Authenticity vs Inauthenticity

M

magnusmaximum714

New member
It hit me as a I sat with my DAW open tonight that I have been obsessed with doing live drumming (i.e. me not penciling in drum hits) for about 2 years now. While my rhythm has probably improved, I still wouldn't consider my rhythm to be incredible. I have stuck with live drumming because in some part of my brain I have considered penciling in drum hits to be a less authentic way of making tracks. The thing is, though, I have made some pretty dope stuff penciling in drum hits and am trying to open myself up to making my drum tracks in this way and to drop the notion that a beat is only "my art" if it is made completely by my hands. I guess I want to reach a balance between penciling and drumming by hand.

What are your thoughts on the entire beat/record you create being dependent upon your own drumming/timing vs. penciling in hits/melodies?
 
If it sounds good it sounds good, that's all that matters in my view. I think triggering live can make the work flow quicker sometimes, but the end result is most important. Now if you're talking bout actual "live" drums that diff.
 
Are you saying you have been playing a live kit, or have been using a trigger pad to play MIDI samples? If you are playing a kit, then that is always going to have the potential for much more energy than sampled drums. Of course, how good you are at playing them matters a lot, but still it will always be the best option for me. If you are just triggering, though, I would say that it is easier to come up with breaks when playing them rather than pencilling them in, just because you are injecting a somewhat live feel. I use an Alesis Control Pad and an MPD24 for my beats and the only things I will pencil in are basic kick and snare hits. After that I either record a live hi hat are play everything on the two triggers.
For melodies I usually sing them or play them on guitar or keyboard, I never pencil in harmony or melodic content.
 
Consider it like composing for any other instrument. A classical composer does not play all the instruments in an orchestra - he "pencils in" the notation and other markings, like when to be softer, crescendo, or accent a note.
 
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