# Help learning drum programming?



## Infamous Impact (Jul 16, 2011)

So I've been writing some songs in TuxGuitar and decided to add in drums. I looked up the notes for writing drums with it and the parts of a drumkit and made up some stuff on it. The tab in the link is basically all I know about drumming, can I get a few pointers on programming drums?

treasonous dance.gp5


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## Winspear (Jul 18, 2011)

I'd love to look at it in GP5 but the drum track opens as a piano and the info is not pastable to a new percussion track. Can you export a MIDI instead?

EDIT: Ignore that, I should've tried playing it back first as it works fine  I'll reply in a moment.


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## Winspear (Jul 18, 2011)

Starting from the back -

The blastbeat is ok. I tend to put the snare on the beat too, as discussed in a thread called 'Blastbeats and note values' which you may want to read. However, if you're going to do that - put the cymbal with the snare.
Either that or delete the first snare so your kick is on the beat with the cymbal.
The fill at the end is fine.

Double bass beat - Fine, but vary it up. Perhaps not a cymbal every bar/different cymbals. Some small fills, snare ghost notes etc. A fill before the blastbeat.

Intro beat -
Now I'm not sure if you intended this to be a beat, or a build up before the main beat comes in. 
If you wanted it as a beat - the lack of a kickdrum makes it really strange. Add the kick and once again vary it up a little (the repeating cymbal pattern gets annoying).

If you wanted it as a filler, it's far too consitant. Listen to As I Am by Dream Theater and look at the tab for a good idea on filler drums. Play around with velocities for snare and cymbal rolls etc, leave more gaps, less patterns


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## Infamous Impact (Jul 18, 2011)

EtherealEntity said:


> Starting from the back -
> 
> The blastbeat is ok. I tend to put the snare on the beat too, as discussed in a thread called 'Blastbeats and note values' which you may want to read. However, if you're going to do that - put the cymbal with the snare.
> Either that or delete the first snare so your kick is on the beat with the cymbal.
> ...


Thanks a ton! I edited up a bit, and while it's not too different, I took your advice and tried varying it up. Also, I had no idea how blast beats worked, I just wrote it by ear. I think I prefer the cymbal on the beat now. I'm not sure how much is good enough, but this is what I have so far.
treasonous dance2.gp5
Also, I'm working on another song, but I'm not sure how to work with 3/4 time on drums. Any tip?
ph3.gp5


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## Winspear (Jul 18, 2011)

Much better! I like it  
I like that you matched up the bass drums to the guitar at bar 27 now. I was going to say before, how I've often found in a mix that the snare doesn't usually sound quite as good with a kick drum at the same time. I avoided saying it though, because it's not unusual at all to hit the kick and snare at the same time on double bass beats like you had before (and now have at bar 33). Constant kicks are pretty normal and usually don't drop out for the snare.
However, now you've changed the kicks to a rhythmic pattern, I'd suggest removing the kick from under the snare on bars 27-32 

3/4 time on drums...well, as with any time signature, the signature doesn't by any means define the rhythm.
If you have any rhythmic sense (which you definitely do), you'll probably know where you feel the accents already. It's just a case of trial and error when you begin to write drums, to realise where it should go.
You've probably got it in your head already and will realise once you tab it down  I think you'll probably want the snare in half time, one every two bars. 123 *1*23 123 *1*23. 
Double time would be every other cymbal hit.


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## Superwoodle (Jul 18, 2011)

If you haven't, in tuxguitar, "View", "Show Matrix" on the percussion track, much easier than just inputting numbers


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## Infamous Impact (Jul 18, 2011)

EtherealEntity said:


> Much better! I like it
> I like that you matched up the bass drums to the guitar at bar 27 now. I was going to say before, how I've often found in a mix that the snare doesn't usually sound quite as good with a kick drum at the same time. I avoided saying it though, because it's not unusual at all to hit the kick and snare at the same time on double bass beats like you had before (and now have at bar 33). Constant kicks are pretty normal and usually don't drop out for the snare.
> However, now you've changed the kicks to a rhythmic pattern, I'd suggest removing the kick from under the snare on bars 27-32
> 
> ...


Thanks a ton Ethereal! I took your advice about removing the kick from the snare on bars 27-32 and it actually sounded better! Also, thanks about the snare placement on 3/4, I'll post some results when I have some time to edit.


Superwoodle said:


> If you haven't, in tuxguitar, "View", "Show Matrix" on the percussion track, much easier than just inputting numbers


I'll try it out


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## Infamous Impact (Jul 18, 2011)

ph3v2.gp5
How are the rolls and kick?


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## Superwoodle (Jul 18, 2011)

I would throw in some more variety.


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## Infamous Impact (Jul 18, 2011)

Superwoodle said:


> I would throw in some more variety.


How so?


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## Superwoodle (Jul 22, 2011)

Like this maybe?ph3v2.gp5


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## Infamous Impact (Jul 30, 2011)

Superwoodle said:


> Like this maybe?ph3v2.gp5


Sorry for the late response, that's pretty helpful though!


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## danieluber1337 (Jul 30, 2011)

I absofruitly cannot imagine myself programming in a program on the outside of my DAW. WAY too much work.

What is your DAW?


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## Infamous Impact (Aug 1, 2011)

danieluber1337 said:


> I absofruitly cannot imagine myself programming in a program on the outside of my DAW. WAY too much work.
> 
> What is your DAW?


Reaper. I have no idea how to program drums in it, unfortunately.


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