How to program beats in logic

However, a lot of traditional-sounding house music — the likes of which currently gets a lot of airplay on UK radio — tends to be fairly safe with its drum choice in a bid to translate well in the club. Even after all these years, the and kicks, claps and hats are still widely used, albeit with a variety of heavier processing, as they just sit so well in the mix, and work so well on the dancefloor.

For example, if a kick is esque, then you know it will potentially poke through the mix, but leave enough space for a sub-heavy bass. Many producers will start with these bread-and-butter drum sounds to build a foundation, then layer different and more interesting hits on top to create character and to disguise the more familiar sounds.

A lot of the drum production is based around finding multiple hits with different characteristics and then layering them to form a big, upfront sound. When this happens, the waves can stack up on top of each other and you may end up with phase cancellation, which will usually result in a thinner- or weaker-sounding whole.

You should notice that one way round will sound fuller and more punchy than the other. If in doubt, try muting the second sound in and out, and listen to whether it simply adds to the first sound, or changes it. We could also chop out the last bar from this region and set the Fills to per cent, to create a turnaround.

This tutorial is endorsed by Point Blank. You can study sound to picture on their Music Production Diploma courses, with pro industry tutors. Spitfire Audio Aperture: The Stack review: An unusual collection of super-sized electronic instruments. Best freeware of the month: January With features like Note Repeat and a vast library of drum sounds, Logic Pro X is the perfect tool for programming your own beats.

We pick up our sticks and show you how to get more creative with the DAW. The difference between the two is in relation to the playback engine — with the Drum Machine folder being powered by the Ultrabeat plug-in, while the other uses Drum Machine Designer.

The result is a clear arrangement, where you only access the MIDI regions and audio tracks of the drums as and when you need them. In a simple way, this could be a straightforward as a 16th hi-hat produced by holding down the hi-hat trigger.

With Note Repeat, the rate can be controlled from the lowest octave of the keyboard, making it easy to record these rapid, machine gun-like hi-hat patterns with relative ease. By moving to faster note divisions — like 32nd and 64th note — you can start to replicate drum rolls and drags, or rapid, glitch-like drum tracks where a sample is rapidly retriggered.

One dramatic way of changing the presentation and drive of the kit is the addition of compression. Start by focusing on the kick and snare, as these elements contain the force behind your drum groove. The joy of any DAW is in the way features knit together to produce a musically effective workflow. Programming and mixing your own beats in Logic has always been enjoyable, but the combination of Note Repeat, Track Stacks and a collection of compressors makes Logic perfect for programming your own drum loops.

Open up the Library and load the Techno patch. Start by playing a basic groove between the kick and the snare. Expand the Track Stack to reveal the individual outputs. Align the split MIDI regions with the corresponding outputs to make their relationship clear. Open Note Repeat via the Toolbar. Expand it to reveal all the options and also enable Key Remote. Note Repeat is great for programming elements like hi-hats and shakers that occur over repeating, fast note divisions.