Tips for programming jazz drums
Jazz drumming is something every drummer admires at least once, but for people who don’t know it, it’s really hard to understand what a jazz drummer is doing.
odasisI also suffered greatly.
Let alone a DTM-er!
So, I’m going to explain the approach to programming four‑beat jazz drums.
First, I'll aim to make it sound natural and convincing!
I’ve also included a demo at the end.
Is jazz drumming hard to understand?
Jazz drumming may often look like it’s wildly free and doing whatever it wants, but at its core it’s essentially the same as 8-beat or 16-beat.
It looks hard to grasp because the instrument at the core of the beat is different.It is.
The method of layering on top of a core beat is no different from that used for 8-beat or 16-beat patterns.
core instrument
First, let’s look at the basic pattern.
As long as this is sounding, the bassist can relax.
I’ll make it on an 8th-note triplet grid (upwards).
If you remove the middle of the three equal parts, you get a swing, right?
Only the ride and the pedal hi-hat are sounding, but what's important here ishi-hatIt is.
When people think of jazz drumming, they often picture the legato ride pattern, but in jazz drumming, the true core of the beat is undoubtedly the hi-hat.
Once the hi-hat comes in, you can clearly hear the song’s tempo.
Unless to introduce variation to the phrase,The pedal hi-hat has a constant velocity and is on time.Let's ring it.
There is no room for randomization.
In contrast, there is plenty of room to randomize both velocity and timing for the ride.
It's okay if the ride gets wobbly.
Because it's not nuclear.
Add the snare
I think this part is difficult, so I’ll write a bit more in detail.
The snare in jazz
The role of the snare in jazz is completely different from its role in 8-beat or 16-beat contexts.
Because the hi-hat (and the ride) already fulfill the role of keeping a constant beat.
In jazz drumming, the snare drum is
- not carrying the core of the beat
- It has strong decorative elements.
- Therefore, it is free and individual characteristics tend to stand out.
It is (the kind of thing that) … / It’s something that …
It can be said that the impression that jazz drumming lacks regularity stems from the freedom of the snare.
The left hand is always free.
In the basic pattern mentioned above, the left and right hands are not crossed.
Also, since the basic beat can be established using only the right hand (ride) and the left foot (hi-hat), the left hand is always free. To put it bluntly,You can end up being able to hit the snare at any timing.That's what it means:
The left hand is always touching the snare.
Drummers who have properly trained in paradiddles are able to precisely control where they strike within the right hand (ride) and left hand (snare) paradiddles, but it gets complicated, so I’ll omit that part.
If you keep hitting the spots that feel good, you should get closer to a drummer’s way of thinking. Let’s just give it a try for now!
Key points when typing
I’m not going to say something irresponsible like, “It’s free, so just rely on your sense and type it in!”
First, let’s do our best to make it sound natural!
The gist comes down to the two points below.
- to keep playing at a low velocity
- Place it on the offbeat (eighth-note)
I'll give it a try. As usual, I'll build it so it can be expanded little by little.
Put everything in
First, let’s add snare hits with low velocity on all the offbeats.
An image of continuously playing ghost notes.
thin out; thin (plants); cull
Next, thin out the sounds at suitable points. If you want, you can even thin out all of them.
replace; substitution; to swap out
We will replace the timbres (instrument sounds).
Let's use rolls and flams effectively.
Open rimshots take energy to play, so when you use them, make sure you have a clear intention—such as syncopation. (More on syncopation later.)
Closed rim shots require changing your left-hand grip, so their use is a bit different. You can layer them with pedal hi-hats or play them sequentially, but if you’re unsure, it’s fine not to use them.
Pattern with closed rimshots added ↓
kick
The kick plays the same role as the snare, but since it’s an instrument you play with your right foot, it feels natural to match it with the accents of the right-hand ride.
Our bodies are built so that it’s easier when the right and left sides move in the same way.
Inevitably, there will be more on the downbeats.
It’s also effective to match the accent to the syncopation described below.
alsoRandomization roundI wrote that “it’s fine for all the kicks to have the same velocity,” but jazz is an exception.
Something like this:
Tam
Since toms will often be hit with the left hand, it’s good to consider that as part of the snare’s tonal options.
You might hit it with your right hand as well, but in that case be careful not to play the ride.
crash cymbal
In 8-beat and 16-beat grooves, it’s standard to hit the crash with a big “boom” on the downbeat of 1, but in jazz you don’t usually play it that way.
A position/role like that of a ride accent.
Alternatively, emphasizing it with syncopation is also effective.
If you don't understand, it's okay to leave it out.
Syncopation
Syncopation (syncopation, off-beat accent) refers to altering the pattern of strong and weak beats in Western music to create a distinctive effect.
When it comes to jazz, it's all about syncopation—but the particularly jazzy kind is the syncopation on the fourth beat.
The points to aim for when hitting
- Increase the velocity
- Play multiple instruments simultaneously
It is.
By multiple instruments, I mean ride + kick, or snare + kick, or even snare + kick + ride.
We add expression to the phrase by sometimes using syncopation and sometimes not, and by changing the instruments being played.
Fill-in
Jazz has few easy-to-understand fills.
It’s good to gradually add more sounds and connect them to the basic pattern. (Though that’s the hard part…)
One easy-to-understand fill-in is the snare roll.
I use it in the later demo audio.
About tone color
In jazz, instruments with lingering resonance are preferred.
If you're going to do it with sequencing
- Use ones that are generally higher-pitched.
- Use wooden drums as much as possible—like maple or birch.
- Choose drum tones that blend well (e.g., avoid making the pitch intervals between toms too large).
- Use vintage-style cymbals.
- During mixing, turn up the overhead and room mics to create a sense of air/space.
Something like that, I suppose.
The sound source used in this demo is Superior Drummer 2.0.
I tried making it.
I tried making everything all together ↓
Here’s the drum solo ↓
MIDI data ↓ Bonus ①
Bonus ② ↓ The drums on this are programmed.