For those looking for Dale Howard, this is one of my fav examples. - open.spotify.com/track/30DNP4LHzXIeGbHRqH07xB?si=v-P40AY6R4i4-7Y_xdrtBg I like a lot of his older tracks. Listening to the newer its not so much my vibe but still well produced! I just love the old dirty tracks :) His IG - instagram.com/dale_howard/
what i love so much about ricky tinez is that he doesnt just show you fast and easy what to do to when giving tips, he talks about the philosophy behind why the thing that sounds good... sounds good. :)
im so glad youre actually making a video where your aim is to teach us something rather than advertising the new hot whatever gas object, ! good for all of us bro, have a nice weekend
Thank you! This is what most electronic dance music is missing. Most DJ's treat drums as a metronome. BORING. There is so much that can be done to emulate the feel of "real" percussions. There is nothing boring about percussions in the world.
tip for my elektron users: sprinkle tuned incidentals such as two tuned tom hits with a short reverb and some delay on subsequent steps but low odd percentage chance (19% for example) and never mute that track for some tuned happy accidents!
Heard that organ sound and immediately thought of nhan solo - tell you. Then i remembered nassim - rawhide (good old ps2 tony hawks memories ). Love how a single sound can bring back so many memories! Great work as always!
I play drums and another tip is something we sometimes call "musical mileage" (getting variety from same concept): use the same fill pattern (series of notes) but assign different drums in that pattern each time. It'll sound so different you won't pick up that it's the same pattern.
There is a cool trick that a dnb producer showed me. You do your second snare variations in a 16 bar loop and your kicks in a 15 bar loop or 7,9,13 you pick. The hole beat slowly slides along. I used it to practise to.
Thanks a lot, these little tipps and reminders help a lot. I too often tend to focus on adding other elements, instead of focusing on variety of existing elements. :)
Thanks for the juicy stuff. As much is this kind of info is valuable, it also just feels nice to see someone else warmly experiencing music creation. Helps me feel connected, in some way.
I've been playing with beat-repeat on the drums, one LFO set to turning it on and off every 4-8, other LFO set to changing the offset, and then only setting the gate to 2/16. Gives you this rad auto-random (within the parameters) double up on certain hits. Can apply to the whole beat, but even tastier sometimes to apply to isolated hats, especially if you already have some movement on those hats.
I visualize it: think about every drummer you've ever watched and how & when they move. You don't even have to know how to play the drums to get a feel for what they're doing. This kinda started for me when I would work on electro house tracks, which rely heavily on a simplicity in the kick & snare, but I'd imagine a drummer on stage going *kick snare kick snare* and realize how repetitive & boring that would be and that drummers don't look like that, so I started thinking about how every few bars a drummer's arms reach out and do this or that, how they've shifted to one side of the kit for a section, how hands change rhythm & pace, how body parts move differently between the verse & chorus. If you pretend you're the person on stage playing it, you'll find ways to make it not sound boring because sounding boring often translates to looking boring.
oh totally, even thinking about how a drummer might play the snare a tiny bit early or late to add emotion to something, alllll these little things add up to the whole pumpkin pie
@@RickyTinez I did invent an app in my head which helps you play drums like a real drummer. It does this by making your life a little more difficult. I know this sounds a bit odd but when you have too many possibilities you get a bit too silly.
Hi Ricky I gotta say I love how human your vids are, especially the whole "that sounded great earlier but now im not sure" thing. That speaks volumes to me, It does sound great btw. It maybe a small thing but when we vibe, we vibe. So real bro, and great drum tips too! Happy making!
i do this with all my tracks. usually, after i arrange, i zoom in on each 8 bars and just glitch it out with reverses and rolls and stuff. if u make your way through the whole track doing this it gives it such a deeper level of complexity
Man, you dropped some mean tips today, will bring them into the studio asap! And that strings lead towards the end; AMAZING. Transformed the beat completely. Loved the vid. Peace!
Hey ricky, quick tip - when recordiing in looped bars and at the end of recording you overwrite your part just a bit (like at 14:09 in this vid), you can hit cmd+z and it will get rid of that small part at the beginning that you usually drag out manually
Cheers for this. I really think making drum beats more interesting is a super important thing and it is the finer details which create the interest. There is some crazy stuff you can do with samples and probabilities to create an ongoing flowing beat that keeps a groove but does not have the constant repeating. I explore those ideas on my channel a bit. Why I think this really works well here is because the bassline is so simple and repetitive that it kind of plays against the drums to keep things flowing.
I use breakbeats most of the time but I do this all the time. I used to listen to the drummers of Bob James and Rogier van Otterloo a lot when I just started making beats with a sampler because I loved those drums. I found out they do a lot of fills, ghost notes, etc. and play the same drum pattern but a little different each time. It taught me a lot.
Loved watching this. This is def something I've thought about a lot but had a hard time explaining to other musicians / producers. For a long time all I did was think in these microstructures, they are absolutely key for making a track that stays interesting. It's something that I've never found captured in traditional music theory but a lot of the same principles about the idea of expectation/denial - call/response are the same.
I love this! I'm always interested in making my stuff sound less like a robotic loop. I might have to give it a re-watch to fully get part of it but also inspiring me to go into my daw right now and mess with it first and see what I come up with before I do rewatch it.
One of my favorite technique that i found is, take a midi clip from your lead, bass or chord (tonal) whatever (but not percussion!) and just drag it to your drums instrument, you can be very surprise how pretty good this would sound ! And thanks you for sharing your knowledge. =)
Good stuff thanks! One drum tip in Ableton 11 ctrl-a all the midi (or just select the drum hits you want) then randomize the velocity down by maybe 30 ish. It gives a nice little bit of texture to your drums. Also its different per play so you can audition each of your drums then freeze when you get a session you like if needed.
This also seems like one of those times where it's worth mapping your drums to midi triggers, keys or whatever and just PLAYING them instead of only drawing them in. Keep your loop running and play live over it, see what you feel like playing in the moment. It can take some time to learn to play in time and have creative freedom, but it's well worth it.
I try to hand play at least some elements of my drums by hand, usually with just 50% quantization. It depends on the genre, but I like how it adds a bit of chunk to my straight house beats.
Dude! Great video, as usual! I totally vouch for this technique. I think it's especially effective the way you demonstrate here, without overthinking it too much. Keep up the good work!
Man, you are unique ... I just love your style ... such positive energy so freely given ... genuine insights. Finally subscribed and never knew I hadn't' before. Won't be able to make that mistake again. Knowledge is power - peace :)
Use the follow actions in session view as a way of getting the computer to ‘improvise’ sequences that you then record into arrangement view. This is really the whole point of session view. When you’re inspiration is at a low ebb you can generate material via follow actions that you wouldn’t have otherwise conceived.
Polyrhythms stay pretty useful to me for loops if I don't want to think about creating variations. I had to learn how to create them in the Digitakt, but I'm happy with polyrhythms + the fill button there. Great vid as always!
This is kinda simple but really helpful - minimal music needs to be spiced up, but the right way, in order to hold attention. Ive really been falling into doing this stuff on the Tracks, its so easy to just duplicate a pattern, nudge stuff around, and let it loop and fiddle with it til something works 😅 Randomize and ping pong pattern settings are fun for trying stuff out on there too
Yea thats dope, I kinda do that where ill pick a few spots to change a note or a hit. Add some randomness. The odd mute is cool too, just like a quick 8th note. Good vid man. 💯🔥
This reminds me so much of how I have experimented with drum patterns in the past… wavering between feeling genius or like a fool crankin out random midi patterns on the computer lol… I think the important thing is to not get discouraged and just experiment till you find methods and results you like. Thanks for sharing your methods and behind the scenes insights to your production tricks!
Nice! I actually did this to a track I worked on back late last year; I like to put random steps on the step sequencer in FL Studio just to change it up with the drum patterns 😅 great tip! And you got me wanting to cop a Nord now, them strings SWEET LORDT
I love your vids Ricky. Always enjoy chilling with you. You're the mellowest of all the Prod vids I've seen and I appreciate the mellow friendly vibe, and your music. First found you thanks to your awesome P.O. vids, and enjoy your other stuff too. I was all hardware back in the 90s, but mostly plugins through Ableton/Reason these days, so I enjoy seeing you work in virtual space. I enjoy the modular and gear stuff too, but I've been liking some of the more general recent Ableton vids. Keep up the good work and I'll see ya next Saturday, if I don't visit you in the past before then!
Always been a big fan of Dale Howard his tracks are fucking sick. Hypnotise is soooo good, probably one of my all time favorite tech house tunes. Thanks for the video I think this method will help a lot with a song I'm working on. I have kind of hit a wall with it and this will definately help.
Yes Bro mentioning Dale Howard, nice guy loved his track Big Ron, big in tech house. He's a dad now so maybe he's spending time with his child which is totally normal.
I use 8 and 16 bar patterns. I usually do some turn arounds and fills at the 8 and 16 bar. By chopping these up i can vary when they come in. I also create additional hh tracks with some randomness that i bring in from time to time.
I am using Hexinverter Mutant Hot Glue for compression/distortion with modular drums and Happy Nerding FX Aid for great creative results with modular percussion.
Hey @Ricky - great tip, as always. I don't suppose you could recommend some key Dale Howard tracks that have influenced this element of your drum programming? 🙏
been contemplating a similar yet more extreme version of this... building loops for the writing process only, treating that version as scratch tracks; then manually performing every instrument the entire song length leaving room for natural variation and improv! of course this would only play out for a studio recording; the live solo performance could use those original loops. maybe it's too extreme but this might be the spark that pushes me to experiment with it
hope this helps, but session mode is just for capturing ideas. try to fill the view with clips. Just flesh out the gems with follow actions :D It's why I like Maschine as well, 16 patterns just looks better than 1 pattern, even though I don't use all 16. It does force you to maybe try another idea
For those looking for Dale Howard, this is one of my fav examples. - open.spotify.com/track/30DNP4LHzXIeGbHRqH07xB?si=v-P40AY6R4i4-7Y_xdrtBg
I like a lot of his older tracks. Listening to the newer its not so much my vibe but still well produced! I just love the old dirty tracks :)
His IG - instagram.com/dale_howard/
I know Dale howard 😋 I even have some of his sample packs. 👍🏻
1:30 "it kinda sounded better earlier when I made it" Story of my life...
Story of MY life!
Hahaha classic right?
same xD
'Ken Oath bro. Specially the morning or night after..
But then sometimes you’re like, damn, that’s actually fire
what i love so much about ricky tinez is that he doesnt just show you fast and easy what to do to when giving tips, he talks about the philosophy behind why the thing that sounds good... sounds good. :)
im so glad youre actually making a video where your aim is to teach us something rather than advertising the new hot whatever gas object, ! good for all of us bro, have a nice weekend
Thank you! This is what most electronic dance music is missing. Most DJ's treat drums as a metronome. BORING. There is so much that can be done to emulate the feel of "real" percussions. There is nothing boring about percussions in the world.
I like seeing you in the daw , its dope! Should consider doing more of these types of vids Ricky!
16:43 I'm with you, that slaps when the strings drop out.
tip for my elektron users: sprinkle tuned incidentals such as two tuned tom hits with a short reverb and some delay on subsequent steps but low odd percentage chance (19% for example) and never mute that track for some tuned happy accidents!
Heard that organ sound and immediately thought of nhan solo - tell you. Then i remembered nassim - rawhide (good old ps2 tony hawks memories ). Love how a single sound can bring back so many memories! Great work as always!
I play drums and another tip is something we sometimes call "musical mileage" (getting variety from same concept): use the same fill pattern (series of notes) but assign different drums in that pattern each time. It'll sound so different you won't pick up that it's the same pattern.
There is a cool trick that a dnb producer showed me. You do your second snare variations in a 16 bar loop and your kicks in a 15 bar loop or 7,9,13 you pick. The hole beat slowly slides along. I used it to practise to.
Thanks a lot, these little tipps and reminders help a lot. I too often tend to focus on adding other elements, instead of focusing on variety of existing elements. :)
ThaNk you so much @rickytinez for being with us in the past 2 years... you're our breakdown beats...!!!
Every time I watch one of your videos I am inspired to work. Thanks man.
Thanks for the juicy stuff.
As much is this kind of info is valuable, it also just feels nice to see someone else warmly experiencing music creation. Helps me feel connected, in some way.
I've been playing with beat-repeat on the drums, one LFO set to turning it on and off every 4-8, other LFO set to changing the offset, and then only setting the gate to 2/16. Gives you this rad auto-random (within the parameters) double up on certain hits. Can apply to the whole beat, but even tastier sometimes to apply to isolated hats, especially if you already have some movement on those hats.
I visualize it: think about every drummer you've ever watched and how & when they move. You don't even have to know how to play the drums to get a feel for what they're doing. This kinda started for me when I would work on electro house tracks, which rely heavily on a simplicity in the kick & snare, but I'd imagine a drummer on stage going *kick snare kick snare* and realize how repetitive & boring that would be and that drummers don't look like that, so I started thinking about how every few bars a drummer's arms reach out and do this or that, how they've shifted to one side of the kit for a section, how hands change rhythm & pace, how body parts move differently between the verse & chorus. If you pretend you're the person on stage playing it, you'll find ways to make it not sound boring because sounding boring often translates to looking boring.
But you're not making natural sounding drum tracks with House music. House as a genre relies on repetition. I'd go so far as to say it's essential.
This! I've always seen it this way too. Helps you create more humans rhythms this way.s
oh totally, even thinking about how a drummer might play the snare a tiny bit early or late to add emotion to something, alllll these little things add up to the whole pumpkin pie
@@RickyTinez
I did invent an app in my head which helps you play drums like a real drummer.
It does this by making your life a little more difficult.
I know this sounds a bit odd but when you have too many possibilities you get a bit too silly.
Hi Ricky I gotta say I love how human your vids are, especially the whole "that sounded great earlier but now im not sure" thing. That speaks volumes to me, It does sound great btw. It maybe a small thing but when we vibe, we vibe. So real bro, and great drum tips too! Happy making!
i do this with all my tracks. usually, after i arrange, i zoom in on each 8 bars and just glitch it out with reverses and rolls and stuff. if u make your way through the whole track doing this it gives it such a deeper level of complexity
Ohh yes I'm love doing that too 😄
Its all about the details for sure 👍
Yes
Man, you dropped some mean tips today, will bring them into the studio asap! And that strings lead towards the end; AMAZING. Transformed the beat completely. Loved the vid. Peace!
Hey ricky, quick tip - when recordiing in looped bars and at the end of recording you overwrite your part just a bit (like at 14:09 in this vid), you can hit cmd+z and it will get rid of that small part at the beginning that you usually drag out manually
Thanks!
Will it still keep that recorded tail though? Incase I want it to drag out into a breakdown? That would be awesome. Thanks for this tip!
I assume punch out doesn't stop recording if you are in loop mode?
@@RickyTinez hmm not sure about that, will try later. Glad to help!
@@RickyTinez it keeps the tail!
Cheers for this. I really think making drum beats more interesting is a super important thing and it is the finer details which create the interest. There is some crazy stuff you can do with samples and probabilities to create an ongoing flowing beat that keeps a groove but does not have the constant repeating. I explore those ideas on my channel a bit. Why I think this really works well here is because the bassline is so simple and repetitive that it kind of plays against the drums to keep things flowing.
I use breakbeats most of the time but I do this all the time. I used to listen to the drummers of Bob James and Rogier van Otterloo a lot when I just started making beats with a sampler because I loved those drums. I found out they do a lot of fills, ghost notes, etc. and play the same drum pattern but a little different each time. It taught me a lot.
Those Nord strings at the end are brutal Ricky, thanks for sharing
Loved watching this. This is def something I've thought about a lot but had a hard time explaining to other musicians / producers. For a long time all I did was think in these microstructures, they are absolutely key for making a track that stays interesting. It's something that I've never found captured in traditional music theory but a lot of the same principles about the idea of expectation/denial - call/response are the same.
Ricky makes a “boring” topic super entertaining and fun, not to mention you learn a ton!
really good. that choppng midi technique works really well with fast d&b espescially when it has that rock feel to it, with ghost snares
damn, one of your best jams at the end there my dude.
I love this! I'm always interested in making my stuff sound less like a robotic loop. I might have to give it a re-watch to fully get part of it but also inspiring me to go into my daw right now and mess with it first and see what I come up with before I do rewatch it.
One of my favorite technique that i found is, take a midi clip from your lead, bass or chord (tonal) whatever (but not percussion!) and just drag it to your drums instrument, you can be very surprise how pretty good this would sound ! And thanks you for sharing your knowledge. =)
Dude it's always a pleasure watching you doin your thing.
Thanks for your knowledge and sympathy
Good stuff thanks! One drum tip in Ableton 11 ctrl-a all the midi (or just select the drum hits you want) then randomize the velocity down by maybe 30 ish. It gives a nice little bit of texture to your drums. Also its different per play so you can audition each of your drums then freeze when you get a session you like if needed.
Rickey is about that life, good job brother.
Really digging this jam, Ricky!
Can't wait to check the finished project!
This also seems like one of those times where it's worth mapping your drums to midi triggers, keys or whatever and just PLAYING them instead of only drawing them in. Keep your loop running and play live over it, see what you feel like playing in the moment.
It can take some time to learn to play in time and have creative freedom, but it's well worth it.
I try to hand play at least some elements of my drums by hand, usually with just 50% quantization. It depends on the genre, but I like how it adds a bit of chunk to my straight house beats.
Killer track there at the end. The synth was a perfect addition. Thank you for letting us in on all these tricks of yours, it's super beneficial!
Super helpful!
Drums are one of those things that I'm constantly going back to work on
Well done! The little incidentals are what make a track interesting I feel. Cheers
Dude! Great video, as usual! I totally vouch for this technique. I think it's especially effective the way you demonstrate here, without overthinking it too much. Keep up the good work!
Man, you are unique ... I just love your style ... such positive energy so freely given ... genuine insights. Finally subscribed and never knew I hadn't' before. Won't be able to make that mistake again. Knowledge is power - peace :)
Use the follow actions in session view as a way of getting the computer to ‘improvise’ sequences that you then record into arrangement view. This is really the whole point of session view. When you’re inspiration is at a low ebb you can generate material via follow actions that you wouldn’t have otherwise conceived.
nice! recently I have been experimenting with the same ideas! :) Yes, these cutting / pasting and weird "offbeating" stuff is amazing! :)
Thanks for the heads up Ricky and will check out Dale Howards jams 👍☮
So Dope. Just discovered you from listening to 3-Hr Note. Absolutely Superb.
Love your laid-back approach, and you’re introducing interesting tweaks I haven’t explored before. Subscribed!
Polyrhythms stay pretty useful to me for loops if I don't want to think about creating variations. I had to learn how to create them in the Digitakt, but I'm happy with polyrhythms + the fill button there. Great vid as always!
More like this Ricky! Strangely one of my favourites. Especially learning the keyboard shortcuts which I suck at.
This Is Banging. Totally Awesome. Gonna Create A Beat Now. Thanks For The Inspiration Ricky.....
This is kinda simple but really helpful - minimal music needs to be spiced up, but the right way, in order to hold attention. Ive really been falling into doing this stuff on the Tracks, its so easy to just duplicate a pattern, nudge stuff around, and let it loop and fiddle with it til something works 😅 Randomize and ping pong pattern settings are fun for trying stuff out on there too
Love you man. Thx for these videos that keep me doing stuff even when I m down
Yea thats dope, I kinda do that where ill pick a few spots to change a note or a hit. Add some randomness. The odd mute is cool too, just like a quick 8th note. Good vid man. 💯🔥
This reminds me so much of how I have experimented with drum patterns in the past… wavering between feeling genius or like a fool crankin out random midi patterns on the computer lol… I think the important thing is to not get discouraged and just experiment till you find methods and results you like. Thanks for sharing your methods and behind the scenes insights to your production tricks!
Nice! I actually did this to a track I worked on back late last year; I like to put random steps on the step sequencer in FL Studio just to change it up with the drum patterns 😅 great tip! And you got me wanting to cop a Nord now, them strings SWEET LORDT
Very Nice. I'm playing a Piano Riff to it on the MODX8. Thanks RT...
I love your vids Ricky. Always enjoy chilling with you. You're the mellowest of all the Prod vids I've seen and I appreciate the mellow friendly vibe, and your music.
First found you thanks to your awesome P.O. vids, and enjoy your other stuff too. I was all hardware back in the 90s, but mostly plugins through Ableton/Reason these days, so I enjoy seeing you work in virtual space. I enjoy the modular and gear stuff too, but I've been liking some of the more general recent Ableton vids.
Keep up the good work and I'll see ya next Saturday, if I don't visit you in the past before then!
Always been a big fan of Dale Howard his tracks are fucking sick. Hypnotise is soooo good, probably one of my all time favorite tech house tunes. Thanks for the video I think this method will help a lot with a song I'm working on. I have kind of hit a wall with it and this will definately help.
I think about it and you do a video on it.
Well done, Sir.
Serendipity indeed.
Awesome video! I've Been finding myself watching more and more of your content.
Man, Dale Howard is really good! Thanks for recommending! ✌️
And Daniel bell ?
@@rudyserlet8959 have to listen to him too!
I love this production tips of yours. The one you did for Ableton was very helpful too.
great track! The fills really made it.
Yes Bro mentioning Dale Howard, nice guy loved his track Big Ron, big in tech house. He's a dad now so maybe he's spending time with his child which is totally normal.
Yo Ricky, Plz hurry up and finish this tune- FIRE!!!
I use 8 and 16 bar patterns. I usually do some turn arounds and fills at the 8 and 16 bar. By chopping these up i can vary when they come in. I also create additional hh tracks with some randomness that i bring in from time to time.
Great groove, my brother. Well done.
Would love to see a tutorial on this with the Octatrack.
16:27 perfect! i felt the same about the strings
Session view is a strange love for me … ha great video bro 👌🏾
Pretty much the perfect yt video. Deep simple and inspirational. 🙏
and again another video from you that inspires me, man keep things up, love your videos and music
I love this green colorscheme all over the place.
This is such a good tip. Thank you for sharing the knowledge!!
I am using Hexinverter Mutant Hot Glue for compression/distortion with modular drums and Happy Nerding FX Aid for great creative results with modular percussion.
'The Verbinator'
I like it.
Patterning on iOS has a nice ‘chance’ and ‘shift’ implementation. Really keeps things moving.
Dale Howard is a magician 🎩
Videos are looking better and better!
tip: add in the end of every fourth bar or so triplet eighths that trigger by chance of 50% or so.
i did it in this track ua-cam.com/video/IVG3IEFSzA8/v-deo.html
Love the new chance features. I also sometimes use reason generators that have some chance features for hh variations.
Your videos are fantastic
Very very cool... thanks Ricky
Hey @Ricky - great tip, as always.
I don't suppose you could recommend some key Dale Howard tracks that have influenced this element of your drum programming? 🙏
FIRE...This is HIGH QUALITY TUTORIALS
been contemplating a similar yet more extreme version of this... building loops for the writing process only, treating that version as scratch tracks; then manually performing every instrument the entire song length leaving room for natural variation and improv! of course this would only play out for a studio recording; the live solo performance could use those original loops. maybe it's too extreme but this might be the spark that pushes me to experiment with it
11:38 its not too wild its never too wild
consistent fire every week, man...
This is cool stuff, dude!
Double Z !! - i never realised! Great vid also.
Loving the content
hope this helps, but session mode is just for capturing ideas. try to fill the view with clips. Just flesh out the gems with follow actions :D It's why I like Maschine as well, 16 patterns just looks better than 1 pattern, even though I don't use all 16. It does force you to maybe try another idea
Helpful as always !
Just seeing if the MPCs are out today 🤓
Dale Howard is a g! To the house beeet
Unlimited bars on the Deluge dude😁
Yo man! This are some nice tips and beautiful music! Appreciate it! I wonder tho what tips you have for techno 😉
this song is sick you need to finish it :)) great tips too
Fuckin Gold!!!
You're just amazing dude I can't even express how grateful I am for this channel to exist!!!
Thank you! 🙌 ❤️ 🙌
Like your Channel very much!! Please make more mpc live 2 video’s
dope track man ! keep going ! Get Deep !
Very inspirational. Thank you
broo, this sounds dope
love you to bits ❤️