How to Write DJENT Drum Beats
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- čas přidán 10. 07. 2024
- ► Free PDF • hackmusictheory.com/djent
If you’ve been in the Hack Music Theory family for a while, you’ll know we love technical drum beats! And there probably ain’t nothin’ more tech’ than polymeters*. While polymeters were relatively popular with those bold “modern classical” composers of the early 20th century, they haven’t been used much since then.
And yes, over the last few decades there have been a few rare examples of polymeters in popular music. But, it wasn’t until a group of hairy Swedes with exceptional talent (otherwise known as Meshuggah) came along and re-popularised the polymeter. What made Meshuggah’s polymeters unique, though, is their genius idea of having their drummer’s hands (snare & cymbals) play in 4|4 as the one time signature, while his feet (kick) play in an odd time signature, like 17|16. The genius of the Meshuggah method is that listeners can nod (or mosh) along to the 4|4 time signature, while the odd time signature slithers around unpredictably. The brilliance of this can’t be overstated. They created a way to play in odd time while the audience dances in 4|4.
To get an idea of how weird odd time signatures sound without this method, listen to “March of the Pigs” by Nine Inch Nails. They alternate three bars of 7|8 with one bar of 4|4. And while we love this song, you have to have a relatively high level of music theory knowledge just to be able to dance along to it. That’s obviously not ideal for the average listener. Also, 7|8 isn’t even that weird. Meshuggah uses far weirder time signatures! But, because they’re playing them against 4|4, you can dance along.
Meshuggah’s method has become a favourite for prog/tech bands over the last couple decades, and TesseracT are one of them. Their new album “War of Being” kicks off with a great polymeter (in the track “Natural Disaster”) which finds them adding a few creative twists to Meshuggah’s method. So, inspired by “Natural Disaster”, here’s our 6-step method for making technical polymetric drum beats. But first… Tea!
*If you’re new to polymeters, it’s the term for playing in two (or more) time signatures simultaneously.
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ABOUT
Learn how to make good music in a DAW (digital audio workstation). Taught by Ray Harmony, a multi award-winning college lecturer who's made music with multiplatinum Grammy-winning artists, and his protégé wife, Kate.
CREDITS
© 2024 Revolution Harmony
Footage by Billie Woods
Music by Ray Harmony
► Free PDF • hackmusictheory.com/djent
Good to see you back (in my feed).
Great to see you sharing more videos! Keep up the good work, and you'll hit one million subscribers in no time :)
This is great but are you planning to bring back the slightly longer more in depth videos?
Not sure. Those videos were very shallow. These PDFs are not only step-by-step tutorials, but each step also goes more in-depth into the theory. As a result, these PDFs are significantly more helpful :)
@@HackMusicTheorybut we, and personally I, would like to see you, it is not necessary to go into music material, just, you know, some talk and tea...
Can I borrow this if you mind?
Can you cover Owl city,s glided melody like in the song fireflies?
What is the software used?
We use Reaper www.reaper.fm but there are lots of free DAWs as well, so if you're new to making music in a DAW, then try a few free ones first to see what you like :)
what drumkit vst?🙏
We use GetGood Drums. We LOVE them!!! And no, we're not sponsored by 'em, we happily paid for it. Here's the kit we used in this example: www.getgooddrums.com/collections/software/products/modern-massive-pack
@@HackMusicTheory yes, its fire!