[sdiy] harmonics & vibrato

Thu Dec 19 16:17:18 CET 2002

My theory of drum 'feel' is that it is not randomization, but
very subtle phase shifting of the drum hits with respect to the
absolute (correct) beats.

If you play a snare drum just a shade AHEAD of the actual beat, you get
a very energetic 'rock and roll' sound. Tempo is not affected and there
is not a random distribution causing the effect.

Play a shade after the beat and the effect becomes laid-back, bluesy,
etc.

I try to instruct my drummers (when its not me...) to play on the front
edge of the beat, or stay on the back edge of the beat to achieve different feels. Most times this results in them increasing or decreasing tempo (ie they'rs not getting it). You CAN experiment using
sampled sounds and a good sequencer like Cakewalk... to slide a snare
or hi-hat track just a millisecond early or late, without moving tempo.

Slight 'random' differences in timbre are very helpful... and I like to layer cymbals and have higher velocities trigger samples that are detuned down slightly. Try that too...

H^) harry

>
>On Wed, 18 Dec 2002, Richard Wentk wrote:
>> >Randomize the quantisation of drum machines to get a human touch ?
>> >As if a good drummer would play around the beat at random!
>> Agree with you on that one. That approach has always been really - uh -
>> random. :)
>> But be fair - it is a great way to simulate a really bad drummer. :)
>  I remember the thread on this a while back. Perhaps a more
>productive approach might be to slightly vary the amplitude of
>the impact, rather than (or along with) the tempo. I suspect
>that timing is more of a matter of psychology and coordination
>than physical ability, and that a competent(!) drummer may be
>better able to keep on tempo than to ensure that each beat
>sounds the same; muscle fatigue, small changes in position,
>and many other factors can affect the speed and force of the
>impact. Maybe it's a bogus theory, but I believe that's a
>significant "humanizing" element electronic drums lack.
>-- 
>--Robert Kent
>  hanuman at ccsi.com