Hydrogen Drumbeat Templates - A Non-drummer’s Best Friend
How do you know the stage is level?
…the drummer is drooling out of both sides of his mouth.
Yeah, yeah… I’ve heard them all. I know as a non-drummer it is very difficult to think like a drummer. Especially when most non-drummers reckon that drummers don’t have the capability of thinking much :). However, to make a decent sounding drumbeat from a drum machine, you need to “think” like a drummer.
This can be quite a task, but don’t fear! I, as a drummer, have done the thinking for you and made a bunch of Hydrogen beat templates which you can simply piece together to make a drumbeat. The concept is simple - all I have done is made a Hydrogen Song using various rock patterns. You can download this song and simply rearrange the patterns to suit you. Below is a link to the first beat template I have made:
BriansBeatsROCK.h2song (217 kB)
Note: These songs require the YamahaVintageKit available for download from here.
It consists of several basic 4/4 rock beats with a few fills. There is also a crash and drag pattern which can be overlaid on any of the pieces in order to pimp them. This sounds a bit weird but I have made an example song which shows just how easily these beat templates can be used. This can be downloaded from the link below:
ROCKBeatsExample.h2song (217 kB)
ROCKBeatsExample.mp3 (747 kB)
I have only used a closed hi-hat for the right-hand rhythm, however it is easy enough to interchange this with whatever suits you, like the ride, open hats, or crash. This is just my first attempt at beat templates. If I feel they are successful I will make more templates to suite the various genres such as Punk, Metal, Jazz, Funk, Latin and Pop. So please let me know by means of commenting on this post if you find these templates useful.
Other posts you might find interesting:
Hydrogen Drumbeat Templates: FUNK Beats
Hydrogen Drumkits
My Attempt at a Hydrogen Drumkit
Pimp my Hydrogen Beats
Making a Roll Sound Realistic
Sunday Bloody Sunday Hydrogen Beat
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:25 PM
“the drummer is drooling out of both sides of his mouth”
Oh, dude! I haven’t laughed that hard in a week… It’s so true.
July 25th, 2008 at 8:28 AM
I’m glad you enjoyed it. By the way, I’m a drummer :).
Later,
Brian
August 15th, 2008 at 8:55 PM
Thanks Brian for sharing! Great!
August 18th, 2008 at 9:21 AM
Thanks again for the feedback, Becks. I’m you are finding them useful. Would you be interested in different genres? Which genres would you like?
Later,
Brian
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Thanks Brian! I’m a guitarist and I have huge respect for drummers coz the dynamics involved in playing drums properly is actually pretty intense. This template has saved me many hours of frustration in Hydrogen. Thanks man!
August 25th, 2008 at 9:25 AM
Hey Norio,
Thanks for the great feedback, I’m glad that you are finding them useful.
Check out this new Hydrogen Template I just made: Hydrogen Drumbeat Templates: FUNK Beats
Later,
Brian
August 25th, 2008 at 9:46 AM
Hey again :)
I checked out your funk beats but I think they’re a bit too funky for lil ole me :P The rock stuff is much easier for me to play with.
I’ve already put together a basic drumbeat and fill using your template and it kicks ass.
I also didn’t know that you could change the volume of each hit. That has totally improved my drum tracks! No longer sounds like an AK47!
August 25th, 2008 at 9:58 AM
Hey Norri,
The funk beat templates also have a few more new fills. It would be worth it to check it out.
Also, a cool thing to try is to overlay the drag pattern on the bar just before any fill. It just adds a little more to the dynamics. You can also overlay it on any other beat to add a bit more realism.
Later,
Brian
August 30th, 2008 at 1:28 PM
Hi Brian!
Can you please help me out understanding how you add the beat in between the “beat lines”. For example in BriansBeatsROCK you have pattern 4/4 Fill Triplets 2 both mid and high toms having those.
Thanks,
Mika
September 1st, 2008 at 9:22 AM
Hi Mika,
If I understand you correctly, you are seeing certain notes which actually don’t fit onto the “beat lines”, and when you try and click on them, new notes appear on the beat lines next to it.
The solution to this is quite simple. You need to change the Resolution in the pattern editor to 3T or one of the other options until the notes fall onto the beat lines. The 4/4 Fill Triplets 2 pattern is made using triplet notes, the resolution therefore has to be set to a triplet timing. This is what the T means in the 3T.
I hope that helps. I have also written a post on Hydrogen Basics that might help.
Later,
Brian
September 14th, 2008 at 9:34 AM
Hi Brian!
Thanks, that helps:) I’ve been studying the beat examples you have here. Thanks for those. They are helpfull for a bass player who do not understand that much about drums;-)
Do you happen to have any blues kind of beats and especially drum fills that would fit in to the last 4 bars in 12 bar blues in your library? I have created a simple drum line and it sounds bit blunt. I have added few drags and modified the “hit impact for some of the beats that help bit, but good fills would make it more lively.
Best Regards,
Mika
September 15th, 2008 at 8:41 AM
Hi Mika,
Thanks for the feedback. I don’t currently have any blues beat templates, but I could definitely make some. I will try to get them out for you this week sometime.
If you want, you can send me a link to your song and I can edit it for you.
Later,
Brian