Summary
I made two different beats to better understand the components of making them.
My First Rhythm
https://onlinesequencer.net/875821
I first figured out what noises I liked from the drum kit and then I added and mixed them until I liked how it sounded.
One of My Favorite Rhythms
https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/phil-collins/in-the-air-tonight
I like this beat because its very light under the melody until around the middle of the song where it gets really intense.
My Second Rhythm
https://onlinesequencer.net/875951
There are two types of drum kits on online sequencer- the original drum kit, and the electric drum kit. I used the normal drum kit for most of my beats in the rhythm, but for my accent beats I used the electric drum kit as it was louder. I also used cross rhythm by having the main beat, and then adding stuff over the top of it.
Terms and Concepts
Meter – a repeating stress, accent, or pattern that keeps the pulse of the song. it’s like the heartbeat of the song
Pacing – the speed the composition is played at
Tempo – the speed of the music
Beat – a rhythmic movement or speed that the music is played at
Hip Hop – a genre of music that features rapping, with an electronic background
Out of the Pocket – not in the groove with the rest of the composition
Quantize – transforming musical notes to an underlying musical representation. keeping on beat
Single Take – took one attempt. one and done
Multipass Recording – recording-recording multiple times
Overdub – recording over what is already there, or playing along with it
C1 Octave Range – middle c on a piano
Cowbell (note in MIDI) – a precussive instrument used for cool effects
Drum Kit – a set of percussive drums and other instruments
Kick Drum (note in MIDI) – low end of the drum kit
Snare Drum (note in MIDI) – A drum with special metal components that cause it to”rattle”
Cymbal (note in MIDI) – The electronic recording, or computer generated sound of a cymbal, to be used on computers
Drum Machine (808) – An electronic device programmable to imitate a drum kit. it’s one of the first nice sounding drum machines.
Loop – seemless repeat of a sonund
Arpeggiation – playing the 1,3,5, and 1 scale
Sound Effects – sounds to fill silence, or to give an effect
One Shot Sound – little sounds in the background
What I Learned and Problems I Solved
I learned that finding the rhythm and making a beat on the whole isn’t that difficult, but identifying the different parts is essential to making it sound good.