Drum & Percussion patterns

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chuckpuckett
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 9:44 pm
Sibelius Version: 7.5.1
Operating System: Windows

Post by chuckpuckett » Mon Feb 13, 2017 7:44 pm

G'day,

In any compositional task, I personally consider the task of supplying drums & percussion the most tedious, challenging and (ultimately) least successful part of the process. Drumming & percussion, including the act of performing it, notating it, and especially composing something that "fits" and does what I want it to, is an impenetrable barrier.

Depending on the genre, there are some tools to help. Sib has the Drum Pattern add-in, but let's face it, the range of styles offered there is extremely limited. I have had some luck in the past by creating drum tracks in Jammer or Band In a Box, export the MIDI, and then using that. And for certain genres, that has provided an acceptable mechanism.

But I'm now in the process of arranging/orchestrating a musical, and, to be frank, all these tools seem totally inadequate for providing appropriate percussion. Unless you're doing a rock musical or some other modern variation, it's next to impossible to find something simple enough.

On the other hand, for someone totally unschooled in the percussive arts, I can't seem to only be able to provide patterns that border on the inane. A snare on the 1 & 3 and and a kick on the 2 & 4 ain't cutting it.

SO. My question is: does anyone know of any source for other percussive patterns that are useful in Sib? Or have some tips on how one would compose this stuff (or where to go to find such tips)?

If it were to be played by an ensemble, I could likely get by with some broad descriptions and just have a drummer and percussionist "make it up", but there's a high probability that the whole thing may be done electronically. So I need to try and get it "right"

Thanks!
Chuck Puckett
Against stupidity, the gods themselves strive in vain.
I don’t want to steal the show. I only want to borrow it for a while.


bobp
Posts: 1182
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:53 am

Post by bobp » Tue Feb 14, 2017 3:40 pm

It is difficult to write for any instruments with which you are not familiar. I would suggest, then, hitting the books. It is not quite the point of Sibelius to write music for you. You have discovered some automatic things, but they are only bare suggestions.
As far as drum kits go, I find that, for playback, putting kick, snare/toms, and cymbals on different staffs helps me control the volume of each. As a real player would. Because, to me, the kick and cymbals aren't loud enough if they are all on one staff. More tedious, but worth it if you aren't using a rreal drummer.
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop

pianowillbebach
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:36 pm
Sibelius Version: 6
Operating System: Windows

Post by pianowillbebach » Wed Oct 09, 2019 2:59 pm

You've likely long since found a program, but I wanted to contribute since I stumbled across this forum looking for an answer to a similar question, and other people might as well.

You mentioned Jammer, and I've discovered that they've rebranded and are now called Bandora: https://bandora.com/en/

Is it the exact same program, or are there now more features as well?

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