In this section, you'll learn to use the samples created in Part 3 in your sequencer of choice.

Sequencing Triggers
 

Using a virtual sampler in my sequencer, I have assigned each of the cut samples (in alphabetical order) to keyboard notes, as indicated in the image above. Exactly how this is achieved may vary depending on your setup, so I won't go into that here.

Above is an example of how you could sequence the breakbeat in your sequencer's key editor. Here you can see 4 bars of drum patterns I've put together using only Cut A and Cut B. If you didn't find that easy enough to follow, you can pick up the video file (which uses every one of the cuts), below:

Click here to download an example video, demonstrating an 8-bar trigger sequence.

Notice how the groove is mostly kept intact, because you don't actually program the entire rhythm. You don't manually trigger each individual drum hit. Instead, you treat each hit with the assumption that the rest of the natural groove automatically follows it. So why did I trigger the snares on beat 2, when they follow in the cut anyway? It's not at all necessary, but it helps me to see what's going on. Plus, I can be sure that certain hits (usually beats 2 and 4) are locked to the exact timing that I want (an intentional groove-relaxer). So far, the more triggers I use, the more the natural drum groove is lost. That's fine by me in my productions, as I'm usually going for an artificial sound. Is there some way to retain the groove, though?

Above is the Dreambreak in a typical hit point calculator^. These utilities are able to roughly estimate where each drum hit begins. To help them along a bit, you can zoom in and make sure the hit points are just as accurate as the manual cuts we made earlier. This is useful for stealing the groove from a sample to apply as a quantise on your trigger sequences! It might be a bit long-winded, but this method's results are 2nd to none.

Above is what you would see if you were to import the groove into your sequencer as MIDI data. Notice how the hits don't fall exactly on the quantise grid anymore. But don't worry, there's a way around that...

This is what happens when you 'set part to quantise' (terminology will vary from sequencer, to sequencer). The groove is saved as a template and you can then use it as the quantise grid for your whole track (or just the parts you want to have that swing). Now we're in business.

WAIT A MINUTE! What's to stop us from forcing the groove of a really tight, funky breakbeat on to a less well-performed drum rhythm with a different texture? Good thought, get on it!! Also, you might only want to apply a part of the groove to your sequences. Can you see how this is where the ultimate freedom and control starts to come in?

Sequencing Tips

Always use your ears! Listen to your sequences in solo (mute everything else) and listen as closely as you can for anything unusual. Often you will hear clicks at the end of some of your cut triggers. This is caused by the drummer's loose groove. Sometimes a hit will come early in a cut sample and the initial attack from that early hit will sound like an annoying clicking noise where your trigger is about to end. There are 3 simple ways to avoid this.

1. Zoom in on your sequencer's key editor, set the quantise to a smaller grid (64th, for example), then shorten the trigger length of that hit until the trigger's short enough to have stopped before the next drum hit.
2. Open up the actual sample again, remove the offending hit (so that the cut doesn't play all the way to the end of the bar), and then reload it into the sampling device. You might have to replace that missing hit for other parts of your trigger sequence, though. Sometimes this will involve creating a new cut sample to load.
3. Make sure your sampler device has a reasonable envelope setting. If the release is too quick, it will nearly always click - likewise if it's too slow. You want it as quick as possible without any clicks.

Also, it's good to be aware that less is most often more. You can go nuts with these techniques, but is that right for your track? Try to listen carefully to how drum rhythms are structured in the music you listen to. Most drum rhythms are based on very generic foundations. When you become more aware of these generic rhythms, that's when you can come up with the most impressive sequences that actually work and feel good.

As a rough guide - think about where the bass line sounds in your song. For maximum impact, try making the bass hits and the breakbeat's kicks sound at the same times. That way you can EQ the breakbeat to make space for the bass, and the 2 sounds will reinforce each other. That is how most music achieves a strong and pumping low-end - NOT with a weak kick, a weak bass sound, or with a kick and a bass sound that compete for space in the mix. A breakbeat that accomodates and reinforces the song's bass line is ideal.