DRUM MACHINE PROGRAMMING 2 RUM SOUNDS ARE SHORT. THIS should come as no surprise, as the phys ical characteristics of most drums dictate that they have a fast altack and a fast decay, So, without sustain, how do you create a long tone on a drum? Composers and per fotmers rely upon a few slight-of-ear tricks to give the aural impression of a more sustained sound. Two of these litle goodies are called “flams* and “cuffs.” Flams. The flam is an ancient drumming term forthe figure of a grace note followed by a primary note (see Example 1). Flam is an ono- Imatopoeic word, which means that this musical figure sounds like its name: The phoneme“? is the grace note, followed quickly by “lam” asthe primary note, The purpose ofa flam is to give a note slightly more length and sustain than a single stroke. Flammed notes tend to sound stressed or accented in relation to narmal notes, Let's say that you're programming a drum machine and want to create a fill that culm: nates with a flam on the fourth beat, as in Ex ample 2, Here are the basic steps to follow: 1) First, program the rhythm without the grace note. Since sixteenth-notes are the fastest rhythm used in this example, adjust your auto-correct setting to this value. 2) Call up the machine's highest auto-correct resolution (sometimes called “hi-tes") and. enter your machine's step-record mode. 3) Move up tothe fourth beat tthe one that con- tains the primary note of the flam), and then step backward one or two units 4) Enter a much softer note at this location, Thats all there iso it. When drummers per fon flams, they adjust the relative dynamics ‘of each note and the amount of space between the grace note and the primary note. Here is a closer look at these and some additional flam variations you can ty. Dynamics. Normally the grace note is much softer than the primary note, but altering this relationship can result in flams of differing in tensities. As grace notes got loud they produce flams that seem heavier and have more force When drummers play grace notes on toms, they Norman Weinberg teaches percussion and electronic music at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. His latest book, The Electronic Drummer, is distributed by Hai Leonard Pub- lishing. tend to be a little stronger than those played on the snare drum. However, ifthe grace note gets too strong, the characteristic flam sound will be lost. Spacing. All drum machines and software sequencers work with note-length resolutions that ae ted to tempo. n ether words, the “real= time resolution” of 32ndl-notes at 120 bpm is twice as fast as 32nd-notes ata tempo of 60. ‘Toa large degree, then, the tempo of the song, ‘ill determine the actual spacing between the grace note and the primary note. Working with a tempo of 120 heats per minute, a grace note placedl one 64th triplet be- fore the primary note fa single clock at 24 ppq) vill result in a tight lam. This is good for flams that occur in busier patterns. If you're looking for something a litle thicker, wy placing the grace note a 32nd triplet before the primary. Be caret of programming flams that are much fatter than this. Ifflams become too wide, there is a good chance thatthe grace note will be heard as a rhythmic value instead of a grace note. Tuning. Acoustic drums have different tonal qualities depending on their volume. Since the {gjace note is much softer than the primary note, giving ita slightly different color will enhance the effect of the flam. Changing the tuning by ten or twenty cents (up or down) will sult in a very subtle difference. You can try altering the tuning by as much as ahalf-step. Since the race and primary notes come so close together, the ear will pick up movement and change, but not melodic pitches, imbre. Some drum machines, such asthe E-mu SP-1200 and Kawai XD-5, let you pass clrum samples through an audio filter if you're working with a drum machine that has this fea- ture, try filtering out some ofthe high frequen- cies of the grace note. Again, this is a subtle yet effective change. I your drum machine of- ‘ers lots of different drum samples but no file tering, try using a sample with less ofa sharp attack for the grace note, Flames sound good with any two drum sam- ples, The most common flams are those per- formed on a snare drum ar tom. A great effect an be created by placing the grace note on 1.6 Flams and rfid avert mace cyt PART 1: Sa IN SEARCH OF LENGTH, FLAMS AND RUFFS the snare drum and the primary note on a tom (low toms sound especially cool). Grace notes can be played with the bass drum (common oy fey ont fon? snare WomS tong aan bss 1. Sanda anor a fa, S43 Fx. 2. All climaning with a fam, a £5. Since rf take time 0 perform, progeammed ‘si saul mere tral a fie space i lt ef tsich one =DRUM MACHINES when the primary note is on the snare), but ‘drummers rarely perform flams the ather way around (with the primary note on the bass ‘dum. Flams can be used to add thickness and ‘weight to just about any thythm. Drummers will often add flams to certain notes to give the effect ofa rhythm inside athythm. Ifyou program Example 3 into your drum machine, you'll notice how the notes with flams seem to stand out above the others, producing a rhythm al heir own, Rufis. Primary notes that have two grace notes ae called ruts (ee Example 4), Again, the name describes the sound that is created, especialy ifyou rol he “slightly Like flams, ruff are called into play when thicker, longer sounds are desire. ‘When drummers play ruts, one hand is re sponsible for playing the two grace notes with quick litle bounce, while the ctherhand plays the primary note. The ruffs double grace notes are mos often played on the snare drum, be- cause bounced stokes on acoustic toms tend to sound muddy and indistinct. The primary note canbe placed on any cum, including the bass drum. Programming rus sla to programming flams, The easiest method iso step-ecord the Face notes at your machin’ highest olution, Rs are always periormed withthe grace notes very close tothe primary note, but you can try adjusting the dynamics, tuning, or timbre of the grace notes for addtional variations. Flams can be added to any note within any thythm, but cfs require more time to perform. For this reason, ruffs will sound more natural if you leave a litle space before them (see Bx. ample 5). Flams anc nafs have along history tht dates back to military bands. you add afew ofthese Figures to march-tke rhythm like those in Ex- ample 6, your peogramaming can arouse a song martial mood Next month, we'ltalk about programming rols—the drum uitimate long tone. Unt then, ‘experiment with adding some flams and ruff to your patterns and songs E