Master Percussion for Music Composition

Name: Master Percussion for Music Composition
Rating: 4.6 (92 reviews)

How to Master your Complete Percussion Mix

Highest Rated

Created byMikael Baggström

Last updated 9/2025

English

What you'll learn

How to write Powerful Percussion in Your Music Composition
How to shape the Style & Mood & Energy with Percussion
Master the Sounds of Percussion

Course content

4 sections • 27 lectures • 2h 32m total length

Introduction1:34
Learn to create powerful percussion that adds drive, energy, and action to your music, write and perform, and master the sound palette and design of percussion for any style.
The Foundations of Percussion3:10
Define percussion as sounds produced by hitting objects, including unpitched and tuned variants. Explore how percussion adds rhythm, energy, accents, and tonal variation through drums, glockenspiel, marimba, and tubular bells.
ACTION - Active Listening2:30
Listen to real live percussion examples and practice active listening by analyzing how percussion parts, dynamics, layering, and energy interact with other instruments to shape the music.

The Sounds of Percussion0:27
Explore the full range of percussion sounds to master them and build your own complete percussion palette for any new music composition you start.
1 - Acoustic Drum Kit4:27
2 - Electronic Drum Kit5:03
Explore electronic drum kits, their general MIDI mapping, and how 909 and 808 foundations shape club and hip hop sounds, with vintage to modern sampler variations.
3 - Organic Percussion3:42
4 - Cinematic Percussion6:50
Master cinematic percussion by exploring bass drums, taiko, timpani, toms, snares, cymbals, and gongs. Discover tuned percussion, sticks, chimes, and shakers to shape orchestral scores.
5 - Tuned Percussion5:51
6 - Foley Percussion7:01
Record real objects to create sound effects that fit on screen, then import, label, and polish with sound design to craft a unique fully percussion sound.
7 - Sound Design Hits3:56
ACTION - Master the Sounds1:34
Practice a wide range of percussion sounds using samples, plugins, or loops across acoustic, electronic, organic, cinematic, tuned, foamy percussion, and sound design hits, and craft eight-bar sections.

The Colors of Percussion0:47
Explore the colors of percussion by mastering articulations and hit types, shaping range and tone, and designing your percussion palette for any music composition.
1 - The Articulations12:06
Explore how percussion articulations shape sound through hit force and velocity, hit location like center, edge, and rim, and techniques like ghost notes, flam, drag, rolls, and choking.
2 - The Range9:27
Explore how to fill the full frequency spectrum in percussion by identifying sub, low, mid, and high ranges, tuning kicks, layering sounds, and arranging a complete percussion palette.
3 - The Sound Design7:54
ACTION - Design your Color Palette1:10
Design a complete percussion palette from an empty canvas by mixing diverse sounds to create hybrid textures and master the colors of percussion for your music compositions.

Master your Performance1:16
Master your percussion performances by building a palette and shaping the colors of your sounds, then use a three-step workflow with examples to harmonize with instruments for somber mood.
1 - Straight & Simple9:39
Master percussion fundamentals through a straight and simple four-to-the-floor groove, using kick and snare/claps, driving hi-hats and club-ready electronic drums for uplifting EDM and motivational tracks.
2 - Groove in the Beat9:39
Learn to craft groove in the beat by varying rhythm beyond the straight grid, applying groove to percussion across hip hop, indie, and cinematic styles.
3 - Action & Energy9:36
4 - Power & Strength10:38
Guide 1 - Write the Elements8:14
Learn two approaches to writing percussion parts: assign roles (main beat, extra drive, fills, transitions, accents), or organize by low-to-high frequency ranges with fills and effects.
Guide 2 - Add Amazing Expression10:06
Discover five actionable techniques to add expression to percussion: rhythmic and color variation, dynamic rotation, timing variation, and intensity variation, then practice applying them to build expressive performances.
Guide 3 - Mixing the Colors of Music13:17
Mix your percussion within the colors of music—rhythm, harmony, and melody—ensuring the full percussion part dances with other rhythms, accents, and chord changes across the composition.
Your Final Project1:54
Congratulations0:24

Requirements

You need to have Music Composition & Production experience
You need to have a DAW and software instruments and samples (especially drums & percussion)

Description

Learn how to Master Percussion in Music Composition

Hello and Welcome, all Music Composers & Producers! My name is Mike, and I will now teach you how to create powerful percussion. So that you can add that amazing drive, energy and action into your music compositions.

Get a Complete Guide of Percussion

Create the Sound Palette of Percussion
Design the Colors of Percussion
Dominate the Canvas of Percussion
Master the Performance of Your Percussion Mix

It doesn’t matter what kind of drums and percussion instruments you use in your drum mix. You need the individual parts to be able to cover the full range of the frequency spectrum together.

Think of the classic drum kit when you create your percussion group in your DAW, and add the individual parts into the percussion section.

You need to cover the lows, the mids and the highs. And don’t be afraid of layering, and having several types of percussion per range.

In the end, you will be able to write, perform and design any style of percussion in your music compositions.

My name is Mike, music composer and sound designer since 1998. And I truly love to inspire, motivate and educate creative people like you.

Take Action Now!

Now it is time for you to take action, and dive into the world of powerful percussion for music composition. Let's do this...right now!

Who this course is for:

If you want to Master the Percussion Parts in your music, then this course is for you.
If you want to Shape the Style, Mood & Energy with your Percussion Mix, this course is for you.

Master Percussion for Music Composition

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

The Foundations of Percussion3 lectures • 7min

Master the Sounds9 lectures • 39min

Master the Colors5 lectures • 31min

Master the Performance10 lectures • 1hr 15min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: