July 27, 2013

The Importance Of The Drum Machine In Hip Hop Beats And Rap Instrumentals

By Delroy Wilkins


A while ago, there was not much information available on the internet concerning drum machines. It was easy to get confused by the variety of equipment available then. It was also much harder to discern which instrument did what as most of the equipment back then did almost everything at the same time. You could easily find yourself confusing a keyboard, workstation and a synthesizer. This article aims to help you understand about the different terms you may come across and what they mean.

The drum machine can come either in software or hardware form. In short, you can simply regard is as a piece of music making equipment. Although existing in software form, it falls within a larger system of programs which work together to create sounds. Today, a single piece of music making equipment is capable of handling multiple tasks.

The drum machine, as the name suggests is designed to create drum sounds which producers can use in music production. The first models came with stock drum sounds. They limited the music producer's ability to edit and change these sounds. Producers were therefore forced to buy specific drum machines on the basis of the type and quality of sounds it came with. One drum machine that was quite popular is the Roland TR-808 known for its clear sounds. Over time, drum machines have evolved allowing you to use your own sound samples, changing them as you like. In addition to this, you can even use sample sounds created by other producers as well as sample sounds from existing songs.

The second function of the drum machine involves creating different drum parts through a programming function. That is, the sequencer feature on the drum machine can be used to create different drum sounds. The sequencer is used in the creation of constant sounds on a bar. This is done by either filling in spaces on the sequencer or, using drum pads. These techniques are fairly easy to learn and implement.

The two functions that are discussed above, which are creating drum sounds and beat programming are the most important parts of a drum machine, without which the machine would be meaningless. However, thanks to modern technology, it would not be right to assume that the drum machines can only achieve those functions. There are some other hidden functions that a drum machine performs and that are still critical in producing hip-hop sounds.




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