Have you ever been afraid to do something new , only to find that it ’ s a lot simpler than you previously thought ? Maybe it was riding a bike . Maybe it was public speaking . Maybe it was meeting your partner ’ s parents for the first time . We never know until we try how attainable something really is . For many of us , triggering drum samples has been that thing . Here at MultiTracks . com , we are here to say that utilizing drum samples is easier than you may think .
We sat down with some of the top drummers in worship music today to get their thoughts on how they use drum samples live , in recordings , and in post production . In this article , you ’ ll hear from Aaron Johnson of River Valley Worship , Bottega , which is comprised of Simon Kobler , Grant Konemann , and Benjamin Tennikoff , as well as Luke Anderson from Elevation Worship .
Some may double or replace their drum sounds live , while others have a drum pad set at their kit to work in more electronic style samples to their sound , while others may only use them in recordings to provide specific sounds for different songs on an album . Regardless of how you use them , getting started is easier than you may think .
FOUR APPROACHES - AARON JOHNSON OF RIVER VALLEY WORSHIP
In 2006 I saw the band Halloween , Alaska for the first time at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis , Mn . Halloween , Alaska is an electronic indie band from Minneapolis that was experimenting with the electronic / acoustic landscape of indie pop music . It was the first time I really saw drum samples being used live on stage . Dave King , their drummer , had a kit that consisted of a kick drum , real cymbals and a trigger pad ! This hybrid approach to acoustic and electronic sounds was so inspiring to me I just knew that I had to somehow incorporate that into my playing .
At this time , the thought of using electronic samples in church music was basically unheard of . This kind of hybrid approach was reserved for ‘ artsy ’ independent bands , not mainstream cover bands and definitely not worship music . However , as the synth pop genre started making its way into common worship music , it opened up the opportunity for electronic drum samples to be used in church . It started with claps and drum loops in tracks that drummers would play on top of with an acoustic kit . Being inspired by Dave King , I remember asking myself “ I wonder how much of this stuff I can actually just play on a drum pad ?” I was pushing myself to try and play as much of the acoustic AND electronic sounds as possible . This was my first approach into actually using drum samples for myself .
By 2010 , I would load claps , 808s , electronic toms , electronic snares , tambourines , etc . onto my Roland SPDS each week and do my best to play as much of the acoustic and electric sounds as I could for each song . It was challenging and endlessly inspiring to me ! Drum samples felt like a new instrument with so many possibilities . This hybrid approach is still my “ go to ” way of using samples in a live setting . For me , this approach works best when the sounds I ’ m using are obviously electronic . I do not typically use real samples of acoustic drums with my hybrid approach on an SPD-SX . For samples of acoustic drums there is a better approach .
The second approach is using real drum samples in a live setting to enhance the sound of the acoustic kit . These are triggers that are actually placed on the rims of the acoustic kit to trigger a sample when the acoustic kit is played . This is great to enhance or blend in a processed sound that will add more character to the acoustic sound from the stage . This is very useful for kicks and snares ! For example , sometimes it is not practical to switch out to a deeper / thicker snare for a song in the middle of the set . A snare drum trigger can solve that problem by triggering a perfectly low tuned snare drum for that one specific song . This is a fantastic way to bring a unique drum character to each song in your setlist !
A third approach that is very popular now , especially in broadcast mixes for church services , is blending or completely replacing a drum sound to better serve the online mix . Plugins like Steven Slate Drum Trigger are great for this type of use . This plugin will read velocity of the incoming drum sound and replace or blend it accordingly with a drum sample . Our broadcast mix at River Valley Church uses this frequently .
A fourth approach for using drum samples is in a studio environment . There are many possibilities for this type of use . One common approach I ’ ve seen is producers loading in high quality drum samples into MIDI instruments in a DAW so that they can quickly play or write out drum parts for demos . When you think about the time and effort it takes to book a studio , schedule a drummer , mic a kit , dial in sounds , and work out parts , it is extremely quick and easy to just load in a sample library and capture the idea so that you can keep the song production moving . With the quality of samples available today , a producer can send out truly inspiring drum demos in a matter of minutes . Another studio approach is blending in room mic or close mic samples into an already recorded drum track . As so many drummers have home studios today , they usually don ’ t have large spaces that can help create great room sounds ! Adding room mic samples can really help bring life to drums tracked in small spaces that don ’ t have a ton of character !
Drum samples are everywhere and using them can be super inspiring , efficient and beneficial to your music . I hope that you keep experimenting and exploring all the possibilities drum samples have to offer . You can
check out my collection of drum samples here !
LIVE & IN STUDIO - BOTTEGA ( SIMON KOBLER , GRANT KONEMANN , & BENJAMIN TENNIKOFF )
Drum samples . A word that “ triggers ” some and brings a smile to others . Some people can ’ t live without them , and others despise them . I actually think there ’ s a healthy place