Develop a groove - Remix, Hip Hop and electronic song writing
- loops & machines
The use of sampled drum loops in the composition of music (in many genres)
has become common practice. A hip-hop DJ will use breakbeats fused together
for the backing track of a rap record, while an electronic composer may
use them as a rhythmical component in a dance track.
Composers rely on the exclusivity of the samples to establish their
individuality as composers. This exclusivity can be achieved in two ways
- the composer can search for previously unused samples, or they can manipulate
readily accessible samples so they become something new and individual.
Manipulation may take the form of combining a sampled drum loop with single-hit
samples (e.g. kick, snare, high hat). Single-hit samples can be triggered
or generated from a drum machine or an audio and/or midi sequencer.
In this example I have used a one-bar sampled drum loop and combined
it with single-hit samples generated in Hammerhead (a software drum machine).
The single hits have been used to
reinforce the main snare beats on two and four
reinforce the kick drum on beat one
add an additional kick beat on the second 16th of beat three
create a syncopated high hat pattern
One of the key compositional elements of sample-based composition is
timbre. Countless variations of a sampled drum loop can be made by using
different triggered single samples - with a dramatic effect on the resulting
cumulative groove.
In addition to adding slight rhythmical variations to a sampled part,
it is possible to simply reinforce the sounds that are there. This enables
the rhythmical phrasing to be maintained, yet allows the composer to adjust
the sonic quality of the sampled loop. The importance of this becomes apparent
when one considers the way in which production techniques and trends are
in a constant state of development. Sonic trends are as common as rhythmic
and harmonic ones, and a doubling of sounds can modernise existing drum
loop samples while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the piece.
Although it is possible to reinforce parts, the original sample will
normally still be clearly-audible in the cumulative groove. The original
sample gives the triggered sounds some amount of continuity and realism
(in a sonic sense). The process is similar to recording a drum kit, each
individual drum will have its own microphone, but in addition to these
microphones, room microphones maybe used to capture the ambience of the
whole kit and these give a sense of dimension to the recording. In the
combining of drum loops and single hit samples, the individual sample acts
as the individual drum microphones and the sampled drum loop plays the
role of the room microphone adding an extra dimension to the final cumulative
groove.
