Hydrogen Drum Machine - Effective Beat Making
Making good beats is what Hydrogen is all about. In this tutorial I will show you some tips and tricks on how to use Hydrogen to quickly make some great rock/pop/country beats.
It can be frustrating to try and create an interesting beat from scratch. It is like trying to pull a great idea out of thin air. It can be challenging. So I use a few little tricks to get Hydrogen to help me in the process.
Rather than going to Hydrogen with a rhythmic idea already formed I approach the software much like a potter will a piece of raw clay on a wheel.
We are going to be using Hydrogen's rhythm editor for this tutorial. First I set my resolution to 8th notes. I then start by laying down a straight patter on the bass (kick) drum, snare drum and hi-hats. Here is the pattern I start with below:
Using the bass drum I experiment with adding and taking away notes. If I find something I like I explore it. Once I have done this for a little while I move to the snare drum then the hi-hats. As I add and take away notes I am presented with a new groove that may spark a new idea.
Once I have explored the 8th note resolution I switch my resolution to 16th notes and repeat the process. After that I move to 32nd notes.
This exercise of starting simply and moving into more complex rhythms keep me rooted in the meter. If I jump into complex rhythms too early I loose my rhythmic center.
In no time I find a great beat that I can use in my music.
I encourage you to spend time experimenting with Hydrogen to get used to composing your rhythms. You can make some unique and exciting rhythms by exploring how these rhythmic divisions interact. Be sure to save your work often and keep your beats in an organized folder.
Hydrogen is an open source application, which means that it is free for everyone to use. Please consider going to the developers' website and show your support for the project - http://www.hydrogen-music.org/
I hope you enjoy this tutorial. If you have any specific questions for me feel free to leave it in the comments of this post and I will do my best to get back to you with an answer.
Cheers,
@buckydurddle
Learn Hydrogen Series
If you would like to learn how to use the open source drum machine Hydrogen, then have a look at these tutorials:
Hydrogen - UI Layout & Basics
Hydrogen - Rhythmic Resolution
Learn Helm Series
If you would like to learn how to use the open source software synth Helm, then have a look at these tutorials:
Helm 1st Oscillator Video Tutorial
Helm 2nd Oscillator Video Tutorial
Learn Audacity Series
If you would like to learn how to use the open source sound recording and editing software Audacity then have a look at these tutorials:
1 How to Create a New Audacity Project
2 How to Open or Import Audio Files in Audacity
5 How to Save an Audacity Project
7 How to Set Input Volume Levels
8 How to Export MP3 and WAV Files
9 How to Select and Delete Sound
ACTIVITY 1 - My First Recording
10 How to use Undo and History in Audacity
12 How to Use the Time Shift Tool
13 How to Use the Change Pitch Effect
ACTIVITY 2 - Make Your Voice Sound Like a Chipmunk
14 How to Use the Fade In & Fade Out Effects
15 How to Download Sound Samples from the Internet
16 How to Use the Amplify Effect
ACTIVITY 3 - Multitrack Recording in Audacity - Beatbox
21 How to Use the Change Tempo Effect
22 How to Use the Equalization Effect
ACTIVITY 4 - How to Mess Up a Piece of Music
25 How to Remove Vocals from a Recording
SETUP - How to Install the LAME Encoder
Logo - http://tytel.org/helm
Logo - https://www.audacityteam.org/
Logo - http://www.hydrogen-music.org/hcms/
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