measure however you want it, then copy it over and change one or two small elements, this will 'respond' to the 'call' of the first measure. Copy that entire thing over and change measure (3) and (4) to call/respond in a slightly different way to the first phrase. Less is more here, and subtlety is key.

At the end of each 16 (4th measure) have a drum 'break' to notify the listener of the end of a musical phrase and the beginning of a new one, this just sounds right to us, don't ask me why. A drum break, as I'm sure you know consists of a short, quick and often more complex rhythm alteration to add variation to the tune.

As well as this Remember the over all composition, bring in/take out different percussion elements throughout the track as an aid in movement. Bringing in a crash symbol on the down beat 8ths for a few measures after a drop adds a lot of 'shimmer' and weight to the top end in keeping with the low end appearance of the bass, spreading the overall frequency spectrum which causes the listener to experience the tune as literally coming to life around them. Alternatively, cutting the highs, some of the kicks and one of the snares in each 8 bar loop at a breakdown increases the feeling of the tune slowing down, cutting the highs from 16ths to 8ths, or 8ths to quarters e.t.c. has the same effect.

Really try and think in to all of this and practice making loops for no particular reason than hard-wiring your creativity with these kinds of fundamentals and you should begin to find drum programming becomes a lot more natural.

good luck

[blinx]

^^^^You got a pretty well written answer and no trolls around to rain on your day yet.

Comimg from hardcore/metal you can always play with triplet fills on your kick drums too... you may get tagged as being "skrillexy" but gotta love some kick drum triplets then half time breakdown smashing ride/crash/chinas all day long lol hardcore breakdowns chug chug chug sqeeal!!! lol

[victor w]

I feel like people don't give themselves enough time to try, fail, try again and learn from what they're doing when it comes to producing. Just spend time with it, it'll come. The best way to get better at making electronic music is by listening to it! It may feel like youre at a wall, but a month from now you'll have a clear image of everything you're doing wrong atm. It's supposed to feel that way Youre supposed to get stuck, and youre supposed to feel like something's impossible at times

[xDisarmed]

Thanks for the responses guys. I read them but just never responded a month ago rofl.