Arranging Drum Parts III

In my two previous columns ("Arranging Drum Parts" in the April/May2007 issue of MET and "Arranging Drum Parts II" in the September/October issue), I discussed several techniques for creating interestingdrum and percussion tracks. These techniques included thinning outdrum tracks, detuning drum and percussion sounds, and layering.

In this column. Til describe several effects that can be used to enhanceyour students' drum tracks. As before, these techniques will work withmany contemporary musical styles and can be used by students withminimal performance skills.

Although EQ (equalization) is normally used tocorrect tonal imbalances in a track, it can also beused to create several different sonic effects. WfihExample 1 C3 begins with two measures of a basicdrum-kit pattern. In measures 3 and 4, the low fre-quencies are attenuated, giving the track a lighter,more buoyant sound and making it easier to hearthe bass.

In measures 5 and 6, the low end has been restoredand the high end is attenuated. This produces a dark,muffled sound, as if the drummer was playing under ablanket, and makes it easier to hear the stereo delayson the bright synth sound.

In measures 7 and 8, both the highs and the lowshave been attenuated, leaving only the middle frequen-cies. This makes it sound as if the drum track is beingplayed through a megaphone. All of these filteringeffects are great ways to inject some sonic variety in amix without losing the track's rhythmic feel.

CHORUS

Applying a small amount of chorus is an easy way toadd some thickness and animation to a drum track.In Web Example 2 ^ , the drums begin with no chorusing.The chorus effect is added in measure 3. You can hearhow the effect animates and smears the drum sounds,especially the cymbals.

i-iighiigint your drum

traci<s witin these

simpie effects.

f\6.1: This screen shot from Propellerhead Reason shows the Redrum drum module in the middleportion of the screen. Drum sounds 4, 5, and 6 are assigned fo tambourine, triangle, and beltfree. Hie controls highligfifed in green determine how much revetb is added \a each sound. TheRV7000 reverberafion module above fhe Redrum module is displaying tbe iong reverberation fimefhat produced the effect heard in Web Example 5.

MUSIC EOUCATIDN TECHNOIOGY • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007www,metmagazlnB.coni

FLANGING

The tunneling effect of flanging can beused to add some sonic spice to a spe-cific pattern or fill. In Web Example 3 ^%you can bear tbe flanging effect addedto the drum kit. Tbe effect is increasedduring the drum fills in measures 4and 8.

DELAY

Tempo-synchronized delay can beused to create rhythmic subdivisionsof tbe beat. In Web Example 4 Z.^, delay isadded to the entire drum track startingat measure 5. You can hear how thisdouble-time effect changes tbe feel oftbe music. If eacb sound in your drumkit is on its own cbannel, you can addvarious amounts of delay to differentdrum sounds.

REVERB

Adding reverb to a drum track cre-ates a sense of space that can be verysubtle, very pronounced, or anythingin between. In Web Example 5 ^ , listen to

the kit as well as the tambourine, trian-gle, and bell tree. In measure 6, a largeamount of reverb (simulating a hugeacoustic space) is added tn the tambou-rine, triangle, and bell tree. Notice howthese instruments shimmer much longerand create a much larger sense of space.Ro. 1 shows how the reverb can be addedto specific sounds in the drum kit.

DISTORTION

Although distortion usually doesn'tcome to mind when thinking abouteffects for drums, it can be used togive the drum track a rough, edgy, lo-fisound. Distortion is added to the drumtrack in measure 5 of Web Example 6 CS.You can hear bow this makes the soundmore coarse. Again, if each drum soundis on its own channel, you can add dif-ferent amounts of distortion to eachone. In most cases, distortion soundsbetter on bass drums, snares, and tomsthan on cymbals and higb-pitched per-cussion instruments such as shakers andtambourines.

When you demonstrate these effectsto your students, be sure to explainche most important parameters of eacheffect. Also, show the students bowto change the effect settings in a songusing automation or snapshots of thesettings at specific locations in the song.If you are using a loop-based programwith younger students, you can create anew track with the effects configured asdesired and simply drop the drum loopinto the new track whenever you wantthe effect.

As an exercise, you might ask stu-dents to add different effects at dif-ferent points in a song. When yourstudents learn to recognize the effectsand to integrate them into their drumtracks, they will be in a much betterposition to create more interestingmusic.

Don Muro (www.donmuro.com) is amember of the NYSSMA TechnologyCommittee and the T1:ME Board ofDirectors.

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