How to Pick a Drum Machine Rhythm

Mention drum machines to the average music listener, and their eyes tend to roll--aren't such devices left up to techno merchants, or disco dance mavens? In reality, drum machines are used more often and unobtrusively than meets the ear. The trick lies in maximizing the drum machine's capabilities, and that starts with the rhythm.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Drum machine
• Four- or eight-track recorder
• Knowledge of time signatures
• Programming manual
• Recordings that use drum machines
• Sense of rhythm and groove

AMPING UP THE RHYTHM

1. Know what your drum machine can and cannot do--not only in the technical sense, but from an aesthetic viewpoint, too. A cheesy sound works to great effect, as shown by a classic '80s pop track like Trio's "Da Da Da I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha." If you're creating the soundtrack for an urban nightmare, the harsher, metallic textures of a Dr. Rhythm might be more appropriate. Learn to appreciate the difference.

2. Consider the atmosphere and mood of the track you're creating, followed by the tempo and feel you'll need to pull it off. A driving 4/4 rock tempo--where every phrase, or "bar" of music, has four beats to count off--makes fewer demands on the listener's attention than a syncopated reggae or ska beat, in which the accents don't follow that script.

3. Make the appropriate choice from your drum machine's banks of preprogrammed rhythmic settings (or "presets"), and adjust the tempo up or down as you see fit. Don't just hit the presets, though, and leave it there--experiment heavily within those settings' confines. Punch in different rhythms every four, eight, 12 or 16 beats to create different textures, or a sense of tension (as on Joy Division's "Isolation," for example, when a regular drumkit kicks in behind the drum machine pulse that the song is built around).

4. Get a four- or eight-track recorder, and learn to use it with your drum machine--nothing beats putting instruments on separate tracks to get a grip on your song's arrangement. Listen intently for how the different parts of your song work together, particularly on the rhythmic side--don't be afraid to adjust the tempo up or down, depending on what you hear.

5. Play back what you record, and evaluate how it stacks up with your favorite music--the more diverse your collection, the faster you'll pick up on production tricks or sounds that can benefit your own material.

Tips & Warnings

• As the cliche goes: "The first rule is, there are no rules." Break up preset rhythm tracks with percussive textures--like claves, or cowbells--and don't be afraid to try different things. For example, it's a well-known fact that funkmaster Sly Stone would have the drum tracks recorded last, after everything else had been laid down.
• Refrain from filling up every empty space--sometimes, less is more. There's nothing like an overly busy rhythm track to kill the groove, which is an art unto itself.
• If you learn nothing else, remember that the song is king--there's no point in hitting every preset button on your drum machine to show off what that particular function can do.
• Realize one thing from the get-go: not all drum machines are created equal, which will influence how your own recorded output turns out. That cheesier '80s-sounding tone may not be just what the doctor ordered for the particular song that you're recording.

Resources

• http://members.aol.com/uniquenyc/key15.htm