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Others go in the opposite direction, naively and over-confidently penning beats that at best would require five or six limbs to actually play, and at worst come across as mad and unconvincing, even to the untrained ear.

The fact is that programming realistic, groovy drum parts is well within any desktop producers abilities.

All you need is a MIDI sequencer, a quality sound source and some insight into the rules, limitations and standard practices that real drummers work to and within.

But is it really worth the effort Why not just use sampled loops of real drummers playing real drums to create your percussion parts While this is always a wholly viable option, the results will be qualitatively different to what youd get from building your own parts.

Program your own drums, though, and you have total command over every element of the performance - from the notes themselves to the sounds of the individual drums and cymbals.

Beatcraft Drum Kits Full Ownership Of

So, if you really want to take full ownership of your beats, building them yourself from the ground up is the way to go.

Same difference If youve programmed electronic beats before, youll be glad to hear that the rhythmic paradigm that governs dance music and electronica is equally dominant in pop, rock and most other genres in which youd find a live drummer.

Its that fabulous 44 backbeat, with the kick drum emphasising the first and third beats (either directly or by implication), and the snare on the second and fourth, embellished by incidental grace notes and fills.

The vast majority of modern music adheres to this straightforward structure, which is good news for programmers looking to emulate the real thing.

Whats more, knowing how drummers play their drums isnt just useful for programming live-sounding parts: even your drum machine patterns will benefit from a true understanding of what the human ear has semi-consciously come to expect from contemporary percussion elements.

With all that in mind, then, its time to take a drum lesson Real drum kits can reach impressive proportions but of course, your virtual kit can be even bigger.

Beatcraft Drum Kits Plus A Variable

Image credit: Future) Drumming 101 The drum kit comprises a kick drum, a snare drum and a pair of hi-hats, plus a variable number of tom toms and cymbals (usually two or three toms and four or five cymbals, although the only limits are space and reach).

Most of the action takes place on the kick, snare and hats, while the toms and cymbals are used for accenting and fills.

Most tracks will see the drummer spend the vast majority of their time playing a groove, which, generally speaking, involves nailing the backbeat on the kick and snare, and tapping out a metronomic eighth-note tick on the hi-hats (known as riding).

Assuming the drummer is right-handed, the right foot plays the kick drum, while the left foot controls the hi-hat.

The top hi-hat cymbal is struck with the right hand (crossing over the left), while the left hand hits the snare.

Try it now on a desk or your thighs: tap out eight evenly-spaced hits with your right hand, simultaneously tapping your right foot on hits 1 and 5 and your left hand on hits 3 and 7.

Congratulations youre drumming Feeling the groove Those are the fundamentals, but of course theres much more to it than that.

He or she places them in the context of the rest of the track, in which - never forget - the drums play an underpinning, supporting role.

This isnt something you need to master in order to program realistic drums, but you do need to understand the forms that these intuitive patterns might take beyond the elementary kick, snare, kick, snare.

Generally speaking, the kick drum should work in tandem with the bassline, so try placing kick hits directly on top of your main bass notes.

Most of the time the snare will fall on beats 2 and 4, but shifting one forwards or backwards by half a beat can utterly transform a groove - try it.