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Difference between revisions of "Editing Drums"

(Created page with " == Humanizing Drums == Programmed drums can sometimes sound a bit stiff or "too perfect". Here are some techniques to help ''humanize'' them. === Tempo === Drummers often ...")
 
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{{Top-Level Crumbs|6}}
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{{Recording Crumbs|15}}
  
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== Drum Editors ==
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Many DAWs have ''drum editor'' views for MIDI data, similar to a piano roll, with the keyboard displayed vertically, and a timeline grid displayed horizontally.  Each hit is displayed as a diamond or some other marking that helps clearly see the timing aligning to the grid, with no length or size indicating the note duration, since drums don't traditionally have variation in length.  Additionally, there is a rectangular area with a vertical bar for each hit representing the velocity that can be quickly edited.
  
 
== Humanizing Drums ==
 
== Humanizing Drums ==
Line 22: Line 26:
 
=== Reverb ===
 
=== Reverb ===
 
A bit of reverb adds an in-the-room feel.  A lot of reverb can fill the mix with a simple groove better than some crazy technical madness with no reverb.
 
A bit of reverb adds an in-the-room feel.  A lot of reverb can fill the mix with a simple groove better than some crazy technical madness with no reverb.
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 +
Many drum plugins feature a room microphone, designed to get a more ambient, in-the-room sound.  You can play with using less room mic in the mix, instead using a reverb plugin where you have more control over the tone, decay, etc.
  
 
=== Software Assistance ===
 
=== Software Assistance ===
 
There are [[Popular_Virtual_Instruments/Plugins#Drums|dedicated drumming VSTi's]] that will automatically vary the samples based on consecutive hits and such to help make them less stiff.
 
There are [[Popular_Virtual_Instruments/Plugins#Drums|dedicated drumming VSTi's]] that will automatically vary the samples based on consecutive hits and such to help make them less stiff.
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== Drum Mapping ==
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Every MIDI device or plugin that accepts or outputs MIDI, expecting it to align with other devices/software, must map certain drums to certain notes.  This includes:
 +
 +
* Electronic Drum Kit Modules
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* Drum Machines
 +
* Keyboards/MIDI Controllers
 +
* Drum-centric Virtual Instruments
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* General MIDI Drum Kits
 +
 +
Many will allow you to set up the MIDI mapping for each drum inside its setup parameters, and many will conform to some General MIDI Kit mapping.  But some unfortunately do not do either.  Also, you may not want to alter a device's global drum mapping just to conform to a certain virtual drum software that you may not use all the time.  These situations can be solved by using <u>MIDI Maps</u> that allow you to transform the MIDI message to remap some (or all) keys to others.  MIDI maps consume very little storage and can be quickly loaded, so it's low-cost to make maps for your preferred way of using your devices for some or many virtual kits.
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=== GM Drum Mapping ===
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{|
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|-
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|
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{|class="wikitable"
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|-
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|&nbsp;
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|-
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|&nbsp;
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|-
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! MIDI # !! Note !! Drum/Cymbal
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|-
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| 81 || A4 || Open Triangle
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 80 || G#4|| Mute Triangle
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|-
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| 79 || G4 || Open Cuíca
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 78 || F#4|| Mute Cuíca
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|-
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| 77 || F4 || Low Wood Block
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|-
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| 76 || E4 || High Wood Block
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 75 || D#4|| Claves
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|-
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| 74 || D4 || Long Güiro
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 73 || C#4|| Short Güiro
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|-
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| 72 || C4 || Long Whistle
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|-
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| 71 || B3 || Short Whistle
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 70 || A#3|| Maracas
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|-
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| 69 || A3 || Cabasa
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 68 || G#3|| Low Agogô
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|-
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| 67 || G3 || High Agogô
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 66 || F#3|| Low Timbale
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|-
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| 65 || F3 || High Timbale
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|-
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| 64 || E3 || Low Conga
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 63 || D#3|| Open High Conga
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|-
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| 62 || D3 || Mute High Conga
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 61 || C#3|| Low Bongo
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|-
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| 60 || C3 || High Bongo
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|-
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|&nbsp;
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|}
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|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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|
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{|class="wikitable"
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|-
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! MIDI # !! Note !! Drum/Cymbal
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|-
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| 59 || B2 || Ride Cymbal 2
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 58 || A#2|| Vibra Slap
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|-
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| 57 || A2 || Crash Cymbal 2
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 56 || G#2|| Cowbell
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|-
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| 55 || G2 || Splash Cymbal
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 54 || F#2|| Tambourine
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|-
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| 53 || F2 || Ride Bell
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|-
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| 52 || E2 || Chinese Cymbal
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 51 || D#1|| Ride Cymbal 1
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|-
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| 50 || D2 || High Tom 1
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 49 || C#2|| Crash Cymbal 1
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|-
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| 48 || C2 || High Tom 2
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|-
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| 47 || B1 || Mid Tom 1
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 46 || A#1|| Open Hi-hat
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|-
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| 45 || A1 || Mid Tom 2
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 44 || G#1|| Pedal Hi-hat
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|-
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| 43 || G1 || Low Tom 1
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 42 || F#1|| Closed Hi-hat
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|-
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| 41 || F1 || Low Tom 2
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|-
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| 40 || E1 || Snare Drum 2
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 39 || D#1|| Hand Clap
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|-
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| 38 || D1 || Snare Drum 1
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|-class="blackKey"
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| 37 || C#1|| Side Stick/Rimshot
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|-
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| 36 || C1 || Bass Drum 1
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|-
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| 35 || B0 || Bass Drum 2
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|}
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 +
|}
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 +
{{top}}
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{{Recording Crumbs|15}}
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[[Category:Recording]]
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[[Category: DAW]]
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[[Category: Drums]]
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[[Category: Programming Drums]]

Latest revision as of 00:09, 3 August 2015

Drum Editors

Many DAWs have drum editor views for MIDI data, similar to a piano roll, with the keyboard displayed vertically, and a timeline grid displayed horizontally. Each hit is displayed as a diamond or some other marking that helps clearly see the timing aligning to the grid, with no length or size indicating the note duration, since drums don't traditionally have variation in length. Additionally, there is a rectangular area with a vertical bar for each hit representing the velocity that can be quickly edited.

Humanizing Drums

Programmed drums can sometimes sound a bit stiff or "too perfect". Here are some techniques to help humanize them.

Tempo

Drummers often have a tendency to push the tempo a little bit when it comes to parts with more energy. Even further, you can slow the tempo maybe just a few bpm here or there when there's a tough part.

Velocity

Instead of playing all the drums at the same velocity, they can be varied based upon several parameters.

  • Make one "hand" weaker than the other
  • Make fills or quick runs gradually decrease in velocity
  • Make the downbeat a little stronger than the other hits

Limiting the Programming

A real drummer can't play 5 or 6 drums at the same time with a different time signature and/or tempo every measure while playing 32nd notes. Try to limit the programming to something realistic, although it can still be technically demanding for a real drummer.

Randomizing

Most DAWs feature the ability to randomize the velocity and timing of MIDI information. A touch of this can sound good, but you still have to realign the important hits, so the playing doesn't seem simply sloppy. You can select the ones you want to randomize, adding more randomization in some places than others. With good multi-sampled drumming software, velocity affects way more than volume, which is particularly evident on cymbals, snare, and bass drums.

Reverb

A bit of reverb adds an in-the-room feel. A lot of reverb can fill the mix with a simple groove better than some crazy technical madness with no reverb.

Many drum plugins feature a room microphone, designed to get a more ambient, in-the-room sound. You can play with using less room mic in the mix, instead using a reverb plugin where you have more control over the tone, decay, etc.

Software Assistance

There are dedicated drumming VSTi's that will automatically vary the samples based on consecutive hits and such to help make them less stiff.

Drum Mapping

Every MIDI device or plugin that accepts or outputs MIDI, expecting it to align with other devices/software, must map certain drums to certain notes. This includes:

  • Electronic Drum Kit Modules
  • Drum Machines
  • Keyboards/MIDI Controllers
  • Drum-centric Virtual Instruments
  • General MIDI Drum Kits

Many will allow you to set up the MIDI mapping for each drum inside its setup parameters, and many will conform to some General MIDI Kit mapping. But some unfortunately do not do either. Also, you may not want to alter a device's global drum mapping just to conform to a certain virtual drum software that you may not use all the time. These situations can be solved by using MIDI Maps that allow you to transform the MIDI message to remap some (or all) keys to others. MIDI maps consume very little storage and can be quickly loaded, so it's low-cost to make maps for your preferred way of using your devices for some or many virtual kits.

GM Drum Mapping

 
 
MIDI # Note Drum/Cymbal
81 A4 Open Triangle
80 G#4 Mute Triangle
79 G4 Open Cuíca
78 F#4 Mute Cuíca
77 F4 Low Wood Block
76 E4 High Wood Block
75 D#4 Claves
74 D4 Long Güiro
73 C#4 Short Güiro
72 C4 Long Whistle
71 B3 Short Whistle
70 A#3 Maracas
69 A3 Cabasa
68 G#3 Low Agogô
67 G3 High Agogô
66 F#3 Low Timbale
65 F3 High Timbale
64 E3 Low Conga
63 D#3 Open High Conga
62 D3 Mute High Conga
61 C#3 Low Bongo
60 C3 High Bongo
 
   
MIDI # Note Drum/Cymbal
59 B2 Ride Cymbal 2
58 A#2 Vibra Slap
57 A2 Crash Cymbal 2
56 G#2 Cowbell
55 G2 Splash Cymbal
54 F#2 Tambourine
53 F2 Ride Bell
52 E2 Chinese Cymbal
51 D#1 Ride Cymbal 1
50 D2 High Tom 1
49 C#2 Crash Cymbal 1
48 C2 High Tom 2
47 B1 Mid Tom 1
46 A#1 Open Hi-hat
45 A1 Mid Tom 2
44 G#1 Pedal Hi-hat
43 G1 Low Tom 1
42 F#1 Closed Hi-hat
41 F1 Low Tom 2
40 E1 Snare Drum 2
39 D#1 Hand Clap
38 D1 Snare Drum 1
37 C#1 Side Stick/Rimshot
36 C1 Bass Drum 1
35 B0 Bass Drum 2
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