How To Write MIDI Drums FAST! - Part 2 - Programmed Drum Tips

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How To Write MIDI Drums FAST! - Part 2 - Programmed Drum Tips
Creating MIDI drums that sound real can be a tedious task. You may spend hours writing the notes, adjusting the MIDI velocity, and tweaking things to perfection before getting to a completed track. Well, here’s the good news! Creating realistic MIDI drums doesn’t have to be monotonous or time-consuming.
In this video, Justin shows you how to use drum samples in Cubase and his process for quickly programming drums using Kontakt and Steven Slate Drums. However, the process is the same when using any virtual drum instrument inside of any DAW. As we navigate through this video, you'll uncover valuable tips and insights to improve your speed and efficiency when triggering drum samples from MIDI.
Whether you're a seasoned music producer or just setting up your First Home Studio, this tutorial caters to all skill levels.
If you found this tutorial helpful, hit that thumbs-up button and subscribe to From Zero To Studio for future music production tips and tricks.
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0:00 Intro
0:27 Kick Velocity
1:14 Snare Velocity
1:52 Toms Velocity
2:24 Cymbals Velocity
2:50 Hihat & Ride Velocity
4:58 Hihat A/B Comparison
5:37 Unique Hihat Sections
6:54 Final Thoughts & Additional Tips
7:44 Free Guide - The Roadmap To A Radio Ready Song
8:13 Outro
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CREDITS:
► Song: Radio Dials
► Artist: Rich Satterfield

[@FromZeroToStudio]

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[@a.l.recordingstudio1163]

Hi Justin, probably the "Drum Editor" gives a more informative view, because of the named instruments along with the key naming. As well as the coloured gems shows the applied velocity (if you set it on the "event colours). In addition with the "Pitch visibility" you can easily filter the view to "show drum sounds with events" which gives you a even more efficient overview to your applied drum hits. Regards

[@FromZeroToStudio]

Thank you for sharing this Cubase tip! The Drum Editor is very similar to the generic MIDI Key Editor as it shows the colors of applied velocity and the ability to show drum sounds with events (labeled “show pitches with events” in the Key Editor). However, being able to see the instrument or drum name in place of the piano roll is definitely helpful for drum programming!
For me, it’s become muscle memory at this point where each drum note is on the piano roll with Steven Slate Drums specifically, but having a visual reference is still invaluable, especially when switching to different drum instruments. Not sure why I haven’t really used it before?! I suppose if you have a system that works efficiently, stick to it… until someone comes along and shows you how to make it even more efficient haha!
The only immediate issue I noticed in the Drum Editor is that the MIDI mapping and names of each instrument may not line up correctly with the virtual instrument you are using. For instance, the hihat was listed as a Conga. This can be easily fixed by changing the names as needed and saving a new mapping for that instrument. With a few minutes of setup time that specific virtual instrument will be properly mapped and ready to use for future projects!
Great insight on the Cubase Drum Editor! Thanks again for sharing!
-Justin

[@BrockBarr]

Would you bother adding a bit of humanize on the velocity and now position? I'm talking random changes of 0-10 ticks of random ness?

[@FromZeroToStudio]

Great question! It honestly depends on which drum sampler you’re using. If it has “round robin” samples (multiple samples for each velocity and plays a different sample each time), then it will already sound like a different hit from the previous, and adjusting the velocity is not necessarily needed.
If it doesn’t have “round robin” or is just one-shot samples, then I would adjust the velocities a small amount to make the volumes slightly different. Just be careful not to adjust too extreme of an amount, or you could start triggering the next tier of softer/harder samples and they might sound out of place. In that case, I would experiment with dragging the velocity up and down to find where those sample groupings change, and then you’ll know which velocity range you have to stay within.
This of course is all in the context of those straightforward drum hits that aren’t really different, like a snare on 2 & 4. If there is a distinctively softer note, or a build on the toms, etc, then always adjust those velocities as needed.
Which drum sampler are you using?
-Justin