[keithb]

"How to Write Original Drum Tracks"
http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_mak...rum_tracks.htm

"The Theory of Drum Programming"
http://www.alandmoore.com/ramblings/...TheoryOfDP.htm

These two have helped me a lot, although I still really suck at drum programming. Anyone have any others?

[smueske]

This may or may not be off-topic as I've been programming drums for awhile now, but when I first started programming drums I found it helpful to buy a few books on drum rudiments and then actually practice those rudiments with the drum sampler. When you practice and record those rudiments you start to notice patterns and it makes it a lot easier to program fills, etc.

The biggest factors I've found in drum programming are these:

1.) velocity. you don't need 5,000 variations on drum hits, but you do need a pad with at least 8 layers of samples. when you program the beats, fills etc. it helps to play the parts and then edit them to time (missed beats etc). I find it preferrable to physically move the notes rather than quantize.

2.) Note duration. This is critical as well. The longer the sample triggers, the more authentic the sound. There are exceptions, of course (hi-hats, chokes, etc) -- this just takes a bit of messing around

3.) having right hand and left hand pads. It's preferrable to have a slightly different sound for each, but even if it's just a copy, it helps to have one pad for each hand. This allows you to draw the durations out longer while composing fills and double bass lines

4.) a sampler that supports multiple ports. this is essential because it allows you to place different drums on different tracks

5.) Compose with "landmarks" in mind. that is, what in the song needs to be accented? this will help when you are composing a beat.

6.) write the drum track in a simple stereo, main out format until the song is composed. that is, don't start fucking with post-processing until you need to. adding compression, reverb, etc. only bogs down the CPU.