Tech Column: Drum replacement method

Drum production is a world shrouded in mystery. Drums have formed the backbone of commercial music since the genres of rock and pop started formalising in the 1950s. It may come as a surprise to you to know just how ubiquitous the practice of reinforcing or completely replacing the drum stems in a mix is – even in seemingly acoustic genres. This may seem obvious in trap-inflected tracks such as Katy Perry's ‘Dark Horse’ or Kylie Minogue's pounding collaboration with Lostboy, ‘Padam Padam’, but the process has infiltrated both studio and live performance across all genres.

An alternative to pre-made samples

Our approach to music production in schools can all too easily focus on the laptop production model: encouraging students to utilise pre-made loops and programming samples rather than utilising the skills of acoustic musicians. Drum replacement offers an interesting potential hybrid, acknowledging the value of live performers, while offering the flexibility of a programmed approach.

The process of manipulating drum recordings is nothing new. Over the years, a standard drum recording has grown from Glyn John's ingenious three-microphone stereo set-up, to multiple overhead and spot-mic arrangements which can easily see engineers throw upwards of twenty microphones at a single drum-kit.

Likewise, processing drums post-capture is nothing new: check out the ethereal slowed-down snare in Simon & Garfunkel's ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, an effect achieved by hours of painstaking manual tape-splicing by engineer Roy Halee. Building on this foundation, Led Zeppelin then began experimenting with reversing drum sounds, most notably in their epoch-defining cover of ‘When the Levee Breaks’.

The laptop production model has opened a world of creativity. I am a huge advocate of this approach, especially in secondary education. DAWs have removed one of the major barriers to music making – developing a technique on an acoustic instrument – with the result that music education has the ability to be much more inclusive. There is, to my mind, one significant disadvantage to this approach, however: it encourages a rigidity of design. Whether programming drums on a grid, or working with short loops of captured audio, the workflow lends itself to producing perfectly lined up, synchronised results.

Aspects to consider

Most DAWs offer native algorithms for drum replacement, which either double up or replace a recorded drum multitrack at the touch of a button. The advantage of this approach is to retain the natural groove and feel of a live drummer while allowing me, the producer, more flexibility over the final sound of my drums. There are two key aspects to consider when utilising drum replacement techniques in Logic Pro: Velocity and ADSR capture.

Velocity refers to the dynamic intensity with which a drum is struck, and it plays a crucial role in creating natural and realistic drum sounds. Logic Pro's drum replacement functionality allows users to capture the original drum hits' velocity information, ensuring that the replaced samples accurately reflect the dynamic nuances of the original performance. By preserving the velocity nuances, such as soft ghost notes or sharp accents, students can maintain the expressiveness and authenticity of the drummer's performance in their replacement tracks.

ADSR capture is another essential aspect of any drum replacement workflow. The ADSR envelope shapes the characteristics of a drum sound, profiling those illusive elements of a performance which fall in between dynamic and rhythmic variations. By capturing the profile of the original drum hits, students' replacements can mimic the nuanced tonal and dynamic properties of the original performance.

I have recently been involved in a project which took this workflow and set it on its head. One of the studio technicians at one of my regular teaching haunts, Reikan Fleijahr, is also a prolific DJ and producer. For his latest project he has produced an album, utilising his usual ‘inthe-box’ workflow. He has then asked a variety of musicians to ‘overdub’ the programmed parts, elaborating on his MIDI skeletons and bringing the subtly of live musicians to the project. The result is an elaborate electro-acoustic fusion following in the footsteps of Flume, Bonobo and Rüfüs Du Sol, but with his own unique approach.

Taiko ensemble

Most recently, I was fortunate to sit in on the studio sessions capturing a panoply of taiko drums. Ranging from a vast two-and-half-metre bass giant to hand-held treble drums, the two players produced a world of sound with vibrancy and imagination. Reikan later told me that his original programming was inspired by some Japanese Matsuri tracks, bringing the drum replacement journey beautifully into a full circle. This organic approach to creativity has produced an amazing and highly individual collaboration.

The taiko ensemble has a life all of its own: the way an experienced player approaches the instruments in order to get the best out of each drum is very different from the approach from the programming initially put down. Each drum has its own tonal characteristics and sonic fingerprint, which the players had evidently spent years building a relationship with. The players responded to the track, spontaneously adding to, and improvising over, the guide-track they were given.

The layers of musicians building up a tapestry of sound, over the framework of the trance sound design, produces a unique vibrancy. The musicians bring the programmed elements of the sound design to life: the electronic elements add a foundation to the mix which gives it a depth of its own. The blend of sonic elements makes for a uniquely 21st century result.

A natural sound

Given the level of granular level of control available for drum programming and replacement, and given the almost molecular levels of detail with which good sample libraries capture, it is completely possible to programme drums to a level indistinguishable from a real player. The sound design requires an insider's understanding of the instrument, and a player's approach to laying down a part.

Ben Sharp's ‘Cloudkicker’ project is perhaps my favourite example; I challenge even the most experienced session drummer to listen to ‘Here, Wait a Minute, Damn It!’ or ‘YHWH’ and identify that the drum tracks are anything other than live captures. Sharp is a commercial airline pilot who pursues Cloudkicker as a side project; he has become a genius of drum programming, imbuing his drum tracks with a level of detail and variation that creates almost hyperreal drums.

A word of caution: for those of you delivering A Level Music Technology spec, the current brief specifically forbids the use of drum reinforcement in coursework submissions. It is all too easy to cover up a sub-standard drum capture by overlaying (or even replacing) the drum multitrack with a series of samples. But that negates having students rise to the challenge of capturing a complex and vibrant multi-part instrument in a real space.

A world of creativity

Drum replacement opens up a world of creative possibilities. Students can experiment with various drum samples, layering techniques, and customizations to craft unique and distinctive drum sounds that suit the style and vision of their music projects. The process requires critical listening and problem-solving skills. Students learn to identify issues in drum tracks, technical and artistic, and use replacement techniques to overcome these challenges. This fosters a keen ear for detail and helps develop valuable problem-solving abilities applicable to various aspects of audio production.

Drum replacement should not be used as a crutch to mask deficiencies in capturing live drums, especially in educational contexts where students should be encouraged to rise to the challenge of capturing the complexity and vibrancy of real instruments. Likewise, drum programming should not become the norm where the value of a live players' nuances and feel will bring a new life to students' creative work. The practice of reinforcing or completely replacing drum stems has become pervasive across various genres, even those traditionally associated with acoustic instruments. In educational settings, where laptop-based production models often dominate, drum replacement serves as a valuable hybrid approach that acknowledges the importance of live performers while offering the flexibility of a programmed approach.

Drum replacement techniques provide students with opportunities to explore creative possibilities, experiment with different samples and layering techniques, and develop critical listening and problem-solving skills. By identifying and addressing issues in drum tracks, students gain a deeper understanding of technical and artistic aspects of audio production and the possibilities of combining human and computer sound. Ultimately, drum replacement serves as a valuable educational tool, fostering a keen ear for detail and nurturing problem-solving abilities applicable to various facets of music and audio production.

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