- Select a Drummer Style
- Edit Session Player Regions
- Arrange the Drum Track
- Key Commands
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Edit Session Player Regions
In the Session Player Editor, editing a performance is almost like communicating to a real musician the parts you want them to play. For each Session Player region, you select preset patterns (or create your own) and adjust various parameters. Then the Drummer produces a performance that follows your instructions.
Adjust the Drum Fills and Select a Hi-Hat Pattern
In this exercise, you’ll ask the Drummer to rein in the energy, stop playing fills, and hit the ghost notes harder on the snare to accentuate the syncopated groove.
In the Session Player Editor, drag the Fill Amount knob all the way down to 0%.
The Drummer no longer plays any drum fills. Let’s select a new hi-hat pattern.
Next to the hi-hat Kit Piece button, click the Pattern button.
In the Patterns dialog, patterns are represented on a grid of dots grouped as four beats of four sixteenth notes each. These dots show a rough idea of what the Drummer may play depending on other settings such as the Complexity slider.
Pattern 2 shows that the hi-hat plays every eighth note but the dots on the beat are dimmer while the dots on the upbeats are darker, indicating that the Drummer will accent the upbeats.
In the Patterns dialog, click pattern 2.
The hi-hat plays eighth notes, and the Drummer accents the upbeat. Let’s listen to the hi-hat in isolation.
Click both the kick and snare Kit Piece buttons.
The kick and snare Kit Piece buttons are dimmed to indicate that they are muted. Inside the region, only the hi-hat notes remain in the top lane, and you can clearly hear the hi-hat groove. It sounds like a disco beat, which will work great for this song.
Click the kick and snare Kit Piece buttons to unmute them.
Next to the kick and snare Kit Piece buttons, you can choose a pattern for the kick and snare. In the next exercise, you’ll create your own custom pattern.
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Create a Custom Pattern
To really make this drum groove your own, you’ll now create a custom pattern, clicking steps on rows to sequence the kick and the snare individually.
In the Session Player Editor, click the Manual button.
You can create individual kick and snare patterns on two rows of 16 steps.
On the kick row, click the first and third steps, and on the snare row, click the first step of beat 2.
The Drummer plays the pattern you’ve started to create. On the Session Player region, you can see the kick and snare notes match the steps you’ve turned on.
On the kick row, turn on the fourth step of beat 3 and the second step of beat 4. On the snare row, turn on the first step of beat 4.
The Drummer keeps repeating your custom 1-bar pattern. To add variety, let’s turn your pattern into a 2-bar pattern and switch things up in bar 2.
Click the Length pop-up menu and choose 2 Bars.
Next to the Length pop-up menu, two overviews appear for the two bars.
Click the overview of bar 2 (which is currently empty).
Let’s turn on steps in bar 2 to complete the pattern.
On the kick row, click the following steps:
beat 1, step 1- beat 3, step 3
On the snare row, click the following steps:
- beat 2, step 1
- beat 4, steps 1, 3, and 4
Now, you have a unique kick and snare pattern. Let’s make the Drummer play a bit more and hit the drums a little harder.
Drag the Complexity slider so it’s about three quarters up and drag the Intensity slider all the way up.
The difference is subtle, but the Drummer now plays some sixteenth notes on the hi-hat and plays slightly louder.
Click the Details button and drag the Dynamics knob all the way down.
Reducing the dynamic results in less volume difference between the stronger and the softer notes. The ghost notes on the snare are now louder, and the syncopation they create is accentuated.
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You’ve created your own unique custom pattern that will form the basis of the groove used for your song. In the following exercises, you’ll create, edit, and arrange a few more Session Player regions to complete the drum track.
