Dubspot instructor and course designer Matt Shadetek returns with another episode of Secret Knowledge, our video tutorial series of production tips, techniques and advice for Logic users. In the first installment of this three-part video tutorial, Shadetek looks at some different ways to create trap drum parts, especially rolls and fills, live with a MIDI controller.
Southern hip hop has long been one of my favorite styles of music and with the recent explosion in popularity of the new trap-influenced sounds I thought this might be a cool occasion to share some advanced techniques for programming these patterns in a more live style. In this tutorial we’re going to build a drum kit and Logic project which will help us to create these types of patterns using a MIDI controller instead of having to draw them in with a mouse.
To do this we’re going to build out some MIDI processing in Logic’s Environment to split apart the different notes we’re playing and apply different MIDI processing to them. We’re going to use an arpeggiator to play hi hat rolls at different speeds depending on which note we play, and do the same thing for snares. We’re also going to create a mapped multi-instrument that pulls multiple sound sources together into a single instrument we can play from one MIDI controller.
In this first video in the series we’ll look at building the kit in Ultrabeat using samples from the Lex Luger drum kit. We’ll also create the first hi hat arpeggiation using a transformer and arpeggiator in Logic’s environment. – Matt Shadetek
Matt Shadetek is a DJ, producer and teacher based in Brooklyn, New York. He runs the Dutty Artz label with DJ /Rupture. His second solo album The Empire Never Ended is out now.
In addition to achieving a complete overview of the composition process in Logic you’ll also earn the Dubspot Producer’s Certificate in Logic Pro. After completing this program, you will leave with a new EP, a remix entered in an active remix contest, and a scored commercial to widen your scope.
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