DNA Groove Templates
Contents
1. 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 14 Keep Truck Medium to hard shuffle with lagging down beats 30 20 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 15 Let s Get On Straigh stable pushing feel that is gener ally ahead of the beat 30 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 16 Love Kid Straight even straddle with a slight soft shuffle R amp B Grooves Feel Charts continued 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 17 Manchuria Straight gradulating lag over each beat 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 18 Mercy Medium shuffle with some pushing down beats 40 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 19 Reflection Straight single undulating push R amp B Grooves Feel Charts continued 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 20 SuperStich Hard shuffle that lags behind the beat Pop Rock Grooves Feel Charts 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 21 Fool Rain Medium shuffle with early downbeats with a reduction in shuffle intensity at the begining of bar 2 60 40 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 23 Heart Break Hard lagging shuffle that tightens every two bars Pop Roc2. and we feel it Great feels move us they gives music emotions character and substance They compel us to listen Since the advent of sequencers and drum machines this fundamental essen tial and defining aspect of music has been sidelined by a phenomenon called Quantization Quantization Quantization is the process where notes are moved into precise rhythmic pat terns based on exact sub divisions of the bar This eliminates any rhythmic inaccuracies in a performance and aligns all the notes to a mathematically defined rhythmic grid Quantization has become a formidable fixture in sequencing and is used exten sively Primarily it saves time Many years ago when musicians had to play music directly onto multi track tape they had to get it right When they didn t they had to retake the passage several times and resort to punching in It could be very time consuming to get a complicated musical passage recorded right With quantization most musicians can complete most of their work within one or two takes This has dramatically reduced the length of time it takes to record a song Quantization also allows all the musicians to produce perfectly timed music However it has resulted in a universal fee and a precision all musicians can easily attain with their midi sequencer The problem with submitting vour creative process to this rhvthmic standardiza tion is that quantized music has no distinctive rhvthmic character no real fee
3. hit and miss affair If you know from past experience exactly where each grid point should be then you can easily create a template You can use the create template feature available on most midi sequencers to design very obvious rhythmic signatures like shuffles lags etc However beyond this it is difficult to know where to place each grid position With DNA Beat Blocks we created templates that are based on actual acoustic performances that already have proven feels The timing of each pulse is extracted and provided in the form of a quantized template All the DNA groove template are two bars long The purpose of the DNA grooves is not simply to reproduce original music exactly DNA grooves represent the human touch that makes live music interesting and compelling DNA grooves bring the feel of live music into the realm of MIDI sequencing It provides the fastest and the most con venient way to humanize your sequences DNA Groove Templates as thev relate to Drum Loops Includes an analvsis of a Phil Collins Drum Groove What follows is a discussion of groove templates and how to applv them as a tool to humanize midi sequences An analysis of timing of a drum performance by Phil Collins is included to illustrate the complex subtitles of real word acoustic performances To help generate this subtle feel most midi sequencers have added a groove quantize feature to their programs to assist the midi composers in duplicating the
4. rhythmic foundation as you can see in Fig 6 This process is done for each instrument in this example the hihat snare kick and bass The result is a precise series of timing points for the rhythm The combination of this series of points for each instrument drum kit and bass represents the groove part of this song If we graph a quantized performance it would simply be a straight line along the horizontal axis however real performances have an incredible variety of timing variations as you can see from the Figs 1 to 4 from the first 12 bars of the Phil Collins drum performance The vertical axis has the timing variation in units of a 1000 per beat or quarter note Thus the downbeats would be 1000 2000 3000 to 48000 If you include 16th notes then the sequence would be 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 If Collins snare plays behind the beat at 2020 units then the timing shown on the vertical axis on beat 2 is 20 If he plays ahead of the beat at 1940 the value at that point is 60 The graphs illustrate the timing difference relative to the quantized points To cal culate the timing in sequencer ticks simple multiply ppqn 1000 value from the graph If you sequencer has 480 ticks per quarter note then 20 units late would result in 20 480 1000 20 0 48 9 6 ticks late This section of music is composed of 12 bars of 4 4 The tempo per quarter note is 84 858 bpm resulting in every quarter note being 0 707 seconds long As you can tel
5. templates all of which share a similar attitude or feel but are designed to influence different parts of your music The Variations To create a great feel in your sequencer apply a different template from the same groove file to different tracks in your sequence For example put the first groove on the Kick a Late Snare variation on the snare and a Medium Shuffle on the HiHats In general use templates from one groove file for each of your songs All tem plates in a file were derived from the same music so they will work harmo niously together Shuffles A shuffle delays every second 16th note by a certain amount Because DNA Grooves are derived from real music the amount varies slightly from beat to beat The Soft shuffle results in the smallest delay while the Hard Shuffle results in the greatest dely Shuffles will have little effect on music containing no 16th notes A Soft amp Medium shuffle means that the first half of each beat is shuffled by a smaller amount 2nd pulse after the downbeat than the second 4th pulse after the downbeat Snare amp Kicks Early Late Snare moves the beats 2 amp 4 positions of each bar early or late Early Late Kick moves the beats 1 amp 3 position early or late The pulses are also shifted somewhat so that the rhythm sounds consistent Fills Fills concentrate most of there impact in the second bar of the template This is meant to simulate the rushing or lagging feel one hears at
6. the end of a section or passage of music Timing Adjust the timing sensitivity to control the amount of grooving you want to apply Velocity The DNA Grooves often encode velocity information as well as timing The first 16 templated in each groove file share the same velocity map The Alternate Velocity 17 Groove Template is a different velocity map The Feel Charts The charts on the following pages graphically illustrate the feel of the first groove in each groove file The vertical axis shows the displacement in clock pulses 960 ticks per quarter note resolution Most of the grooves have 32 events 2 bars of 4 4 with sixteenth note resolution A line below the horizontal axis is later that the quantized point and a line about is a note ahead of the quantized point A Feel Chart with all the notes quantized If an event is ahead of the quantize poi then it s line is in this quadrant event is behind later the quantize int then it s line is in this quadrant R amp B Grooves Feel Charts 10 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 11 Apple Pie Straight feel with double undulating push 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 12 Boogie On Hybrid mixture of straight and half shuf fle 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 13 Funky Drum Hybrid mixture of lags and soft shuffles R amp B Grooves Feel Charts continued
7. DNA Groove Template Collections User Manual Volume 1 R amp B Collection Volume 2 Pop Rock Collection Volume 8 Jazz Collection What is feel A Brief Background on the DNA Groove Template Concept All musicians have their own individual styles of playing A C major scale played by two different musicians contains many differences in rhythm and dynamics Some musicians have a distinctive way of playing melodic rhythmic phrases There are subtle distinctions that some musicians impart to music phrases that change dynamically over the course of a performance The entire mix of con scious and sub conscious articulation that musician possess is called their feel Musicians develop their feel through experience and interplay with other musi cians A musician who spends many years playing with a jazz ensemble invari ably develops a Jazz feel which is different and easily distinguishable for example from a Rock musician or Classical Musician An ensemble that has played together for years develops a composite feel to which each musician contributes his her particular feel This feel is not easily transported For example most Opera singers will not make great Pop singers They have tunes their vocal feel for Opera Great Rock musicians may not necessarily be able to translate their talent into a definitive Reggae style But great feel is instantly identifiable When we hear it we recog nize it
8. beats Fig 3 Groove Timing of the Bass in Phil Collins Just Another Storv 60 40 20 20 40 60 0 16 32 48 64 80 96 112 128 144 160 176 192 16th note event count for 48 beats Fig 4 0 1 2 3 4 5 5 65 DNA Waveform in Phil Collins song Just Another Storv Seconds Fig 6 DNA Groove Template Terminologv Pulses and Beats A bar of 16th notes are made up of 16 events called pulses A beat is defined as the pulses at the quarter note positions For example in a 16th note template everv 1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 position are beats all other points are considered pulses The first 16th note after the downbeat is called P2 The next pulse is P3 the 8th note position after the downbeat and the 16th note before the next downbeat is called P4 P1 is the downbeat The Beats in a one bar phrase are B1 B2 B3 BA P1 P2 P3 P4 Pi P2 P3 P4 P1 P2 P3 P4 P1 P2 P3 P4 P1 P2 P3 P4 P1 P2 P3 P4 P1 P2 P3 P4 P1 P2 P3 P4 Notes Modified by the DNA Groove Templates When a groove template states Move B2 amp B4 it implies B2 amp B4 in both of the two bar patterns B2 B4 B6 B8 When a groove operation states that it Moves Pulse 2 amp 4 P2 P4 it is primarily the P2 and P4 note in all the beats of a user s
9. bute to the widespread use of re sampled acoustic material especially drum loops The timing in a drum loop is not quantized but has small signature variations in the timing of each drum ele ment The need for an alternative to quantization became even more apparent as sampled acoustic drum loops were mix in with midi sequences What Are DNA Groove Templates Groove Quantization allows for the movement of notes to a predefined grid Each point in the grid is defined as the number of clock pulse tiks ahead or behind the groove event is relative to the quantized point To create a certain feel it is not uncommon for a composer to move notes individually Applying a DNA groove template is an efficient way to create a feel It s feelis real because it is based on real human performances For example if you want to create a feel with Beat 2 being late by 20 ticks and beat 4 to be early by 15 ticks then create a groove template with these qualities Regardless of how the drum track or any other parts are played in if you apply your groove to the snare and say bass parts then all the bass and snare beat 2 events that exist will be late by 20 tick and the all the beat 4 events will be early by 15 ticks Groove Example The first 12 bars of the Phil Collins song Just Another Story from his CD Dance Into The Light was sampled into the computer The first 2 bars are shown in fig 5 The loop is then processed with a proprietary process to expose its
10. ecreate this feature almost every midi note must be edited Note if the next 12 bars were analyzed they would have similarities with the previous 12 bars but would also have some different timing features So no copying and pasting midi sections if you want an acoustic feel in your composition Although subtle timing is important the strength at which the drummer hits the drums also effects the outcome A lighter touch gives a different sound to the drums When the snare and hihats are hit to hard they go into overdrive meaning they have stronger low frequency components and the transient of each hit lasts longer Playing forte increases the likelihood that the various transients will fight with each other for space Using samples played softer It will help your music breath especially in busy or complex passages This analysis of a passage from a Phil Collins Just Another Story illus trates the vast amount of subtle timing detail evident in any good acoustic performance To apply these acoustic traits to your midi sequence use DNA groove templates They can be used to adjust the feel of any midi instrument Apply a different groove template on to each instrument of your song and change them subtly through the course of your song no wholesale copy and pasting sections of music For the hihat track apply a groove then shift the track a couple of ticks to simulate the behind the beat hihat feel as in fig 1 Make sure that instruments do not fig
11. elected passage of music to be grooved which is moved These pulses are moved to the predefined Groove Template Points Groove File Naming System If the Groove File Name contains ends in Name p Grv then the groove file is a Pulse Motion File If the Groove File Name has Name b Grv then the groove file is a Beat Motion Groove Contents of Each DNA Groove Template Each Drum Loop on this CD contains two tvpes of DNA groove files The first set is called the Pulse Motion which primarilv processes pulses The second is called Beat Motion which primarilv processes Beats In some grooves the Pulses sometimes affect the Beats and vice versa Pulse Motion This is the set of DNA Grooves variations that primarilv process the three 16th notes between each beat Shuffles Groove Abbreviations Pulse Motion Beat Motion Original Move P2 Move P2 Move P3 Move P3 Move P4 Move P4 Move2 amp 3 Move23 amp 4 Move23 amp 4 ShflS2 amp 4 ShfIM2 amp 4 ShflH2 amp 4 ShflS2M4 ShfIM2S4 ShfIM2H4 Original Move B182 Move B1 amp 3 Move B1 amp 3 Move B184 Move B2 amp 3 Move B2 amp 3 Move B2 amp 4 Move B2 amp 4 Move B2 amp 4 Move B3 amp 4 Move B3 amp 4 Move All 1 Move All 2 Move All 3 Move All 4 Original is the syncing groove which is meant to lock other midi events to the drum loop as heard on this CD Note that your sequencer must re trigger this audio loop every 2 bars and the tempo must be the same as listed in this
12. element of human feel Rather than simply quantizing or playing sequences in perfectly an alternative is available through Numerical Sound and WC Music Research it is a type of groove template based on real world performances called DNA Grooves Templates Sequencing History As sequencers evolved in the late 80 s the timing resolution as defined as the number of clicks per quarter notes rose from 24 and 96 clicks to 192 384 and 480 This was truly a breakthrough allowing individual style feel and the groove of a musician to be recorded with greater accuracy Even with this high er resolution most users acclimatized by now to the rhythmic perfection of the drum machine still quantized Quantization had become an absolute necessity in sequencing The bottom line was convenience It reduced the number of takes an average musician had to make to one or two This time saving factor entrenched quantization into the core of the sequencing process in the 80 s Musicians were given two stark choices to quantize the performance or play it in right in one or two takes By the late 80 s and early 90 s many musicians started to look for other ways to incorporate feel into their midi compositions One popular technique was the use of drum loops in midi sequences via a sampler What was interesting is that most of the popular drum loops were real acoustic performances pre the drum machine era before 1978 There were several factors that helped contri
13. g Sixteenth Feel Description Straight Straight Half Shuffle Lags amp Soft Shuffle Mediun to Hard Shuffle Straight Pushing Straight with slight shuffling Straight with some lag Medium Shuffle Straigh Pushing Hard Shuffle Medium Shuffle Straight Pushing Hard Lagging Shuffle Straight Lagging Straight Slight Push Straight Cyclical Push Hard Shuffle Straight with End Push StraighLag Slight Shuffle Hard Shuffle Medium Swing Straigh with some Lagging Hard Swing Straight with Lagging Hard Counter Swing Medium Shuffle Hard Swing 6 8 Feel Straight Cyclical Push Pull Hard Even Swing Hard Shuffle Numerical Sound PO Box 1275 Station K Toronto Ontario Canada M4P 3E5 tel 416 444 6644 fax 416 444 7045 email ernest total net www numericalsound com
14. ht with each other because of similar attack times especially if they occupy similar parts of the music spectrum For example if you add a tambourine to a track with a hihat already playing 16th notes then apply a harder shuffle and a different groove to the tam bourine so that each sound can blend and coexist with the other Creating a Groove Template The timing ratios of each drum element and bass fig 1 4 are used to create each groove template s Often not all the events of a groove are defined some 16th or triplet notes are missing due to this a further analvsis of the groove timing parameters is done and the missing notes are filled in with a con sistent feel Once a groove template is created then a user can access the feel of a real acoustic performance by applying various grooves to various pas sages of his her music Groove Timing of the HiHat in Phil Collins Just Another Story 40 30 20 10 0 16 32 48 64 80 96 112 128 144 160 176 192 16th note event count for 48 beats Fig 1 Groove Timing of the Snare in Phil Collins Just Another Storv 60 40 l 20 20F 40 60 o 16 32 48 64 80 96 112 128 144 160 176 192 16th note event count for 48 beats Fig 2 Groove Timing of the Kick in Phil Collins Just Another Storv 20 20 4 30 4 40 4 50 e 16 32 48 64 80 96 112 128 144 160 176 192 16th note event count for 48
15. k Grooves Feel Charts continued 10 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 24 Justified Straight lag with a push pull feel as it tight ens and loosens every two bars 40 20 0 20 40 60 80 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 25 Freaky Straight feel slightly pushes then lags Some Pulse 2 P2 are very late creating a slight half shuffle feel 50 40 30 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 26 Everybody Straight push that tightens every bar Pop Rock Grooves Feel Charts continued 40 60 80 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 27 Radar Luv Hard Shuffle which modulates from a hard to medium shuffle every bar 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 28 Smokey Water Straight feel with a soft shuffle in the first bar and a straight feel in the second bar 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 29 Good Time Hybrid straight Lag with a slight shuffle feel in the second bar Pop Rock Grooves Feel Charts continued 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 31 30 Keep Moving Hard shuffle that is similar to a drum machine swing feel Jazz Grooves Feel Charts 40 60 80 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 31 Yo What Medium swing
16. l All the notes are aligned perfectly to the ever present quantize grid The only inaccuracy that enters into the picture is whatever MIDI delay is caused by a particular sequencing system Groove Quantization Groove Quantization allows for the movement of notes based on a user defined grid This means that each point in the grid can be precisely defined in the num ber of clock pulse ticks ahead or behind each quantized point each note should be Most Midi sequences in the mid nineties implemented the groove template fea ture in their programs These offer musicians tremendous potential for individual expression A composer can design a particular rhythmic signature and apply it to music For example shuffles can have different strengths at different points of the groove loop Several visual representations of Bernard Purdie famous shuffles are included on the following page Note that the last graph is a drum machine playing a shuffle Which do you think sounds better To create a certain feel it is not uncommon for sequencer users to move notes individually Sometimes a suitable quantization grid cannot be found to match the groove of the drum loop Applying a DNA Groove templates is the fastest and most efficient way to match a feel As most midi sequencers provide this feature musicians can now develop a library of grooves to suit many musical situations DNA Groove Templates Designing a groove template from scratch can be a
17. l by observing the feel charts there are specific timing or feels patterns with different patterns for each instrument Look at the hihat in fig 1 with its overall shape of a beginning middle and end A clear graphic repre sentation of a music phrase Timing is an very important element used by great musicians in their performances Also notice that each instrument s fig 1 4 feel chart has its own unique feel pattern and no two are the same Another verv important feature in this groove is when two drum sound are plaved together For example the kick and hihat or the snare and hihat show small timing difference between there attacks tvpicallv 10 30 milli seconds The hihat is noticeably and consistently behind the beat and the snare is closer and tighter to the beat the kick is ahead of the beat and also closer to the beat The kick and snare are closer to the metronome beats but rarely conflict with each other because they are seldom played simultaneously have seen similar characteristic in other great drummers such as Bernard Purdie and Clyde Stubblefield When the attacks of two drum sounds happen simultaneously they fight flange If they are not precisely played simultaneously then each attack can breath and is not unduly infringed upon by each other Notice in the feel chart of the hihat that there is a shape which it is not a smooth shape there are plenty of micro details Great drummer such as Phil Collins do this on the fly To r
18. rong push into each downbeat Jazz Grooves Feel Charts continued 100 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 40 Rosey A consistent hard shuffle c 2001 Numerical Sound Notice of Rights All rights reserved No Part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or other wise without the prior written permission of Numerical Sound For information on getting permission for reprints excerpts or further details contact Ernest Cholakis at Numerical Sound R8B Collection 11 Apple Pie 12 Boogie On 13 Funkv Drum 14 Keep Truck 15 Let s Get On 16 Love Kid 17 Manchuria 18 Mercv 19 Reflection 20 SuperStitch Pop Rock Collection 21 Fool Rain 22 Give It 23 Heart Break 24 Justified 25 Freaky 26 Everybody 27 Radar Luv 28 Smokey Water 29 Good Time 30 Keep Moving Jazz Collection 31 Yo What 32 Camile 33 Kwik Skat 34 De Safe 35 Sing Sing 36 Fall Down 37 All Blue 38 Balladium 39 Sister C 40 Rosey DNA Groove Templates by Ernest Cholakis Pulse Division Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Sixteenth Triplet Swing Sixteenth Triplet Swing Sixteenth Triplet Swing Sixteenth Triplet Swing Sixteenth Triplet Swin
19. user manual Beat Motion This is the set of DNA Groove variations that pri marily process the quarter notes The pulse often move slightly in order to retain the balance in the groove 1 Groove Name 2 SoftShfl Soft Shuffle 3 SfMdShfl Soft Medium Shuffle 4 Med_Shifl Medium Shuffle 5 MdHdShfl Medium Hard Shuffle 6 HardShifl Hard Shuffle 7 EarlySnr Early Snare Beats 2 amp 4 8 LateSnr Laid Back Snare Beats 2 amp 4 9 EarlyBt2 Early Beat 2 10 LateBt2 Late Beat 2 11 EarlyBt4 Early Beat 4 12 LateBt4 Late Beat 4 13 EarlyKik Early Kick Beats 1 amp 3 14 LateKik Laid Back Kick Beats 1 amp 3 15 DriveFill Driving Fill 16 LaggFill Lagging Fill 17 AltVelocity Alternate Velocity DNA Groove Templates A Quick Overview DNA Grooves are 2 bar quantize maps derived from real music The rhythmic character is analysed and stored as a groove template Use the templates to groove quantize midi data This will often result in a dramatic transformation in your music Groove quantization works very much like normal quantization except notes are moved according to the rhythmic map of the template instead of a basic mathematical formulae The execution is very simple first play a sequence into your midi sequencer Select a region of this new performance then select the desired groove tem plate and finally listen to the results The R amp B Rock and Jazz collection each contain 10 groove files Each groove file has 17 groove
20. with successive increase in strength between the 5 6 beats Triplet pulse division 200 150 100 50 0 50 100 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 32 Camile Straight feel where the begining and end lag and the middle pushes the beat 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 33 Kwik Skat Hard Swing where the second pulse of each beat is the delayed the most Triplet pulse division Jazz Grooves Feel Charts continued 34 De Dafe Straight lag with a strong behind the beat feel around the 4 5 beat 24 21 15 18 35 Sing Sing Counter Swing where pulses push more 12 0 with each sucessive beat especially the P3 in each beat 36 Fall Down A steady medium shuffle JazzGrooves Feel Charts continued 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 37 All Blue A Hard swing where the second pulse has the largest delay This is in 3 4 time 60 40 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 38 Balladium A cyclical push pull where the first bar is ahead of the beat while the second bar is behind the beat 20 a 100 120 140 160 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 39 Sister C Hard swing with the 2nd and 3rd pluse both delayed giving a st
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search