Introduction to MIDI Sequencing with Cubase SX

Section 16 - Revisiting the Drums

Briefing

You made the drum parts by creating a two bar sequence, which is played continuously during the whole song. For some songs, this is a perfectly reasonable thing to do; however, you might like to create a bit more variety in the drum track.

There are three things you could try:


Step 1 - Adding Crash Cymbals

Drummers often use a crash cymbal as "punctuation" to highlight the phrases of each verse and chorus. Usually, a cymbal crash signals the start of a new phrase, which is often the start of a new line of the lyrics. Cymbal crashes invariably appear on the first beat of a bar.

What To Do

Follow these steps. Put a tick next to each one as you finish it:


Step 2 - Adding Ride Cymbals

Ride cymbals and bells sound best when played repeatedly on all the beats of the bar. They are particularly effective when played for a complete phrase of the music.

In this section you must add two lots of ride cymbals to the chorus, for the second and fourth phrases

What To Do

Follow these steps. Put a tick next to each one as you finish it:


Step 3 - Removing the Closed Hi Hats

Sometimes less is more! Removing a sound from the mix can be quite an easy and effective way of changing the overall sound of the song. If you remove the Closed Hi Hat strokes for a phrase this will have the effect of emphasizing the Open Hi Hat strokes, allowing them to sound until they naturally die away.

By the time you've done this, the drums for the chorus will look like this:

What To Do

Follow these steps. Put a tick next to each one as you finish it:


Step 4 - Experimenting on Your Own

Here are a few things you could try to liven up the drum parts...

There is no law that says that each repeat of the verse (or the chorus) has to be identical.. Try creating multiple non-ghost copies of the drum parts and experimenting with various changes as the song progresses.


Producing effective and realistic drum tracks is very time consuming, but there's no doubt that the effort is well worthwhile.


Return to main page