For a lot of my music that I record, I just whack out a drum track on my electronic kit. I am no drummer but it is in keeping with the rest of my playing on other instruments!
Anyway, I'm trying to learn this old prog instrumental, and the drumming is more dynamic than I could ever hope to achieve. I'm not saying that it is brilliant, just something I'm not going to be able to reproduce with a couple of sticks.
I was wondering about painstakingly trying to recreate it via a keyboard, tapping individual notes into a sequencer. Does anyone around here do that sort of thing? I have heard great results in the past but as a newbie I can imagine it sounding terrible.
Comments
Velocity plays a biiiiig part and you will naturally do it with a keyboard generally.
I generally use Addictive Drums or Steven Slate Drums, but MT Power Drum Kit 2 is a good free drum VSTi.
http://www.powerdrumkit.com/
I usually start with 2 bar sequences. Once I've got the basic grooves, I copy and paste them. Then I go through adding subtle variations and fills.
When composing, I'll often start with midi loops from Groove Monkey or the grooves in Addictive Drums, then edit them to suit.
I spend hours on programming drums, sometimes more time than I spend on guitar parts, but I enjoy doing it.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
They are not people I'd enjoy a pint with I suspect.
This is exactly what I do. It's much easier than when I had a Portastudio and a drum machine with a one-line LCD display!
I'm no drummer (unless you count air drumming) but I've always been interested in listening to what drummers do in a song, and I try and learn from that.
By using a keyboard do you mean PC keyboard? That would be harder. Maybe search the net for some prog rock midid drum grooves to give you a starting point you can edit or bash out a basic track on your drums and add the complexity.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!