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Create SoulDestroying Drum Beats For Heavily PalmMuted Riffs, date: october 30, 2013

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Create SoulDestroying Drum Beats for Heavily PalmMuted

Riffs
author: Jahan Honma

date: 10/30/2013

category: songwriting & lyrics

Learnamethodofwritingdrumsforyour
heavymetalsongs.

rating: 6.3 / votes: 32

Vote

Perfectforsongwriterswhodonotplaythe
drums.
Listentothisverysimpleandfunpalmmuted
metalriff:
HeavyPalmMutedRiff.MP3

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95
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Itisveryrepetitiveandtheperfecttypeofrifftosingorplayaguitarsoloover.Inmycase,
Iwrotethisrifftohavedeathvocalssungover.Therearetonsofpossibilitiesbutwhatever
youdo,youwillprobablywantanawesomedrumbeattoaccompanyit.AmIright?Since
youaresuchagreatguitaristandcomposer,youhaveprobablygotatonofthesekindsof
sweet,bouncyriffslyingaroundallovertheplace.Ifyoudonothaveadrummertowrite
beatsforyou,yournextbestoptionistousedrumsamplestowritethebeatsyourself.Asa
guitaristthereisalwaysthepossibilitythatyouhavenoideahowtowriteadrumbeat.I
knowIdidnotwhenIfirststarted.Iwrotecrazynonsensefordrumbeatsbackintheday.
WhenIfinallygotadrummerandlethimlistentomysongs,hetoldmethathewouldneed
fivearmsandunbelievablepenilecontroltoplaythosebeats.Ihavebeenplayinginmy
currentband(Zoltan)formanyyearsnowandIoftenhearpeopletellmydrummerhow
impressivehisdrumworkis.SinceIwriteallthedrumpartsformyband,Ifeelliketheyare
actuallycomplimentingmeandnowIwantyoutogetthesameresults.Soletusgettoit!
ThefirstthingthatIliketodowhenwritingabeatforthistypeofriffishavethebassdrum
(alsoknownasakickdrum)playalongwithallofthepalmmutedguitarnotes.Arifflike
thisisreallyallabouttherhythm.Havingthekickdruminperfectsynchronizationwiththe
guitarsisanexcellentwaytoaccentuatethatrhythm.Hereistheresult:
KickDrum.MP3

Thesweetthingabouthavingthekickdrumplayinsyncwiththeguitarsisthatitmakesit
easiertohearwhattheguitarsareplaying.Inotherwordsyouaregettingheavinessand
clarityatthesametime.Youcannotbeatthat!
Nowletusaddinsomesnareandhihat.Itiscommonforthehihattoplayonceonevery
beatandthesnareonwhicheverbeatsyouwanttoaccent.Anexamplewouldbetohitthe
snareoneverysecondandfourthbeat.Thiswouldsoundlike"tsspahtsspah."Youcould

dothisanditwouldsoundjustfinewiththeriffweareusingbutIpersonallywanttomake
itintoaslowbrutalriff,soinsteadIamgoingtoplaythehihatononlyhalfofthebeats
(thefirstandthirdbeatsonly)andhavethesnarehitonlyonceperbaronthethirdbeat.
Hihat&Snare.MP3

Thexshapednotesatthetoparethehihats.Thesnareisthenoteonthethirdspace
(countingfromthebottom,asistheusualpracticeinmusictheory).Thehihatandsnare
usuallyworktogethertocreatetheoverallfeelingofthedrumbeat,whichiswhyIaddthem
togetherinsteadofoneatatime.Ifyoudonotfeelthatyouarereadytothinkoftwothings
atonce,thenthinkaboutjustusingthesnareonthespotsyouwanttoaccentandthenadd
inthehihatinaverystraightpattern.Youwilldefinitelygetthehangofitovertime.
Sonowweactuallyhaveacompletebeatbutitisfarfromsoundingsouldestroying.
Everythingelseyoumightdofromhereonwardcouldbeconsideredsimpletweaking.There
arecountlesswaysyoucouldgoabouttweakingthisverybasicbeattosoundthewayyou
wantitto.IwillshowyouhowIwentaboutitbutrememberthatthereisnowrongwayto
writeadrumbeat.ThisisjustonemethodthatIliketousewhenitcomestothesetypesof
heavilymutedriffs.ThefirstthingIwouldliketodoismakeitsoundheavieroverall.Thehi
hatisjustnotdoingitformesoletusreplaceitwithcrashcymbals.
CrashCymbals.MP3

Youcanseeatthetopthattheoldhihatsaregone.Thosenewxshapednotesyouseeare
bothcrashcymbals.
Next,Iamthinkingofaddingvarietybycompletelychangingupthefeelinginthesecond
half.InsteadofcontinuingonwiththecrashcymbalsIamgoingtorevertbacktothehihat
andIamgoingtohaveitandthesnareplaytwiceasfast.Sotherewillbehihatsonevery
beatandsnaresoneverysecondandfourthbeat.Belowiswhatthesecondhalfofthebeat
lookslikeinnotation.Theoldhatsarebackbuttherearetwiceasmanyofthemnowand
twiceasmanysnaresnowaccompanythem.
LatterHalfVariation.MP3

Nice.Thereisstilloneproblemwiththisbeat.Wheretherearenomutedheavychords,the
drumbeatjustkindofstops.Wecanfillthatinwithsomesimplesnareandcymbalhits.
Theretheyareattheendofeveryfourthbar.
SustainedNoteHits.MP3

Thebeatactuallysoundsquitecompletenowbutevenwiththesecondhalfchangedup,it
stillsoundsboringtome.Thelaststeptomakeyourbeatreallyrockistoadddecorations.
Itisuptoyouhowandwheretoadddecorations.Itwillvaryforeachpersonandeachsong.
Decorationsareacompletelyfreestyleprocessbuttheyoftencontainwellknownstructures

suchasdrumrollsandfills.Thisisthetimetogocrazywithyourimaginationandwritestuff
thatmakesyousay,"That'sinsane!"Beforegoingtoocrazy,hereareafewguidelinesto
helpmakesureyourbeatisactuallyplayablebyahumandrummer.
1.Mostdrummersarelimitedtotheuseofonedrumstickperarmandonlytwoarms.Make
certainyourbeatneverrequiresmorethantwodrums(notincludingthekickdrum)or
cymbalsbeinghitsimultaneously.
2.Donotwriteamachinegunkickdrumbeatthatisanyfasterthanthespeedyoucan
drumyourpalmsonyourlap.
3.Ifyouwanttohaveanopeningandclosinghihat,youwillonlyhaveonefootavailable
forthekickdrum.
HerearetheadditionsImade.

Thetopstaffistheslowfirstpartofthedrumbeatwhilethebottomstaffisthefaster
secondpart.Duringtheslowsection,thefirstadditionImadewasabunchofridecymbal
hitsplayedatthesametimeasthekickdrum.RightafterthatIthrewinaquickhihat.
That'sallthatiscontainedinthefirstredcircleinthefourthbar.Rightafterthefirstred
circlecomesthesnareandcymbalhitsthataccompanythesustainedguitarnotes.Youcan
seethatthereisasinglekickdrumnoteinbetweenthetwohits.Inthefastersection,the
changesoccurrightbeforethesnareandcymbalhitswhereIplacedakickdrumtoleadinto
them.Thefirsthitafterthatisusuallyasnareandacrash.Lookcloselyandyouwillnotice
thatthecymbalhasmovedtothethirdspaceabovethestaff.Thatisnotacrashcymbalbut
achinacymbal.Itisasmallchangebutitgoesalongwayineliminatingarepetitivesound.
Beforethesecondsnarehitarethreerapidkickdrumsandthenanotherkickatthevery

end.
FinalBeat.MP3

Youarenowreadytocreatesouldestroyingdrumbeatsformostheavypalmmutedriffs
suchasthisone.Ihopeyoufoundthisarticleofgreatuse.Ifyouhaveanyquestions,feel
freetocontactme.
Bonus.MP3

AbouttheAuthor:
JahanZoltanHonmaisarecordingartistandfreelancecomposerbasedinNiigataCity,
Japan.YoucanlearnmoreaboutJahanatTheLegendaryZoltan.comandlistentosomefree
musicatZoltan'sSoundCloud.
54 commentsposted

Hippedkille postedonOct30,201309:53am#

commentspolicy

+8

Agreatarticletodemonstratehowdrumscanreallyspiceupasimpleriff,nicestuff!

Prostheta postedonOct30,201310:01am#

+12

Alittleoverstatedsayingitis"souldestroying"whenitismoreorlessquitestraightforwardandplain.It's
simpleandeasytoconstructsomethingbasicfromtheserulescertainly.Thatmaybethereasonwhyit
soundssomewhatgenericlikemostnouncoremusic.

DisarmGoliath
mpostedonNov02,201303:59am#

+2

Yeah,I'mprettymuchinthesameboatasthisthewayIseeitisthatthisarticleisgreatIFyou
wanttoonlywriteaveryspecificstyleofdrumpatternoveraspecificstyleofriff(e.g.metalcore
breakdowns,basically).Otherthanthat,itdoesn'treallyteachyouanything.
WehavemoreindepthresourcesintheRecordingsforumifuserssearchforthem,nooffenceto
theauthorofthearticle!

xlonexwolvesx postedonNov13,201306:59am#

+1

itsalsofar,farawayfrombeingheavy...

xlog postedonOct30,201310:10am#

Bonusdoesntwork

dralithi postedonOct30,201311:43am#

+1

Trieditasecondtimeanditdidworkforme.

Pepitohammett postedonOct30,201310:35am#

+1

KickDrum.MP3remindsmeofFearFactory...nice.

theoriginalhe postedonOct30,201312:47pm#

waytooboringimo,it'sexactlywhatevery*corebanddoes

+26

ifyou'rewritingdrumsformetal,takewisenoteofwhatchrissaysinthefirstfewmomentsandfindaway
tospiceitupwithoutdetractingfromthesong
typically,thewaytodothis,andthewaytomakeaninterestingdrumtrack,isnotbylayeringthebass
drumoverthesamerhythmastheguitar

Sumlover41 postedonNov04,201308:28pm#

+1

"It'sprettysimple.It'sdoublesovertriples."
Yeah,okay,Chris...

eatfresh1736 postedonNov06,201309:54pm#

Definitelyoneofmyfavoritemetaldrummers(I'maguitaristbtw).It'snotoftenthatyoustop
andthink"man,thatdrumriffwassooriginal."Also,Ilikehissupertightsnaresound,because
you'reabletoheareverylittlestrokesoclearly.

aelkeris postedonOct30,201302:13pm#

+12

Nomatterwhatotherssay,ibelivethatthiscouldturnintoagreathelpforanyguitaristthatneedstowrite
hisowndrums,soitwouldbeaprecciatediftherecouldbemorelessons.Forexample,aboutbreaks,
differentrhtymsetcetc.

westley23j postedonOct30,201302:29pm#

+4

agreedwithaelkeris.asarecordingguitaristwhodoesntplaythedrums,ifindthatdraggingand
droppingdrumriffsforSuperiorDrummerandrandommidimapsifoundonlinecanbestale.i
dontTHINKlikeadrummer,soitshardformetocomeupwithinterestingdrumtrackslikethis.

crazysam23_AtaxpostedonNov01,201302:28pm#

+3

I'minthesameposition.
Besides,thisisaverysimpleexample.Youcouldeasilychangeupthings.Thepointis,
HOWTOTHINKlikeadrummer.Inotherwords,whatpartsshouldberhythmically
emphasizedandwhatshouldkeeppushingthesongforwardasasteadybeat?That's
noteasyforaguitarplayertograspwithoutsomehelp.

K!!LsWiTcH postedonNov01,201302:30pm#

+3

wellthenifyourenotadrummer,thenthatsthechallenge.istryingtowriteintersting
rhythmsmaybethewayadrummerwouldnt'tnecessarilyplayit.ididntenjoythis
articleatallithinkthelastthingthisworldneedsismorekidscomingupandsaying
kicksthatdonothingbutfollowheavychugsareawesome

Russcool postedonOct30,201310:02pm#

+1

sickbreakdown

Renegade24 postedonOct30,201311:50pm#

+10

Asadrummerfirstthenguitarist,thiswasprettygenericsounding.Nottodumponyouoranything,Ijust
finditreallyboring.

K33nbl4d3 postedonOct31,201303:55am#

+2

Itworksforsomegenres,notforothers,imo

henrihell postedonOct31,201302:55am#

14

Doesn'twork.Thiswouldbeuseablefor4/4timesignature,butsinceyourriffis15/16,andmostlythe
drumsaretoo(they're4/4atsomepointsandjust13/16atothers).Forprogyoudon'tusedrumpatterns
thissimple.
PS.Maybeyoushouldlearnthebasics,likehowtimesignaturesworks,beforepostingalesson.

Lodhas postedonOct31,201306:06am#

+5

Whatareyoutalkingabout?Listentotheaccentsandlookatthenumberofbeatsinthebarit's
a4/4riff...which,incaseyoumissedit,isdenotedbythetimesignaturewrittenatthebeginning
ofthestaff.

henrihell postedonOct31,201310:59am#

11

whenicopythatexactrifftoguitarpro,thebarisincomplete.Itsays4/4,butitreally
isn'tifyoucountcarefully.Youhave516thnotes,then28thnotesandfinally616th
notes.thatmakesa15/16timesignature.

MaggaraMarine postedonOct31,201312:32pm#

+7

Youmissedthedotted8threstafterthefive16thnotes.Justlistentothe
song.Doesitsoundlike15/16?Orjustuseyourbrains.Ifyoucanread
rhythmswell,youcanseewherethebeatsare.AtfirstIdidn'tseethatdot
inthedotted8threstbutIknewithadtobethere.Andafterlookingatit
morecarefully,youcanseethatthereisadot.

henrihell postedonNov01,201303:03am#

10

OK,it'slightgray,almostwhite.Inotherwordstheprogramused
tocreatethoseiscrap.Dotsshouldbethesamecoloras

everythingelse,notsolightthatyoubarelyseethem.

crazysam23_AtaxpostedonNov01,201302:30pm# +5

Inotherwords,you'reblamingthewriter,becauseyoudidn't
readitproperly.Goodjob,man.

jesus_sucks postedonNov02,201301:29pm#

inotherwordshementionedafailurebecausethenotationis
crap.simpleisthat

jesus_sucks postedonOct31,201312:11pm#

Itiswrongit's15/16not4/4.
Andthenotationisterrible.

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