Kick Drum Rule for Better Beats
722,339
Published 2020-10-01
►FREE Music Theory Book: HackMusicTheory.com/Books
►Hack Drum Beats PDF: HackMusicTheory.com/Drums
►Songwriting & Producing PDF: HackMusicTheory.com/Bestsellers
►Online Courses: HackMusicTheory.com/Courses
99% of producers in popular music these days program drum beats that sound like every other producer’s beats. This is mainly because they use the same handful of kick drum patterns. In fact, many producers even import one/two-bar drum loops as the foundation for new songs. But, when we try to write creative music on top of a generic one-size-fits-all foundation, we will never reach the artistic heights we can by writing our own original drum beats!
And original drum beats don’t just form a unique foundation for your music, they also weave themselves into your other layers and actually influence what you write for those other instruments. To prove how a creative drum beat can bring your music to life, we’ll use a super boring chord progression for our example. In fact, this is one of the most overused progressions in popular music. But, after we apply our Kick Drum Rule to the drum beat, you’ll witness a total transformation as this predictable rubbish is turned into a vibrant and captivating section, all thanks to the drums!
So, what is our Kick Drum Rule? Well, before we get to that, we need to do a quick overview of the drum kit and each element’s function.
There are four elements to the drum kit: cymbals, snare, toms, and kick. The main function of the cymbals is to connect the drum beat with the pulse of the song (i.e. 1/4 notes in the 4|4 time signature). The snare is the main injection of energy for a drum beat, so where you play your snare will determine how energetic the section feels. Toms add variety to your drums. And lastly, the kick drum brings the groove to a drum beat. And by the way, drum beats are also known as drum grooves or drum patterns.
We’re focusing on the kick in this lesson, but if you wanna go deep and learn how to use each of the four elements based on their specific functions, then read our new PDF: Hack Drum Beats. This PDF is your ultimate guide to writing captivating drum beats, and it also comes with MIDI file examples. If that sounds useful, you can download the PDF from the link above. Alright, let’s jump in! So, for our example we’ve set up eight bars, and as almost all popular music is in the 4|4 time signature, we’ll use it too.
So as you know, the kick’s function is to bring the groove to a drum beat. But what exactly is groove? Well, there are many different definitions, but we define groove as being a rhythm that contains a magic balance of on-beat notes and off-beat notes (i.e. syncopation). Unless you’re specifically going for a rigid four-on-the-floor drum beat, too many on-beat notes will make your drums sound stiff. On the other hand, too many off-beat notes will make your drums sound like a mess, so you gotta find that magic sweet spot!
As you’ll have noticed by now, the cymbals and snare are fairly limited in their possibilities. They have very specific functions, and they need to stick to those. For example, if you switched their roles and played the pulse on the snare and a backbeat on the hats, your drum beat would sound backwards and completely wrong to most people, like this. This limitation is not good news for creative people like you. However, there is one element of a drum beat where we can get away with almost anything. Yep, the kick drum!
And with that, it’s finally time to reveal our Kick Drum Rule, which is to write an interesting kick drum pattern at least four bars long. As the kick is the only element in a drum beat where you can express whatever you want (without it sounding wrong), don’t waste this golden opportunity for total creative freedom!
Now, there are tons of different ways to get artistic and express what you want through your kick drum pattern, but remember that its job is to bring the groove, so play around with a combination of on-beat and off-beat notes. Most importantly though, is to break free from those extremely limiting one/two-bar drum loops, so be sure your kick pattern is at least four bars long. Arguably the best way to inject a massive dose of creativity into your kick pattern, though, is to use a polymeter. If you’re new to the term “polymeter”, it’s just the fancy word for playing in two or more time signatures at once. If you want a step-by-step guide to creating a polymeter in your drums, that’s also in our new Hack Drum Beats PDF (link above).
---
© 2020 Revolution Harmony
Revolution Harmony is Ray Harmony & Kate Harmony
All content (script & music) in video by Revolution Harmony
All Comments (21)
-
►Hack Drum Beats (PDF) - Everything you need to know for making beats in one PDF: hackmusictheory.com/Drums
-
I wish more midi producers understood what percussion can do for music.
-
I have always loved Timbaland and Neptunes drum patterns, i think they have been the best in the mainstream
-
Sick lesson. The second version has also got a synthy bass groove added...
-
Your final example sounds much more like a rock/metal groove than anything I would expect from electronic music. Especially how you use fills to tie the loop together to keep things moving (elaborate fills are rare in electronic music for some reason). The drumming is one of the big reasons I love metal music. There are so many interesting patterns that super talented people are able to come up with and play. The blast beat is a great example of a pattern that pretty much exclusively exists in metal. If anyone here is curious about metal drumming, some big names to check out are Thomas Haake (Meshuggah), Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth/Soilwork/Scarve), Danny Carey (Tool) and Baard Kolstad (Leprous). Just a few examples, metal drumming is an endless rabbit hole. Dare to dive in, it's worth it i promise!
-
i love how this channel focusses on being distinct instead of being predictable and generic like everyone else. keep it up!
-
I'm not even a musician, I just make music as a hobby, but I will definitely be trying this out! Thanks!
-
Wow, I already do the 4+ bar kick pattern thing, but I never thought about polymeter!
-
I feel like having a last name like Harmony absolutely makes me think you already know what your talking about 🤣😅💯 ✌
-
This is what makes old edm sound real good, too much repetition today, the old generation were masters of their craft and make some serious grooves, thanks for the clear and easy video, should help lots of people in their music journey
-
My first experience of you guys was this evening. I'm in love with your tutorials, presentation (and tea!) Wonderful stuff!
-
This was really cool! I’ve been a drummer for almost 4 decades and this helped even me out. Thanks!
-
Oh my freaking God Finally someone explaining how to make actual drum patterns you've instantly got a subscriber 😭😭😭😭
-
Something I had to learn myself over the years but I'm glad to see a video on it helping other producers out
-
Man, i just turned to study music production and discovered you yesterday and my class work has improved too much, I don't know how to thank them, just let them know that they are great and help people too much
-
I have a sudden urge to make tea for someone.
-
I’ve been trying for ages trying to get the software to not make my drums sounds so stiff and robotic and I’m proud to say that will no longer be an issue thanks folks cheers 🥂.
-
Hey this quick lesson was awesome! Definitely subscribing. I’m a little new to producing and found myself writing standard kick patterns, then wondering why I wasn’t fully satisfied with the loop afterwards. I will definitely try the 4 bar rule to mix it up!
-
I'm so happy to see you guys back!! Hope yall are safe in lockdown !!
-
Nice to have you back! I was wondering - do you guys have a bundle deal for all of your PDFs? That would be amazing ❤️
