I have decided to use these drums instruments as they fit the vibe of the 90’s/modern feel that I want for the track. the instruments on the top are more of the modern ones and sounding more like “trap” instruments and you’ll hear these more in modern rap songs.
The instruments on the bottom down are the main part of the song with more of the 90’s vibe to it. With the pattern I have used it creates a 90′ type of drum beat with the same flow as ones that groups used like “Mobb Deep” with their simple yet effective production methods.
This is the drum pattern that plays mostly throughout the song. Very simple with the instrumentation but effective with the sound and the placements of the instruments. There is a kick, two snares and a hi-hat which primarily plays throughout the beat.
There is 1 hit for every 4 notes in the 64 note drum grid. I did this because I sins want to fill the beat with hi-hats and overwhelm the other instruments I placed the kick drums where it would create a simple base for the drums beat as a whole.I places the snakes primarily on the 5th note in the 16 note grids within the drum beat. I also added another snare on the 8th note to add a bit of variation with the placement of the instruments.
This is the melody that plays throughout the song.
I increased the gain and added warp markers to make it so the sample fits the bpm of the beat and flows well.I also lowered the beat by 2 semitones as I thought that it was a bit too high for the vibe I was going for. This gives me room to add a counter melody that could be in a higher pitch. I added some reverb to it as it was sounding too dry.
EVALUATIION
At this point in the track the sample was added and it fit the beat very well. It sounded a bit repetitive however so I hd the idea to chop it up in sections. This improves it as I had some freedom to edit it more for example, I reversed some parts of the sample, filtered it out, added some reverb.
These are some of the effects I have used for the melody sample. I added a vinyl effect for the first part of the beat as it can create that old-school feel to it that I was going for. I also added an auto filter and filtered the sample slightly so it sounds more “in the background” and isn’t too overpowering over the drums. I also filtered it slightly more in the last drum switch up as it fits the vibe of that section of the track more.
I also added a channel EQ to cut out some of the high end on the sample as it was quite noticeable when listening back. I added some reverb to the sample as it sounded quite dry and sounded too ‘noticeable’ as a section of the track. I added the reverb to push it back more into the background but not too much that you can’t still hear it. I added a Glue Compressor which makes the kick drum sound more hard hitting I did this by ‘gluing’ it to the drum pattern and overall improves the quality f both the melody sample and the drum pattern.
In the switch up in the beat I chopped up the sample. I reversed sections of the sample and pitched some sections up and down. I did this to break down the beat a bit and to add some variety to the switch up as throughout the song it has been the same melody for the most part. I also cut the sample in some places to add some “in and out” effects of the beat. I also panned some of the sample left and right to give it some variation in the headphones.
EVALUATIION
I chopped up the sample and altered the pitch of some parts of it to match the drums of that section of the track. I also added some fade ins/outs and also some reverb to the different sections. It sounds better than just the sample with no editing to it. Some sections that are chopped up match the drums and other samples very well.
I added some base to company the beat as the melody and the drums don’t have much base. The base flow I have chosen gives accompanies the drums and sample well. I had to take a bit of time with the base as I needed it to be the same notes as the sample as it doesn’t sound “off” to peoples ears.
This is the drum beat for the beat switch up. I have used a different snare as well as some new hi-hats. I have also used an 808 sub base to accompany the kick drums to give it a “boom”feel to it, especially on the beat drops. I have chosen to use this pattern as well as hi-hat triplets because it is such a juxtaposition from the 90’s beat that was played mainly throughout the track.
EVALUATIION
This is the third drum pattern for the last section of the track. I have added a new kick drum, open/closed hi-hat, two snares and have also switched up the pattern to creat a different atmosphere. I wanted a more ‘ relaxed flow for the last portion of the track. I chose a kick with a lower sub frequency which gave the drum beat a bit more room. I also added hi hat triplets more frequently to give some variety and make it more enjoyable for the listener. The way the kick drum hits matches [erfectly with the vibe I was going for with that section. It sounds very dark but also chill in the headphones and also speakers.
I made some changes to the melody sample for the last beat switch up. I chopped up a section of it with some vocals and reversed it and added some reverb. Tis works really well with the vibe I’m going for as it sit too ‘hard hitting’. I also pitched it down to -4 semi-tones which switches up as to goes into the drum beat. This also adds variety and switches it u from the usual melody pattern that is in the rest of the track.
I added some crash effects throughout the track to build up the beat drops or transitions. I reversed them and lowered the volume and also lowered the higher end out of them.
As of Tuesday 7th March this Is how the drum beat of the track is set out. throughout the track I have cut the drums and also added/took away more and more to add variety. The first half of the track is the “90’s” drums whereas the second half takes a modern “trap” turn with newer sounding instruments within the drum pattern. I have tried not to use a consistent hi-hat pattern as that is what I do for a lot of previous work and I wanted to experiment with different ways to switch up my production skills.
8th March bounce down of the bea.
EVALUATIION
- 14th March – This is the layout of the track so far in production. I have cut some of the drum pattern and the melody sample. I have also extended the beat switch ups.
- I have decreased the Transpose on the drum instruments for the last few drum sections as it matches with the vibe for the melody in the last sections. This makes the drums sound ‘dark’ and it brings out the bass and the attack especially with the main kick drum when that comes in.
This drum pattern is different to what I usually use as for example the snare is on the note just before the start of next bar. I added another kick to the beat to kind of set up the bigger deeper kick that also effects the flow of the melody using a glue compressor. This makes the kicks stand out more over the melody and so the melody doesn’t overpower the drums.
I chopped up and reversed some parts of the sample and decreased the semitones to add to the dark drums and create a different dark vibe for the last part of the track. This creates a dark chill atmosphere to add to the drum switch up.
27th March – The instrumental is finished.
I added these two effects to the outro. I added “Duel Pitch” to increase the pitch of it as it finishes to add a bit of variation. This also just sounds good in the ear and is a good effect for an outro.
I added “Chorus Echo” to make it sound “big” in the headphones and also extends the ending of it for a few seconds as it fades out and its not just an abrupt stop.