How to get better at producing hip-hop drums

Hey guys! Today, I’m going to give you guys some practical tips on producing pop and hip-hop drums. 

Let’s get right into it.

Know the skeleton

So in any drums that you do, whether that’s hip-hop, Rock, Pop, whatever you do, there is a certain pattern that all drums follow in pop music. 

Now this pattern that I am about to discuss was first made by jazz artists way back in the 1920s. 

And it was so popular that almost every musician uses this pattern. 

I really should say, every musician, but I’m pretty sure there is some musician out there that does their own thing. 

But in all reality, if you really pay attention to the songs you listen to, you’ll find that this pattern stays true almost 95% of the time. 

Sticking within pocket

So in drum world, there is a technique called sticking within pocket. And it’s the pattern that I’m talking about from the jazz artists in the 1920s. 

Now say this out loud in a musical manner and you’ll hear how the pocket sound like. 

Say this, “Boots and Cats and Boots and Cats and.” 

That same skeleton is used everywhere in music. 

And if you really want to get technical and talk about how to write that out in standard notation, it’s Bass on 1 and 3 and snare or clap on 2 and 4 and hi-hats on the ands of the beats

But there are different ways that you can shape that so that it doesn’t sound the same all the time. 

So for the bass, you can actually have that on off beats as well but the thing is that it has to be a mixture of on and off beats in order to make it catchy. 

This way you can vary the bass drum. 

And the Hi-hat doesn’t have to be the same either, with the hi-hat, it’s very popular to make 8th note or 16th note runs. 

And the snare doesn’t always have to be. The same. 

It just has to fall back on the 2 and 4 in a pattern if you do get away from it. 

Mixing Side

So when you’re mixing hip-hop drums, you have to take into consideration that you’re not mixing acoustic drums, most of the time. 

You’re mixing electronic drums. 

However, there is no much difference to when you’re mixing regular drums as with hip-hop drums. 

There are three differences when mixing hip-hop drums. 

First, the reference track that you’re going to be using is going to sound different than a rock track. 

Second, the bass drum might come out a little more than with a rock track

Third, you are not mixing overheads or have bleeding parts. 

Which means that for every drum part that you have, you need to separate it into a separate track. 

Broadcast

I sure hope that I have been an inspiration and a hope to you all. Please remember to pray, read your Bible, go to church, and love God above all else. Like, comment, share, subscribe, and I will see you all next time.

If you want to go to heaven, then believe in Jesus and you will go to heaven. (John 3:16)

Thank you all for listening in on this blog post. 

German Gonzalez, signing out!