Creating Great Music with Drum Loops
When it comes to creating music, drum loops are a great way to instantly inspire new ideas. Whether you are feeling an up-tempo, high-energy vibe or want a laid-back mood, it all starts with the groove. The groove drives everything.
While some songs spring from divine inspiration and the melody and lyrics just flow from some typically elusive muse, there can be more challenging times where you have absolutely no direction to get any music started. So, rather than starting from the top and finding the right pieces to finalize your musical vision, sometimes you must take a more “from the bottom up” approach.
In other words, you need some drums (or, any type of rhythm) to get the juices flowing.
This article will take you through the “bottom up” approach and why and how it should be in your songwriting bag of tricks. Because, let’s face it, sometimes we all need a source for our inspiration.
But, before we explore the tips and tricks to using drum loops to create great new music, a little historical context about loops and samples may be in order.
The Foundation of Hit after Hit after Hit
Since the early days of samplers, drum loops have served as the foundation for countless hits. And no drum sample illustrates that better than the Amen break, a four-bar drum solo recorded in 1969 by Gregory Coleman of The Winstons that not only became the most sampled loop in music history but forever changed music.
The Winstons “Amen Brother”
The break comes in at about the 1:26 minute mark.
From N.W.A. to The Prodigy, Salt-N-Pepa, Skrillex and David Bowie (not to mention nearly every drum and bass track you’ve likely heard), this four-bar drum sample proved unstoppable in propelling the hits from a fairly diverse group of artists. Although estimates differ as to its use in recorded music (some estimates put it at nearly 200 songs with others having it at over 4,000), let’s just say “a lot” of songs have sampled this same break and made significant use of its unique rhythmic DNA as the foundation. And there’s a good chance you’ve heard it without realizing the same breakbeat was holding it all down.
Have a listen to where the “Amen Break” took these songs:
N.W.A. — ‘Straight Outta Compton’
Oasis — ‘D’You Know What I Mean’
Nine Inch Nails — ‘The Perfect Drug’
The Prodigy — ‘Firestarter’
But knowing the iconic Amen Break drum sample or even the music it inspired isn’t what is important here.What is, however, is that this single drum loop, in all its six seconds of recorded glory, inspired so many artists to new and different musical heights. One loop, countless hits.
Something to keep in mind the next time you import a loop into your DAW and begin the creative journey of songwriting! But, before moving on, let’s not forget the other contenders for samples that have inspired countless songs.
No list is inarguable, but here are a few other well-known break that have provided the groove for so many popular tunes.
- James Brown — Funky Drummer
- James Brown, “Funky President (People It’s Bad)”
- Led Zeppelin, “When The Levee Breaks”
- Billy Squier, “The Big Beat”
We should add that none of the drummers involved in many of these legendary drum sample breaks were ever fairly compensated (or, in some cases, even aware of its later use) for their recordings appearing in later derivative works. So, while crate digging is a thing unto itself, if you don’t want to perpetuate the tragic plight of Gregory Coleman’s drumming on “Amen Brother” stick with 100% royalty and license free loops (and your conscience will thank you for it).
Now that we’ve covered some historical context for how inspirational loops can be, let’s explore the “HOW” of using drum loops to write great new music.
Songwriting from the Bottom Up
Starting a piece of writing from the bottom up can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Sure, you could grab an old but reliable drum machine and begin programming. But, you want to write music not program notes into a machine. The same can be said about laying out MIDI drum parts in your DAW. By the time you can think of the beat you need, the creative spark has likely fizzled. Instead, audio drum loops recorded by live drummers deliver the fastest, easiest, and musical option when it comes to finding the right groove foundation for whatever you have in mind musically.
While audio loops won’t give you unlimited flexibility of MIDI, you will still have quite a bit of control over the tempo to make sure it hits the right feel.
Audio loops can be then pieced together in your project track timeline, allowing you to repeat sections endlessly or even put together entire songs with other loop beats and drum fills for transitions.
Arranging the drum loops and fills in Reaper to create a simple track to spark new songwriting ideas.
As soon as you’ve found a drum beat that gets your creative juices flowing, begin adding other musical elements on top of it. When it comes to a song’s lyrics and melodies as well as its bass and drums, there are several ways to approach this. Layer by layer, you can begin filling in the details of your new song as inspiration rises up from within.
When writing electronic music, drum loops are a typical starting point. But they’re also used in many rock and country songs these days as well. Sometimes, an unconventional approach or style might be the ticket for coming up with a type of new music and the results might surprise you.
So, if you don’t generally approach songwriting in this manner, it’s worth a shot. Nothing venture, nothing gained.
Repeat and Reuse
One way to save time when songwriting is to reuse the drum track you’ve constructed from loops for any different of different songs. After all, as we discussed earlier, many wonderfully different yet equally great compositions have been built upon the same rhythmic foundation.
Fast-Tracking the Inspiration
Drum loops can be useful while writing a song since they allow you to establish a groove quickly and easily. And, while the better drummers out there are adept at many different musical genres, it’s a rare find for a drummer to be able to cover ALL styles convincingly. So why not turn to authentic drum performances from the pros who do this for a living. With a wide variety of musical genres to choose from, drum loops can really be that organic spark to get that true stylized” vibe you’re after. That said, stop reading and grab your instrument and see what comes out of playing along with these drum tracks:
Blues Drum Loops
Country Drum Loops
Funk Drum Loops
Heavy Metal Drum Loops
Jazz Drum Loops
Wrapping Up
We hope we’ve given you some things to think about next time a songwriting project deadline is looming or if you just want to unleash some creative energy. Now, it’s your turn to grab some drum loop packs to load into your DAW or sampler and start seeing where the grooves take you.
As the legendary Buddy Rich once said, “The drummer’s supposed to sit back there and swing the band.” So, grab some Beta Monkey drum loops and let us give you that human swing you can’t get from programming drums.
Have fun making new music — until next time!