Beats and drums. How to begin? (part 1)

There are many ways to start a project in FL Studio. Almost any time you want to begin your work you spend a few minutes to think which samples you need to add to the Step Sequencer to make that beat you have in your mind. Well, this software helps you to somehow make up your mind, you just need to click on File/New from template and there you have it. You can pick one of those groups of samples or just select the Empty option to choose the samples or drag them to the Step Sequencer yourself. For instance, if you click on the Basic option you will see that four basic samples or instruments are added to the Step Sequencer. They are a Kick, a Snare, a Clap and a Hat so let me explain what these simple samples are.

Imagine a drums, if you don’t have an idea of what a drums is go to Internet and watch a Metallica video clip, a live performance clip would be better. There must be a guy (named Lars Ulrich, by the way) seating on a stool and beating passionately a set of drums and metal saucers. THAT thing is a drums.

Drums

So, going back to the basic set of samples at the Step Sequencer:

Kick: It’s the big vertical positioned drum that is normally hit with a foot pedal.

Snare: Perhaps the most important drum of the whole set, horizontally located between the drummer legs. This drum marks the rhythm of the whole song. When you clap your hands, and most important, you have the “ear” to follow the rhythm of a song in a concert you are just following the snare’s cadence.

Clap: The name speaks for itself. Similar to the Snare’s function but its sound is more like two hands clapping. It is very common in classic Disco and Dance music.

Hat: Nothing to do with covering your hair. It represents the couple of small cymbals that open and close by one of the drummer’s foot. It usually sounds continually.

1. Ride or Crash cymbal

2. FloorTom

3. Toms

4-Kick

5. Snare

6. Hat or hi hats

Of course, this marvelous music instrument has more parts, more sets of drums and cymbals of different sizes, sometimes it can even has a big gong, like those that monks beat at a temple’s entrance, or a marimba. Yes, you read well, a marimba, a great drummer, Neil Peart , from the band Rush, uses a marimba for his drums solos, you can watch him is his documentary “Anatomy of a drum solo”. I strongly recommend this video to FL Studio users so they can watch, not only a master piece of percussion, but to learn how a drums works and how it is supposed to sound.

You learn more about Neil Peart at www.neilpeart.net