Drum Programming Masterclass, Part 3: Advanced Programming

Learn how to find a beat that fits any track by shaping drums around a chord progression and bass line, exploring build-ups in drum programming and bass-focused thinking.

Latch onto the bassline groove to drive your drum arrangement, aligning kick on quarter notes, snare, and eighth-note hi hats to shape a tight two-bar groove.

Experiment with layering grooves that use different swings on separate layers to create contrasting feels, from straight to highly swung, sometimes at half-time, for cool results.

Learn how side chaining uses a compressor to let the kick shape a pad, creating cohesion between drums, pad, and bass for a more dynamic track.

Experiment by isolating a snare hit and applying stadium reverb and delay through track duplication, then shape movement with auto filter while preserving timing.

Experiment with alternative beats to alter the track’s feel, muting swing and main beats while testing bass echo, distortion, and build-ups to shape a cohesive vibe.

Hip hop drum basics break down into a straight, simple beat, with kicks on 1 and 3 and snares on 2 and 4, using a 909 drum kit.

Analyze the nuthin' but a g thang beat, a basic hip-hop groove with halftime feel, focusing on kick and snare placement and sample replacement.

Isolate the kick-driven beat from Lose Yourself, align every element on the grid, and build four-bar loops with kicks, hi-hats, and snares to stay in the pocket—no swing.

Analyze hip hop beat from Skeleton Key by Dessa and build drum track with a drum rack, focusing on kicks, snares, ghost notes, and hi-hats locked to the grid.

Master transitions by building to a breath before the drop, using a rising snare to create a dramatic ramp and a two note lead in, then explore the subtracting concept.

Use subtract before you add to create dramatic drum transitions by pulling the beat back before pushing it forward, then drop in with a big breath and renewed energy.

Create high-energy drum transitions by crafting a four-bar beat, building a drop, applying subtraction to create breath, and ramping hats, snares, and claps for dynamic fills.

Explore subtle drum fills in a four-bar loop to transition between sections, using minor snare hits and open hi-hat to push the groove forward without interrupting the beat.

Explores footwork, a Chicago-originated genre marked by syncopated three-count rhythms, detailing a typical 16th-note pattern, clap on four, varied hi-hats, and open/closed choke settings.

Analyze a Boland highlife track by isolating kicks, snare variants, and hi-hat patterns. Replicate the groove while navigating tempo warping and syncopation in Ableton.

Analyze footwork patterns and dotted rhythms that resolve into a four-on-the-floor groove. Experiment with kick, toms, snare/clap, and hi-hats, adjust velocities, and explore pitch in the drums using Ableton.

Learn to tune a kick drum by adjusting transposition to shape its tone and achieve the thump. Transposition alters tone, not just pitch, helping dial in the perfect kick sound.

Learn melodic percussion techniques using toms and claps, create life with pitch bends and envelopes, explore relative pitch in Ableton to flavor repeated notes.

Nudge your kicks infinitesimally to the right to prevent simultaneous hits with the bass, avoiding low-frequency clashes and improving the mix.

Learn how drums span the full frequency spectrum and why balance across lows, mids, and highs matters in mix, using spectrum analysis to prevent clashing with vocals and other elements.

Analyze classic funk rhythms from Cissy Strut and recreate behind-the-beat feel with electronic sounds, adjusting kick, snare, and hi-hat patterns, then compare quantized versus human feel.

Analyze a James Brown funk groove inspired by Clyde Stubblefield, focusing on ghosted snare notes, rim clicks, and a tight open hi-hat with kick in a straight, non-swing drum pattern.

Explore Prince's funky groove with an offbeat snare placed on the end of two, showing how unconventional rhythm can still deliver a slick, cool groove.

Analyze the amen break and its famous riff, and explore how the break drives drum programming with double kicks, stutters, and looping samples across electronic music and turntablism.

Master the amen break in drum programming with advanced programming techniques highlighted by the course title.

Discover glitch techniques in drum programming by using plug-ins to glitch, skip, and stutter beats, and compare plugin-based approaches with manual sequencing across breakcore and IDM styles.

Explore fracture by glitch machines, a free plugin with presets that transform a beat and let you automate on/off switching for dynamic glitch effects.

Explore hysteresis, a free glitch delay from glitch machines, with random presets, chaos, and speed warping to craft advanced drum textures across daws.

Master stutter edit by Izotope, a powerful plugin with Beatty and Richard Devine effects. Set up requires audio and midi tracks with midi control, and a demo is available.

Explore upcoming sound design modules and more drum programming classes, with new genres and techniques on the horizon, and a final quick topic to wrap up.

Thank students for their participation and invite questions, promising daily answers and ongoing access to other classes and the student community.