Feel the Beat! Writing a Great Groove

and hi-hat will get you by in a lot of bands, many songs beg for a bit more. After you finish your basic beat with bass and snare, you can see what your stock genre use of cymbals is and add or delete that to create your basic sound, and can just stop there if you like. Try, though, to play with some of the other instruments, within the parameters of your variety of music, of course. The toms and other tuned drums add a nice break to a steady beat, and can propel or accent key parts of the song, as can a touch of crash or ride cymbal, some chimes, a rain stick, and the ever popular tambourine (actually, ABBA claimed that all real rock hits had a tambourine in them). In Celtic, Tejano, Latin, and Arabic-style music, there are specific instruments and beats that let you know what the genre is, but there is a lot of latitude there, too—have some fun with it. If you are writing in a style that you love, I can’t see how playing around with a drum machine can help but make you come up with all sorts of fun new ways to embellish your work. Playing tends to bring out the best in anyone, too, and your fun will most likely spill infectiously into your writing—go for it! I’ve seen little elements of lots of world music creeping into other genres, anymore. Just don’t get too overboard—sure, Garth Brooks plays the congas, and many rock bands have incorporated a gong or tympani into their acts, but if you are trying to sell a song, just make sure you aren’t too experimental in front of an ultra-conservative song rep. For a lot of new music, though, especially if you are trying to sell your song to younger people, the more different and catchy you write it the better—just make sure you study your target audience first, though. Final Touches

Okay, you have your basic drum track completed, and you try it out against your instrumental tracks—how does it sound? You might even try walking away for a bit and listening again. Have a friend listen, too, if you can. I don’t know about you, but I have a horrid habit of dithering—there is always another break I want to throw in, a cymbal touch I want to add, a hole I want to create

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