Drum Programming and Beatmaking

Objective

Create a 16-32 measure composition from several sampled sources. Program your own two-bar drum pattern, then use repetition and variation to turn it into a larger arrangement. Build on Project 1’s phrase structure and Project 3’s mixing skills while learning to trigger your own sounds with MIDI.

You may develop the drum pattern and session you started in class. If you reuse your Project 1 arrangement, replace its original samples with new sources.

Requirements

1. Create a 16–32 measure composition using 4- or 8-measure phrases, with a clear opening, a change in the middle, and an ending.
2. Include four sampled instrument tracks, each triggered by MIDI in Speedrum Lite: a drum kit, a chordal hit, a vocal sample, and a found sound. Effects returns and one optional audio-loop track are additional tracks.
3. Program an original two-bar drum pattern using 99Sounds: 99 Drum Samples I. Include a kick, snare or clap, and hi-hat or percussion; at least one change in bar 2; and more than one velocity level on at least one drum part.
4. Make at least one purposeful sample transformation beyond trimming or level adjustment: stretch, reverse, pitch-shift, or chop and reorder a sample.
5. Balance the parts with faders and panning so each has a clear role, with no clipping on the tracks or master. Use EQ or compression where useful.
6. Create at least one shared reverb or delay return receiving sends from two or more instrument tracks.
7. Submit a rendered WAV, a complete zipped project with all kits and samples, and source and decision notes as described in the submission instructions.

Build the arrangement

Develop your two-bar drum pattern into 16–32 measures, using 4- or 8-measure phrases as in Project 1. Include a clear opening, a change in the middle, and an ending. Bring parts in and out, leave space for the vocal or chordal hit, and make at least one phrase differ from the previous one. A simple arrangement with audible choices can meet the full requirements.

October 30 checkpoint

Bring a working session that opens with all its samples. Be ready to play your two-bar drum pattern and at least one non-drum sample triggered by MIDI. Bring one question about timing, sample preparation, arrangement, or file management. This is a feedback check, not an additional graded submission. Your arrangement and final mix can still be in progress. The finished project is due Monday, November 2.

Sample categories

Programmed drum pattern

Load at least three one-shot samples into one Speedrum Lite instance: a kick, a snare or clap, and a hi-hat or another percussion sound. Program an original two-bar pattern. The second bar must contain at least one change, and at least one drum part must use more than one velocity level.

Use drum one-shots from 99Sounds: 99 Drum Samples I, the pack used in our MIDI and Speedrum Lite lab . Choose your own combination from the pack or develop the pattern you started in class. Include the pack name and filenames in your source notes. You may layer a sampled break underneath your programmed drums, but the break does not replace the programmed pattern.

Example: Most-used drum breaks on WhoSampled

Chordal hits

Find a sample or loop of a chordal instrument, such as piano or guitar. Trim a short chord or phrase and trigger it with MIDI. You do not need to play it chromatically across the keyboard.

Examples: Piano samples on WhoSampled and Johannes Brahms samples on WhoSampled

Vocal sample

Use a short vocal phrase or hit as a melodic or rhythmic element.

Examples:

• Mariah Carey samples on WhoSampled
• Lyn Collins, Think (About It), on WhoSampled
• Burial’s Archangel sampling Ray J’s One Wish on WhoSampled

Found sounds

Choose a sample from Freesound.org to add texture or “ear candy.” You could use vinyl noise, a field recording, or another short sound. You may instead record your own found sound with a Zoom recorder or your phone.

In addition to the four MIDI-triggered tracks, you may use one audio loop.

Setup and sample preparation

Install the free Speedrum Lite plug-in and follow the download, installation, and sample-saving instructions . For routing help, review faders, panning, and sends . Keep EQ and compression on individual tracks as inserts when you use them.

Capture or download your source audio, then trim and render the section you want to load into Speedrum Lite. Already-trimmed one-shots can be loaded directly. Follow the worked vocal-sampling example for extracting, transforming, and sequencing a phrase. Read the sampling and copyright note below before choosing your sources.

You may use a YouTube downloader or record system audio with Audacity’s WASAPI loopback on Windows (setup guide ). If you need to isolate a vocal or instrument, Ultimate Vocal Remover is an optional tool. It runs locally and separates a mix into stems, though results depend on the source. Audition the stems before using them and list the tool in your source notes. See the AI tools section of the syllabus .

Sampling and copyright

For this project, you may sample from existing recordings, including audio captured from online videos. That is workable here because the project is unpublished coursework. Releasing music made from samples requires clearance: permission to use both the recording (the master) and the song (the composition). Those rights usually belong to different people. The Winstons, whose “Amen, Brother” break underpins entire genres, famously never received royalties.

Do not upload Project 4 to SoundCloud, Spotify, or YouTube. Submit it only to D2L and share it in class. For a version you can release, use cleared sources such as Freesound , your own recordings, public-domain compositions such as Brahms works, or a paid clearance service such as Tracklib . Check the license for every Freesound file; some require attribution. We will discuss the rights behind famous samples during the sampling history lesson.

Submission instructions

Submit to D2L the following:

• A compressed folder with the complete project, all audio files, and all samples. Save each Speedrum Lite kit with its samples inside the project folder and include those kit files and sample subfolders. Reopen a copy of the complete folder and check every sampled track before submitting.
• A rendered WAV file of the final master mix.
• A short text document with:
  • Every sample’s source and filename, including the 99Sounds pack name and any required license credits. For your own recordings, state what you recorded.
  • Any source-separation tool used, if applicable.
  • The sample you transformed, what you changed, and its audible purpose.
  • One mixing decision: the problem you heard and how balance, panning, processing, or the shared effects send helped.

Rubric

Total: ___ / 45