Just wanted to take a moment and thank you for all your amazing videos. Your easy-to-understand tutorials have helped me create better sounding recordings than I ever thought possible. Massive respect, Colin.
Tip 4 is ace. Whenever I record anything, I start with a really simple beat for the full song to record the guitars/ bass etc, then once I've got that sorted, I'll go and re-do all the drums to fit the song
FANTASTIC!!!!!! I have never thought of left and right hands this way, and have had huge problems with getting the "automatic drummer" to do what I want him/her to do. This was a huge eyeopener for me.
Great advice, nothing better than a real drummer explaining what drummers do that can be used to make better computer generated drum tracks. What you said about the right hand makes a lot of sense.
Bonus tip 5 for me; if it's a rock song, maybe try to lock in the kick & bass. I think it sound so sweet when they are in synch in certain spots in a song.
These are really valuable tips. This actually makes writing drum parts really fun. The biggest struggle for me when writing drums for a song is my lack of knowledge of the drum elements and what would sound right and realistic. But when using GB drummer I would constantly lose the cool parts because of the track shifting or changing because you split the track. It's frustrating. This, I'm sure, is going to help a lot. And I'm grateful you took the time to explain what each setting of GB drummer does and what the effects are of changing or adjusting it.
Great tips, Colin. One of the first things I do is set up the arrangement track for the song, with intro, verse, chorus, break, etc., record usually rhythm guitar to click, and then add in the drum parts. I find having the arrangement already in place really helps with tweaking the drum parts. And with your lock-in track and other tips, I just don't see many limits to what can be achieved. Cheers!
Great vid. Watching your auto drummer tutorials made my drum parts one of my favorite things to do in GarageBand band. The main thing I learned … being a guitar player all my life I never realized how affected the way I played by what the drummer plays. Almost every song I write begins with the drum part.
When I break my digital drums into room, kick, snare, hats, toms, etc. separate tracks, I go through each and eliminate anything visually that isn't that item. So I don't see snare in my kick track. That makes it much easier to then adjust the track I'm on because I can see the hits as well as hear them and catches stuff I might miss just listening to it.
I've been getting into recording with GB and these videos are really helpful. Some of the stuff I've picked up just by trial and error, but a lot of it are things I would never have thought of. Also, the free guides are sweet. I'm creating my own binder of them! Thanks, Colin!
You can also automate the midi track so can’t wait for that lesson! I always do expression, intensity and (I can’t remember the third but will edit when I do) in automation rather than the autodrummer section.
@@JamesDavis-tb6ty yeah. Pressing a when in the editor reveals it. It’s really great. Just adds some textural differences and individualised each hit. Also means you can have different velocity in each hit of a single section. Love it!
I am a drummer primarily, but this video was still so helpful! I haven't taken drum lessons in years, so it's a great trip to vary the right hand and intensity - same thing as on other instruments too. Thanks Colin!
Hey Colin - You know I’m on the train with this. GB drummer gets me awesome parts. Sometimes though I want to edit the midi or change up a part. Would love a video on how to think like a drummer for the non-drummer, common fills/techniques, which drums and cymbals to hit in unison, that sort of thing. Thx!
essential info for non-drummers - well done! drummer is a bit more temperamental/unpredictable than i'd like, but the finesse you can achieve with care is unbelievable
Great video. In terms of changing which drum is playing or making pattern variations, is the key to split the track where you want to make a change and then make changes in the Drum Editor (E). I've noticed that if I copy and paste regions, the pasted regions are different than the original
These are all really helpful. I do have one question: Is there any way to get ethnic drumming? Djembes, doumbeks, congas, bongos, taiko, salsa, merengue, afro-cuban, African, Japanese, Middle Eastern -- none of these are represented in GB as far as I can tell. So how do I incorporate those rhythms? I've been pulling in audio files, but is there a pre-existing resource for "not using a drum set" drumming?
its kind of boring but I divide all the tracks into intro, verse 1, verse 2 chorus, bridge etc before adjusting the drums. Then I divide the drum parts exactly with these parameters. Highlighting each phrase separately i change each drum part the way you have just shown to simulate a real drummer.
Did you know you can turn the Drummer into midi on IOS. Pete Johns did a video on it. Idk it should work on computer too. I have GB on Mac but I never tried it (on computer) cuz I haven’t set my computer up, so idk if there’s a simple option for doing that on Mac
thanks for posting this man, I was really struggling yesterday getting a drum that lined up with what I was wanting to do. Is there any way to add more drum sounds/samples?
You can use more with the software instrument track but I don’t think you can with the drummer. So you could write your part with stock sounds using a drummer track then copy it to a midi track where you’ve enabled a third part soundpack
Is there anyway you can let us all share our links for the music we create. There’s been a few times in the past I’ve got talking with someone and the any links we share get removed. I understand you don’t want som but it sort of cramps our interactions with each other.
Dude I would LOVE that. I swear I’ve never deleted a comment with a link. I’m starting to wonder if RUclips is pinging them because they think it’s spam or something? I’m all about that type of interaction and would never shut it down or remove it
@@TheBandGuide ah ok. What a pain! I’ve only really commented with RUclips links as well and they usually allow them. Maybe just check your comment settings. It may be in there.
@@TheBandGuide I’m sorry, I apologize if it wasn’t you that did it. I thanked you for the tips on GB Drummer and that I’ve used them on majority of my later music. I assumed it was because I promoted my music, “Joe Doe” on SoundCloud and people tend to hate others trying to promote themselves.
‼ Download my FREE GUIDE to Make GarageBand Drums Sound Real: www.thebandguide.com/realdrums ‼
Just wanted to take a moment and thank you for all your amazing videos. Your easy-to-understand tutorials have helped me create better sounding recordings than I ever thought possible. Massive respect, Colin.
Tip 4 is ace. Whenever I record anything, I start with a really simple beat for the full song to record the guitars/ bass etc, then once I've got that sorted, I'll go and re-do all the drums to fit the song
That’s the way to do it, Sean!
FANTASTIC!!!!!! I have never thought of left and right hands this way, and have had huge problems with getting the "automatic drummer" to do what I want him/her to do. This was a huge eyeopener for me.
Great advice, nothing better than a real drummer explaining what drummers do that can be used to make better computer generated drum tracks. What you said about the right hand makes a lot of sense.
Bonus tip 5 for me; if it's a rock song, maybe try to lock in the kick & bass. I think it sound so sweet when they are in synch in certain spots in a song.
Yes! This is a good one. Getting your rhythms really locked in can be huge
FOR SURE!
These are really valuable tips. This actually makes writing drum parts really fun. The biggest struggle for me when writing drums for a song is my lack of knowledge of the drum elements and what would sound right and realistic. But when using GB drummer I would constantly lose the cool parts because of the track shifting or changing because you split the track. It's frustrating. This, I'm sure, is going to help a lot. And I'm grateful you took the time to explain what each setting of GB drummer does and what the effects are of changing or adjusting it.
I’m glad it was helpful, Marko!
Great tips, Colin. One of the first things I do is set up the arrangement track for the song, with intro, verse, chorus, break, etc., record usually rhythm guitar to click, and then add in the drum parts. I find having the arrangement already in place really helps with tweaking the drum parts. And with your lock-in track and other tips, I just don't see many limits to what can be achieved. Cheers!
Great vid. Watching your auto drummer tutorials made my drum parts one of my favorite things to do in GarageBand band. The main thing I learned … being a guitar player all my life I never realized how affected the way I played by what the drummer plays. Almost every song I write begins with the drum part.
When I break my digital drums into room, kick, snare, hats, toms, etc. separate tracks, I go through each and eliminate anything visually that isn't that item. So I don't see snare in my kick track. That makes it much easier to then adjust the track I'm on because I can see the hits as well as hear them and catches stuff I might miss just listening to it.
Great tip, Jim!
I've been getting into recording with GB and these videos are really helpful. Some of the stuff I've picked up just by trial and error, but a lot of it are things I would never have thought of. Also, the free guides are sweet. I'm creating my own binder of them! Thanks, Colin!
You can also automate the midi track so can’t wait for that lesson! I always do expression, intensity and (I can’t remember the third but will edit when I do) in automation rather than the autodrummer section.
Oh interesting! I’ve never played with that!
@@TheBandGuide you can draw it in so it’s easier to see how it’s adjusting as the song of section progresses. Love it!
@@JamesDavis-tb6ty yeah. Pressing a when in the editor reveals it. It’s really great. Just adds some textural differences and individualised each hit. Also means you can have different velocity in each hit of a single section. Love it!
I am a drummer primarily, but this video was still so helpful! I haven't taken drum lessons in years, so it's a great trip to vary the right hand and intensity - same thing as on other instruments too. Thanks Colin!
Awesome! I’m glad it was helpful even to a fellow drummer!
Hey Colin - You know I’m on the train with this. GB drummer gets me awesome parts. Sometimes though I want to edit the midi or change up a part. Would love a video on how to think like a drummer for the non-drummer, common fills/techniques, which drums and cymbals to hit in unison, that sort of thing. Thx!
That’s a great video idea 🤔 I definitely work hard to try to make my parts something I could have played live. I’ll try to work it in!
thank you so much. the copying into midi allowed me to edit the individual notes so i could add fills and intros!
Glad I could help!
essential info for non-drummers - well done! drummer is a bit more temperamental/unpredictable than i'd like, but the finesse you can achieve with care is unbelievable
That's a whole new world for me. Thanks
🙌🏼 that’s awesome!
Great video. In terms of changing which drum is playing or making pattern variations, is the key to split the track where you want to make a change and then make changes in the Drum Editor (E). I've noticed that if I copy and paste regions, the pasted regions are different than the original
Great video, great channel! 👍
Learn to read drum charts.
Do you have any music to listen to? Alway interested in how other people make use of these lessons.
@@Theactivepsychos ruclips.net/channel/UC0Y5bX_5Gy8WafZ1pdqgXWw
Hey thanks, Thom!
These are all really helpful. I do have one question: Is there any way to get ethnic drumming? Djembes, doumbeks, congas, bongos, taiko, salsa, merengue, afro-cuban, African, Japanese, Middle Eastern -- none of these are represented in GB as far as I can tell. So how do I incorporate those rhythms? I've been pulling in audio files, but is there a pre-existing resource for "not using a drum set" drumming?
its kind of boring but I divide all the tracks into intro, verse 1, verse 2 chorus, bridge etc before adjusting the drums.
Then I divide the drum parts exactly with these parameters. Highlighting each phrase separately i change each drum part
the way you have just shown to simulate a real drummer.
That’s a great way to do it- set it up then knock them down!
Thanks Colin. So useful.
I’m glad!
Did you know you can turn the Drummer into midi on IOS. Pete Johns did a video on it. Idk it should work on computer too. I have GB on Mac but I never tried it (on computer) cuz I haven’t set my computer up, so idk if there’s a simple option for doing that on Mac
Definitely does! I have a few videos showing how I use it to customize drum parts
thanks for posting this man, I was really struggling yesterday getting a drum that lined up with what I was wanting to do. Is there any way to add more drum sounds/samples?
ruclips.net/video/YrqAvAQjYEI/видео.html
You can use more with the software instrument track but I don’t think you can with the drummer. So you could write your part with stock sounds using a drummer track then copy it to a midi track where you’ve enabled a third part soundpack
Great video and guide. To what extent do these tips translate across to GB iOS?
Excuse my ignorance, but must you "vary the right hand" (Tip #2) in real time while it's recording? You didn't really explain that.
Is there anyway you can let us all share our links for the music we create. There’s been a few times in the past I’ve got talking with someone and the any links we share get removed. I understand you don’t want som but it sort of cramps our interactions with each other.
Dude I would LOVE that. I swear I’ve never deleted a comment with a link. I’m starting to wonder if RUclips is pinging them because they think it’s spam or something? I’m all about that type of interaction and would never shut it down or remove it
@@TheBandGuide ah ok. What a pain! I’ve only really commented with RUclips links as well and they usually allow them. Maybe just check your comment settings. It may be in there.
Wow, convenient how my comment is gone now
?? I definitely haven’t deleted any comments. What did you say??
@@TheBandGuide I’m sorry, I apologize if it wasn’t you that did it.
I thanked you for the tips on GB Drummer and that I’ve used them on majority of my later music.
I assumed it was because I promoted my music, “Joe Doe” on SoundCloud and people tend to hate others trying to promote themselves.
Wow...cool...he didn't close one eye and say "professional" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shoooot I forgot!!
@@TheBandGuide lolololol