How To Write Drum Music To Make Rhythm In Your Songs
Are you not sure how to write drum music to keep up the rhythm in your songs? If you are like most non-drummers, you are probably not used to writing the drum parts in your music. This lack of familiarity can cause you to become frustrated when you go to write a drum part and it doesn’t sound quite like you expected.
Knowing how to write music for drums and percussion is a very important part of becoming a good songwriter. To get started writing your own drum parts it is essential to learn the different parts of a basic drum set. This will help you to quickly match up the ideas in your head to the rhythms you want to create. Here are the basic parts of a drum set and how they are used:
1. Bass drum and snare: The bass drum and snare are the two most fundamental parts of a drum kit. Both of these drums are used most often to keep the beat in a song. The bass drum is recognizable as the lowest drum in the set (has a “boom” sound) and the snare can be identified by its distinctive sharp sound.
2. High hat: The high hat is pair of cymbals mounted together on a stand. They can be played as open or closed by using the foot pedal attached to the stand. When you write drum parts, this will be used mostly to keep the beat.
3. Toms: These drums are used to create fills in between the beats played by the bass drum and snare.
4. Cymbals: There are several different cymbals in a drum set. The most common ones are the ride, splash and crash. When writing drum music, the cymbals will be used mostly to place heavy emphasis on a particular beat.
Once you have identified the basic elements of a drum set, you are ready to write drum parts for your music. To practice writing drum music, focus first on each separate part of the drum set before using all the parts together. This will prevent you from becoming overwhelmed by taking on too many options at once. For example, begin writing your beat by only using the bass or snare drum only (without cymbals or toms).
When first starting off, most songwriters will be tempted to spend a lot of time perfecting a drum part for a new song. Instead of taking this approach, begin by writing 15 ‘short’ ideas. When you write these drum parts, they should only be made of 8 beats at most. By creating a wide variety of short drum parts, you will force yourself to think creatively and find different ways to divide up a beat. Next, once you have done this, add in another part of the drum set and repeat the process.
After using this simple exercise, you will come up with many great ideas to help you write drum parts for your songs. Practice this exercise consistently and watch the quality of your drum parts increase very quickly…Have fun making beats!
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