PG Music Home Forums User-to-User Post your own Tips and Tricks here UNIQUE DRUM AND OTHER TRICKS WITH REALBAND> (RB)....including how to do modern songs.

11…Fancy drum Solos. ( and other solos ?...lol.).

Why do I create songs ? …my wife says it's some 'primal urge'...lol…and would you believe..
She even heartily pushes me to do more and is a great critic of my work which is why I dedicated the 'Pretty Girl' song in my sig to her for her patience.
Maybe it's because I come from a very musical family…dunno. but for me it's all about enjoyment and having lots of fun. I agree with Dr PG…have lots of fun.
Part of that fun is finding new ways to do things with what one has and be inventive like the brilliant hit song 'telstar' decades ago in the 60's that needed a special effect so they used a 'toilet flush sound' reversed. (just google telstar.)

So let's consider for fun how to be inventive with drum tracks.
note… in my rb/bb wishes ive suggested that drums should be treated differen from other musical instruments and deserve their own special features and tracks.
but until those special features are included in rb/bb there are many things we can do including getting drum solos for song intros or in the middle of a song, and even creating 'illusions' of two drummers in a song.
In summary there are many ways to have fun and be creative in creating drum tracks.
I'll cover those alternatives as follows…

1..please read these tips of mine as one technique to save me from retyping.

https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=797927#Post797927

2..another fun alternative.….useing bb/rb midi generated drum tracks.
in bb and rb you can generate lots of midi tracks NOT ONLY for drums but also a cornucopia of loads of different midi instrument tracks in tons of different music genres...(includeing 'modern genres'.)
we can use these instrument midi tracks in new ways…one being 'drum solos'.
huh ? Is he nuts ? I can hear you thinking…. well actually NO…there's lots of fun to be had using instrument midi tracks in new ways….via experimentation.
for example…let's say we want a funky drum solo at beginning of a song or as an intermission scat in the middle of a song…here's a couple of ways…
..remember the fill track with a drum pattern feature ? experiment with different drum pattern (dp) files. for example just because the song is a rock song…let's think laterally and use other drum patterns and/or ones youve made yourself ie there are lots of dp standard patterns you could use or modify. so generate different dp tracks…and then experiment with editing the best bits together to get a funky drum solo going with a drum plugin vsti or see what you can do with the free pg synthmaster or sforzando plugins with their own funky drum sounds.
the skys the limit…..if you also try various editing tricks.
eg in rb bars or tracks views you could mix n match n mash up loads of different patterns to create intricate drum solos.
..purposely create midi tracks generated in styles meant for instruments but then instead of the instrument…use drum patches. also experiment with tempos etc…and here's a MAJOR tip…
in piano roll let's say you see the midi notes for an instrument or drums track…once again experiment with moving midi notes up and down (from eg…a genned midi track for an instrument..) driving a drum plug in.
eg you have a midi piano track genned…copy it to another track and insert a drum plugin or synthhmaster (for modern sounds)...and see if you can get a funky drum solo with some editing in piano roll.

In summary there are many ways to get interesting drum solos…its a question of using all the features at your disposal and testing.
For example, people say doubtfully 'I cant modern drum sounds'...i totally disagree.
just a few weeks ago i had generated a single note midi stream not meant for drums…a solo for another instrument and plugged in synthmaster and got all manner of modern drums.
to summarise you dont have to spend big on sample packs etc etc and other paid software if you're willing to get 'down and dirty' with various approaches.
Now 'PLEASE' see what you can do with the above hints for creating drum solos....there's LOTS OF FUN to be had.
(its interesting to note from what ive seen over the years
on the pg forums...many people with deep expertise in midi often appreciate rb's very deep midi features....
and dont run away from rb....in summary if you would take the time to RTFM for rb..and spend time with rb..
and develope midi expertise..you'll be rewarded.
let me say..even though ive used rb for a long time...
i still find neat rb features to use.)

(more to come.)
happiness.

om (who isnt THAT OLD…lmao.)