EZ Drummer 2

[Revy]

Working on some drum tracks for performing live. My timing is horrible and playing with others it's even worse. Apparently everyone counts different! Writing some drum tracks for my RC-3. Wrote a few with Cubase in the past, and although simple, they add a lot to a performance when you play alone.

Anyone worked with this program? Any suggestions? Just started using and it opens the door to just how vast the world of drumming is. Wow! Now more things to learn! I forgot what I did yesterday!

[Paddy1951]

I will probably take a little heat for this suggestion.

Don't count. Not every does well with the ways that people have been taught to count. Let your internal sense of rhythm develop.

This may sound a bit nuts but sometimes, counting gets in the way of keeping good time.

One-e-and-a-2e-and-, etc.is clumbsy for some.

Another approach...March. Think of the piece of music you are doing in your head and march to it. It sounds goofy, I know. It doesn't work with everything but it does work.

Guitar is not my first instrument. I taught percussion for many years.

There are those that are rhythmically challenged.

I would have both kids and adults that had trouble.

Not everybody is born a sense of rhythm.

But you can develop it.

Find a good drummer locally. Work wwith him or her.

[paulp1960]

I disagree with the above post about not counting. Counting is the way rhythm is taught the world over. Eventually you will get the feel or groove without the numbers.

Take the son clave, a rhythmic device from Africa long ago and heavily used in Latin music:

ONE and two AND three and FOUR and
one and TWO and THREE and four and

The beats are only on the capital letters. Once you get the groove it comes natural but the only way to learn it is to count.

[MikeBmusic]

I've been using EZ Drummer 1 & 2 for years. 2 is great because it went past the 'single bar' of 1 with longer multiple bar patterns, and you can use simple methods to add or lessen number of hits on any instrument in that pattern. For a non-drummer, its a great way to get into MIDI drumming.
For your purpose of putting backing tracks into a looper, its a great tool, because you don't have to be as concerned about repeating patterns becoming monotonous.
There are a lot of different sound packs available that use different drum sounds and have different drum beats/patterns to use, you can go broke if you are not careful, remember to wait for the sale prices ($79 each normally, on sale for $49).