Message 23/89
Date: 28-Oct-99 @ 06:54 PM -
RE: Drum'N'Bass Area
Yeah, I actually do play most of the stuff I do at 165/170bpm. I've been doing jungle for about 3/4 years now (and playing drums for 20) so I had the chops to start with. Most of the young drummers I come across can't do it though (and sound tight with it anyway). I think its down to a combination of experience and practice (and years of trying to play the jazz ride riff at an extremely fast tempo). Anything faster than 175 though and I lose the precision.
The stuff I do is based on having a live feel to it and isn't quantised to death. So when I play it for the hardcore junglists their first comment is usually "the drums sound weird. They're not quantised" I hope to post an MP3 soon to the site so people can check out our material.
Helpful Hints:
1)Try to play the stuff in half time (ie. 85 BPM) then double time it. Do this via MIDI so when you speed it up you don't change the pitch of the samples (assuming you're using a sampler and then you can control their pitch. I use an s950).
2)Use "Iterative quantise" and not "over quantise" or "note on quantise". This will gradually move your beats into place and not slot them in all at once.
3)Try and play the beats in as much as possible (don't forget you can slow the sequencer down to a tempo you can handle. Record it, put it at the tempo you want and then sample it)
4)Learn the Funk!! Cold Sweat by James Brown is the premier beat to mess around with for jungle. Learn it and then do a version of your own. Proper jungle kicks because it's got the funk, only sped up. (Listen to the original jungle stuff and slow it down by 50%=Funk/Hip Hop).
5) If you write the beats in, don't be afraid to kick the snares forward slightly (turn quantise off is best) to make the groove feel anticipated. Like the drummer is sitting on the beat rather than relaxing with it.
6) Probably "THE" most aspect of getting a live feel is the velocities of the beats. A drummer is constantly hitting things at different velocities (hard and soft).
Randomise your velocities or spend hours doing it by hand (fnarr fnarr). The results will be well worth it.
Experiment with the different accents and find your own voice.
And like Kilo says in another part of the site: "Learn to play a drum. Any drum." It will help you in so many ways as a musician. Whether you're a vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist or whatever. Nothing will improve your playing more.