Recreating Patterns + Layering Drums

Drum layering is a very important skill in todays modern music. Why? Music producers have been layering drums and finding new ways to process them in order to create their own unique signature sound. Examples include Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Timbaland and the Neptunes. These are 5 different producers with unique drums that they created. For an example, let's listen to an instrumental from Pete Rock.



Notice anything in particular about the drums on this song? They are the combination of a drum break and individual drum sounds playing on top of them to re-create the pattern. In today's exercise we will work on this method of drum programming. It will also help you get a better idea of how to recreate drum patterns that you may hear in different genres of music. Let's get started.

1. Open Reason

2. Create a Mixer 14:2

3. Set your tempo between 75-100.

4. Create a Dr. REX Loop Player. Load in a Dr. REX Drum loop of your choice (I personally recommend Drum N Bass, RnB HipHop and Abstract HipHop).

5. Set your L to 1 and your R to 5 & turn you. Put your Dr. REX Loop "To Track".

6. Turn your "Loop On/Off" to On.

7. Create a ReDrum Drum Computer.

8. Try to recreate the pattern of your Dr. Rex loop using Redrum sounds. Each individual Redrum sound should have its own pattern. Copy each pattern to the track. Experiment using more than 1 snare or bass drum (example: 2 different bass drums that have the same pattern).

9. When you are finished let Corina or Ian know.