Drum Programming Masterclass: COMPLETE (Parts 1, 2, and 3) from Udemy

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This course is "5-Star Certified" by the International Association of Online Music Educators and Institutions (IAOMEI). This course has been independently reviewed by a panel of experts and has received a stellar 5-star rating.

This is a class designed for music producers who are ready to get serious about drum programming. The art of programming drums on a MIDI grid, in drum machines, or with audio files can be tricky to master, but when you finish this class, your tracks will have the extra energy that comes from professional drum tracks.

100% Answer Rate. Every single question posted to this class is answered within 24 hours by the instructor.

Dr. Allen is a professional musician, top-rated Udemy instructor, and university professor. In 2017 the Star Tribune featured him as a "Mover and a Shaker," and he is recognized by the Grammy Foundation for his music education classes.

I'll be using Ableton Live and some Logic in this course, but it will be easy to following along on whatever program you are most comfortable with. We will start the class off with basic rhythm theory, and learning where (typically) we put the kick, the snare, and the hi-hats. Then we will learn to adapt that pattern to work for a number of different styles.

) different classes that together make the complete sequence. This is the

Also in the class, we will be doing a number of analysis projects. That just means we will load up some tracks, and re-construct the beat in the track. Doing this will help us to see how those beats are built and guide us in making our own beats.

Topics include:

Tools of the trade
Working on the Audio Grid and MIDI Grid
The Bar
The Pulse
The 8th and the 16th
Meter
"Counting" Bars
Reading Drum Patterns
Percussion Elements
Cymbals
Where to find good, free, samples (My favorite sites. )
Forming the Groove
Variation
Modulation
Genre
Feel
Swing
The "Basic Pattern"
Off Beats and Down Beats
Dynamics
Syncopation
Why work with samplers?
How samplers work
The classic hardware samplers: The Roland 808
Note On, Note Off Issues
Velocity
Drum and Bass patterns
"Playing It In"
Quantization Settings
Controllers
Recording Controllers
Using Ableton's Groove Settings
Dubstep Patterns
Using Effects in a Drum Pattern
Filtering
Delay Effects
Reversed Sounds
Pitch Shifting
Elements of Trap
Programming Trap Beats
Dynamic Effects
Ghost Notes
Noise Risers
Humanism
Finding the beat in a track
Matching swing settings (or not)
Using multiple beats on the same track
Programming Hip Hop Beats
Transitions and the Beat
"The Breath"
Transition Examples
Fills
Sidechaining (side-chain)
Programming Footwork beats
Syncopation
Pitch and Drums
Tuning Kick samples
Melodic Percussion
Mixing drums
Frequency space and drums
Programming Funk
Programming Glitch
Using Glitch plugins
FREE plugins for advanced techniques
... And much more.

Analysis Tracks:

John B: Up All Night
Sub Focus: X-Ray
Konflict: The Beckoning
Skrillex: Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
Flux Pavillion: I Can't Stop
Gent and Jawns: Turn Up
Bro Safari: The Drop
Snoop Dogg: Nothing But a G Thang
Eminem: Lose Yourself
Dessa: Skeleton Key
Boylen: High Life
DJ Slugo: 114799
The Meters: Cissy Strut
James Brown: Cold Sweat
Prince: Sexy MF
The Winstons: Amen Brother
...And many more.
And of course, once you sign up for any part, you automatically get huge discounts on all of my other classes.

You will not have another opportunity to learn Beat Programming in a more comprehensive way than this. Start here.

The course is a roadmap to

All the tools you need to produce great drum tracks are included in this course and the entire course is based on real-life experiences - not just academic theory.

Please click the "Take This Course" button so you can start making better beats today.

I guarantee that this course is the most thorough drum programming course available ANYWHERE on the market - or your money back (30-day money-back guarantee)

Praise for Courses by Jason Allen:

⇢ "It seems like every little detail is being covered in an extremely simple fashion. The learning process becomes relaxed and allows complex concepts to get absorbed easily. My only regret is not taking this course earlier." - M. Shah

⇢ "Great for everyone without any knowledge so far. I bought all three parts... It's the best investment in leveling up my skills so far.." - Z. Palce

⇢ "Excellent explanations. No more or less than what is needed." - A. Tóth

⇢ "VERY COOL. I've waited for years to see a good video course, now I don't have to wait anymore. Thank You. " - Jeffrey Koury

⇢ "I am learning LOTS. And I really like having the worksheets. " - A. Deichsel

⇢ "The basics explained very clearly - loads of really useful tips. " - J. Pook

⇢ "Jason is really quick and great with questions, always a great resource for an online class. " M. Smith

Students who register for this course will receive ongoing exclusive content and discounts to all future classes in the series.

What's inside

Learning objectives

At the completion of this class, students will be able to use basic beat patterns, and build unique and progressive beats from their own sample libraries
The 6 keys to understanding meter and pulse
The 3 most important elements of the drum pattern

The 5 keys to a drum groove with "feel"
The most important elements to the "basic pattern"
The top 5 reasons to add "swing" to your patterns

At the completion of this class, students will be able to use basic beat patterns, and build unique and progressive beats from their own sample libraries
The 6 keys to understanding meter and pulse
The 3 most important elements of the drum pattern
The 5 keys to a drum groove with "feel"
The most important elements to the "basic pattern"
The top 5 reasons to add "swing" to your patterns

Syllabus

Introduction

Welcome & Introduction

About Me

Tools (I'm going to be using Ableton Live, but any audio program will work!)

Asking Questions

In this section, I want to go over the biggest stumbling block that people face right away. There is one thing I see people doing all the time that will result in a mess of a beat.

Making Beats in Your Audio Sequencer

[Download] Some Samples to Get You Started

Making Beats with the MIDI Grid

Next, let's learn how we talk about drum rhythms, and sections of the beat. Don't worry - nothing to theory-intensive here.

The Bar

The Beat (Or Pulse)

The 8th and 16th

Meter

"Counting" Bars

Reading Drum Patterns

Now that we know how to talk about beats, let's start looking at the sounds and elements of the drum pattern.

The 3 Essentials

Percussion

More Cymbals

Other Sounds

Where to find good drum samples (for free!)

[Download] Sample Drum Kits

Let's talk about style, feel, and variation.

Building a Groove

Variation

Modulation

Simplicity & Genre

Feel (Swing)

When I'm programming drums, I like to start with this "basic pattern" and modify it to fit my needs for a given track. Let's learn that pattern now.

What the Basic Pattern is

The Basic Pattern

Adding Off-Beats

The Importance of Tempo

[Download] Files and Session

Next, let's start to look at some things we can do with the basic pattern to give it more life and energy.

Dynamics

Adding Variation with Percussion

Syncopation

Swing

"Humanism"

We are going to be looking at several different styles of music over all the sections of this course. For our first one, let's use House music.

About Genres

Finding Our Sounds

The Basics of a House Beat

Adding More Elements

Dynamics!

Analysis: Sam Paganini, Satellite

We talked about Daft Punk earlier, so let's take a look at one of their tracks.

Finding the Right Sounds

Building the Pattern

Swing Elements

That's it for this first section of Drum Programming! Stay tuned for more in this series!

What Next?

Thanks for Watching! Stick around for Part 2!

Welcome to Part 2!

Review: How to read rhythms on the grid

Review: The Basic Beat

In the first class, we placed samples on the grid and built beats that way. Now we are going to be using samplers and the MIDI grid to build beats.

Why work with samplers?

Hardware drum machines

The basic outline of a Sampler (in Ableton Live)

The Basic outline of a Sampler (in Logic Pro)

Next, let's talk a bit about how working on the MIDI grid is different than just placing audio samples in a timeline.

Advantages of MIDI

Note On/Off

Velocity

Setting up a MIDI Track

Let's put this all into place by focusing on Drum and Bass!

Back to the basic beat

A Drum and Bass "basic" Pattern

Analysis: John B - Up All Night

Analysis: Sub Focus - X-Ray

Analysis: Konflict - The Beckoning

Sometimes we don't want our beats to be so "stiff" and robotic. So we do things to get off the grid, just a bit.

"Playing It In"

Quantization and Settings

Controllers

Recording Controllers

Ableton's Groove Settings

Let's make some bangers by building some Dubstep drum patterns!

The basics of Dubstep

Analysis: Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

Analysis: Flux Pavillion - I Can't Stop

Analysis: The Drop Section of Flux Pavillion

Now that we are building some solid drum patterns, let's add some extra color to them with some simple effects.

Adding Some Life with Effects

Filtering

Delay Effects

Reversed Sounds

Pitch Shifting

Time for some trap music.

The basics of Trap

Analysis: Turn Up - Gent and Jawns

Analysis: The Drop - Bro Safari

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Explores the art of drum programming on MIDI grids, drum machines, and with audio files, which is essential for modern music production

Includes analysis projects where learners reconstruct beats from existing tracks, which helps them understand beat construction and create their own

Covers a wide range of topics, from basic rhythm theory to advanced techniques like glitch plugins and dynamic effects, which is useful for producers of all levels

Features analysis of tracks from various genres like House, Drum and Bass, Dubstep, and Trap, which exposes learners to diverse beat-making approaches

Uses Ableton Live and Logic, but is designed to be followed with any audio program, which allows learners to apply the concepts to their preferred software

Features classic hardware samplers like the Roland 808, which may be of interest to learners who want to emulate the sounds of classic tracks

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Drum Programming Masterclass: COMPLETE (Parts 1, 2, and 3) with these activities:

Review Basic Rhythm Theory

Show steps

Solidify your understanding of rhythm theory to better grasp the concepts of meter, pulse, and subdivisions covered in the course.

Show steps

Review definitions of beat, measure, and time signature.
Practice counting rhythms with different time signatures.
Identify different rhythmic patterns in existing songs.

Read 'Sampling Basics'

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Learn the fundamentals of sampling to enhance your drum programming skills and create unique sounds.

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Read the chapters on sampling techniques and sound design.
Experiment with different sampling techniques in your DAW.
Create your own custom drum samples using the techniques you've learned.

Read 'The Art of Electronic Music'

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Gain a broader understanding of electronic music production techniques and the role of drum programming within it.

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Read the sections related to rhythm, percussion, and drum machines.
Take notes on key concepts and techniques discussed in the book.
Reflect on how these concepts relate to the course material.

Four other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all seven activities

Practice Syncopation Exercises

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Improve your ability to create interesting and complex drum patterns by practicing syncopation exercises.

Show steps

Create a simple drum pattern with a basic beat.
Add syncopated elements to the pattern by shifting notes off the beat.
Experiment with different syncopation techniques and rhythms.
Practice playing the syncopated patterns until you can play them smoothly.

Recreate a Drum Pattern

Show steps

Solidify your understanding of drum programming by recreating a drum pattern from a song you like.

Show steps

Choose a song with a distinct drum pattern.
Analyze the drum pattern and identify the individual elements.
Recreate the drum pattern in your DAW using samples or virtual instruments.
Compare your recreation to the original and make adjustments as needed.

Create a Short Drum Programming Tutorial

Show steps

Reinforce your knowledge by creating a short tutorial explaining a specific drum programming technique.

Show steps

Choose a drum programming technique to explain.
Prepare a script and gather any necessary materials.
Record a video or audio tutorial explaining the technique.
Edit the tutorial and share it with others.

Explore Advanced Drum Mixing Tutorials

Show steps

Refine your drum mixing skills by following advanced tutorials on EQ, compression, and other mixing techniques.

Show steps

Search for tutorials on advanced drum mixing techniques.
Follow along with the tutorials and apply the techniques to your own drum patterns.
Experiment with different settings and find what works best for your sound.

Career center

Learners who complete Drum Programming Masterclass: COMPLETE (Parts 1, 2, and 3) will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Music Producer

A music producer is responsible for the overall sound of a track or album. This role involves everything from initial concept to final mix. This course directly enhances a music producer's ability to create compelling rhythms, which are critical elements in almost every genre of music production. The analysis projects in the course, where you reconstruct popular beats, can help you develop your own unique style and make your tracks stand out. By focusing on concepts such as groove, swing, and transitions, you will learn to craft highly professional and creative drum tracks that are essential for a successful music producer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Music Producer

Beat Maker

A beat maker creates the rhythmic foundation of a song, focusing on drum patterns and instrumental loops. This course is incredibly useful for a beat maker as it covers all the necessary skills to create varied and dynamic drum tracks. The course explores elements like dynamics, syncopation, and modulation, providing you with a strong understanding of rhythm and drum pattern construction. With the course's focus on genre-specific beats for house, trap, and dubstep, a beat maker can significantly improve their versatility and ability to produce professional-sounding tracks.

See salaries and explore the career path for Beat Maker

Electronic Musician

An electronic musician creates music primarily using electronic instruments and technology. This course is very helpful for an electronic musician who programs their own beats. The detailed exploration of MIDI grids, samplers, and effects makes this a perfect fit for creating complex electronic music. The course goes deep into techniques for genres like dubstep, trap, and house, equipping an electronic musician with the necessary skills to construct professional and varied drum patterns. Further, the knowledge of modulation and variation is invaluable to keeping an electronic track exciting and engaging. This course enhances the ability to produce high quality and dynamic electronic music.

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Remixer

A remixer takes existing tracks and reinterprets them, often adding new elements and changing the overall sound. This course is certainly useful for remixers who wish to create their own drum tracks or modify existing ones. The course goes deep into the technical details of rhythm construction, including groove, swing, and syncopation, which are essential to crafting unique remixes. By studying the rhythmic elements of various genres and incorporating these techniques, a remixer can significantly expand their ability to produce distinct and innovative remixes. The analysis tools from the course can help a remixer deconstruct the rhythmic elements of a song and re-imagine them with confidence.

See salaries and explore the career path for Remixer

Game Audio Designer

A game audio designer creates sound effects, music, and other audio elements for video games. This role often involves crafting many types of sounds, and this course will be useful for creating the rhythmic elements of a game's soundtrack. The course's detailed exploration of rhythmic elements, combined with the analysis projects, can directly benefit a game audio designer, enabling them to design more compelling and engaging audio experiences within a game. Further, the knowledge of different styles of music helps the game audio designer create a more varied and fitting sonic landscape. By learning to produce well-crafted drum tracks, this designer will add another creative element to their tool belt.

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Audio Engineer

An audio engineer is responsible for the technical aspects of sound production, including recording, mixing, and mastering. While this role often deals with the broader spectrum of audio, the course provides an essential grounding in rhythm and drum programming. An audio engineer who completes this course may be better equipped to understand drum patterns and how different elements contribute to the overall sound. This can be especially helpful when mixing or mastering tracks, allowing an audio engineer to make informed decisions about shaping the drum sounds, especially in more rhythmic based genres of music.

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Music Instructor

A music instructor teaches music theory and practical skills to students of all levels. This course may assist a music instructor who wishes to broaden their understanding of drum programming. The detailed discussion of rhythm, meter, pulse, and groove, coupled with the course's analysis projects, can be directly used to develop clear and effective lessons. A music instructor armed with the knowledge in this course can demonstrate the fundamental techniques in the drum patterns of various genres, such as house, trap, and dubstep, and give a far richer understanding to their own students. The skills in this course will certainly refine their curriculum.

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A DJ plays recorded music for an audience, often mixing tracks together. While much of the DJ's work is concerned with selection and arrangement of music, understanding the technical aspects of beat construction taught in the course can definitely enhance a DJ's understanding of music. This course enhances a DJ's ability to understand the construction of beats, especially for genres like house and dubstep, allowing them to better anticipate patterns and transitions in the tracks they mix, improving overall DJ sets. Knowledge of rhythm, groove, and feel may be very useful for any DJ to add depth to their work.

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Sound Editor

A sound editor selects, edits, and synchronizes audio for various projects, including film, television, and video games. This course may be useful for a sound editor who wishes to add a deeper understanding of drum tracks and their construction to their skill set. While much of the tasks of a sound editor concern the placement and synchronization of audio, the knowledge of rhythms, pulses, and groove gained in this course means the editor is better able to anticipate and effectively use drum tracks. The technical details presented in this course, especially with regards to rhythm and swing, better equip a sound editor to use the drums effectively. The analysis projects help this role to understand the construction of pre-recorded tracks more successfully.

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Sound Designer

A sound designer creates or manipulates audio elements for various media, including virtual reality, video games, and film. This course may be useful for a sound designer looking to add a deeper knowledge of rhythm construction to their skill set. The course's detailed exploration of rhythm, samples, and digital audio tools provides a unique perspective that a sound designer can use to create compelling effects and rhythmic elements. The course can be especially helpful for those creating percussive or rhythmic elements intended for game development or virtual reality, where the control of pulse and beat can be essential to the user experience.

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Composer

A composer creates original music, often for film, television, or video games. While a composer's primary focus may be on melody and harmony, an understanding of rhythm is still crucial to the overall success of a composition. This course may help a composer add a deeper understanding of rhythm and drum programming to their skill set. The course provides a framework for understanding the role that rhythm plays in music, focusing on the elements and techniques necessary to create dynamic percussion. The focus on analysis projects can develop a composer's ability to deconstruct complex rhythms and use that knowledge for composition.

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Content Creator

A content creator produces various forms of digital media, such as videos, podcasts, or music, often for online platforms. This course may be helpful for content creators looking to add original music to their content. The course's deep dive into rhythm and drum pattern creation, including various genres like house, trap, and dubstep helps a content creator produce unique and engaging soundtracks. By learning to make a variety of drum beats, a content creator can add a professional sound to their projects, and produce a much more engaging final product. The skills in this course may directly benefit the creator, helping them diversify their output.

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Touring Musician

A touring musician performs live music for audiences. This role often requires a deep understanding of performance, and while this course is not directly about live performance, a strong understanding of rhythm from this course may improve the quality of their shows. By understanding rhythm, the touring musician, especially one who uses electronic elements, can make more informed decisions about their live performances and how to add more dynamics and energy to their shows. The course’s deep dive into the technical aspects of beat construction equips the musician to more effectively control sound on stage.

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Artist Manager

An artist manager oversees the business and career aspects of a musician or band. While an artist manager does not directly need to create music, taking this course may provide the manager with a better understanding of the technical aspects of beat making. This can be valuable when working with recording artists. The course provides a solid breakdown of key concepts that an artist manager can use to give informed feedback to the musicians they represent. This deep understanding of rhythm and percussion helps them more effectively oversee recording projects and communicate with their clients.

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Social Media Manager

A social media manager is responsible for creating and sharing content on social media platforms. While this role is not directly related to music creation, the skills learned from this course may assist a social media manager who works in the music industry. By taking this course a social media manager may be able to produce more engaging content for their clients in the music industry, specifically in the areas of drumming or beat making. The course provides a unique context for making better, more informed decisions for promoting music and products.

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Reading list

We've selected one books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Drum Programming Masterclass: COMPLETE (Parts 1, 2, and 3).

Putting Knowledge to Work

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Provides a comprehensive overview of electronic music production techniques, including drum programming. It features interviews with leading electronic musicians, offering insights into their creative processes. It is particularly useful for understanding the historical context and evolution of drum programming in various genres. This book serves as a valuable resource for gaining a deeper appreciation for the art and craft of electronic music production.

Putting Knowledge to Work

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Putting Knowledge to Work

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Drum Programming Masterclass

COMPLETE (Parts 1, 2, and 3)

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

Good to know

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Activities

Career center

Reading list

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