BONUS MATERIAL
Web Examples: Hear audio clips of drum tracks processed with effects

In my two previous columns (“Arranging Drum Parts” in the April/May 2007 issue of MET and “Arranging Drum Parts II” in the September/October issue), I discussed several techniques for creating interesting drum and percussion tracks. These techniques included thinning out drum tracks, detuning drum and percussion sounds, and layering.

In this column, I'll describe several effects that can be used to enhance your students' drum tracks. As before, these techniques will work with many contemporary musical styles and can be used by students with minimal performance skills.

FIG. 1: This screen shot from Propellerhead Reason shows the Redrum drum module in the middle portion of the screen. Drum sounds 4, 5, and 6 are assigned to tambourine, triangle, and bell tree. The controls highlighted in green determine how much reverb is added to each sound. The RV7000 reverberation module above the Redrum module is displaying the long reverberation time that produced the effect heard in Web Example 5.

Although EQ (equalization) is normally used to correct tonal imbalances in a track, it can also be used to create several different sonic effects. Web Example 1 begins with two measures of a basic drum-kit pattern. In measures 3 and 4, the low frequencies are attenuated, giving the track a lighter, more buoyant sound and making it easier to hear the bass.

In measures 5 and 6, the low end has been restored and the high end is attenuated. This produces a dark, muffled sound, as if the drummer was playing under a blanket, and makes it easier to hear the stereo delays on the bright synth sound.

In measures 7 and 8, both the highs and the lows have been attenuated, leaving only the middle frequencies. This makes it sound as if the drum track is being played through a megaphone. All of these filtering effects are great ways to inject some sonic variety in a mix without losing the track's rhythmic feel.

Applying a small amount of chorus is an easy way to add some thickness and animation to a drum track. In Web Example 2, the drums begin with no chorusing. The chorus effect is added in measure 3. You can hear how the effect animates and smears the drum sounds, especially the cymbals.

The tunneling effect of flanging can be used to add some sonic spice to a specific pattern or fill. In Web Example 3, you can hear the flanging effect added to the drum kit. The effect is increased during the drum fills in measures 4 and 8.

Tempo-synchronized delay can be used to create rhythmic subdivisions of the beat. In Web Example 4, delay is added to the entire drum track starting at measure 5. You can hear how this double-time effect changes the feel of the music. If each sound in your drum kit is on its own channel, you can add various amounts of delay to different drum sounds.

Adding reverb to a drum track creates a sense of space that can be very subtle, very pronounced, or anything in between. In Web Example 5, listen to the kit as well as the tambourine, triangle, and bell tree. In measure 6, a large amount of reverb (simulating a huge acoustic space) is added to the tambourine, triangle, and bell tree. Notice how these instruments shimmer much longer and create a much larger sense of space. Fig. 1 shows how the reverb can be added to specific sounds in the drum kit.

Although distortion usually doesn't come to mind when thinking about effects for drums, it can be used to give the drum track a rough, edgy, lo-fi sound. Distortion is added to the drum track in measure 5 of Web Example 6. You can hear how this makes the sound more coarse. Again, if each drum sound is on its own channel, you can add different amounts of distortion to each one. In most cases, distortion sounds better on bass drums, snares, and toms than on cymbals and high-pitched percussion instruments such as shakers and tambourines.

When you demonstrate these effects to your students, be sure to explain the most important parameters of each effect. Also, show the students how to change the effect settings in a song using automation or snapshots of the settings at specific locations in the song. If you are using a loop-based program with younger students, you can create a new track with the effects configured as desired and simply drop the drum loop into the new track whenever you want the effect.

As an exercise, you might ask students to add different effects at different points in a song. When your students learn to recognize the effects and to integrate them into their drum tracks, they will be in a much better position to create more interesting music.

Don Muro (www.donmuro.com) is a member of the NYSSMA Technology Committee and the TI:ME Board of Directors.

BONUS MATERIAL
Web Examples: Hear audio clips of drum tracks processed with effects