The Backbeat
So far, we have placed the sounds right at the beginning of the beats. This is great for creating stability. However, the magic of many musical styles lies in the off-beat. The off-beat is playing notes in the spaces between the beats.
In the following example, we will play a normal measure and then one with a bass drum on the offbeat so you can notice the difference.
Measure 1: Steady Rhythm
This is our base rhythm, with all the hits falling directly on the beats. It is solid and easy to follow.
Measure 2: Adding Syncopation
Now listen carefully to the second measure or cycle. The first bass drum hits on beat 1, as usual, but on the second bass drum [- bd], we’ve divided the beat into 2 and shifted the hit to the right, after the start of the beat. It falls halfway towards beat 4. This is an off-beat hit.
Do you feel how that second bass drum adds tension to the rhythm? It's not stable, it's not predictable. Your body craves to return to the base beat, to the bass drum aligned with the beat.
Reggaeton (Dembow)
A famous example of off-beat rhythm is the "tumpa-tumpa" of Reggaetón. This rhythm has a steady bass drum and an off-beat snare. (Next, we will see what setcpm means, it's just to change the speed)
Here is a real example of this rhythm that we find in almost any Reggaeton song.
Iconic Beats You Should Know
Let's take a look at some rhythms that have marked the history of music.
We Will Rock You (Queen)
This is one of the most recognizable beats in history. Simple but powerful.
In Strudel we would write it like this:
Do you want it to sound more like the original? Use the cp sound (clap).
In addition to the basic drums, Strudel includes many more percussion sounds. Here are some examples:
bd = bass drum (bass drum)
sd = snare drum (snare drum)
rim = rimshot (rimshot)
hh = hi-hat
oh = open hi-hat
rd = ride cymbal
cr = crash cymbal
sh = shaker
cb = cowbell
tb = tambourine
cp = clap
Additional drum kit toms:
lt = low tom
mt = middle tom
ht = high tom
The low tom produces lower tones than the middle and high toms. The three produce round tones, without the "crack" of the snare, as they do not have the snares of the snare drum.
The snares are tight metal wires placed underneath the snare drum, which vibrate when the drum is struck and produce a bright, metallic sound.
Tempo: Controlling the Speed
BPM
BPM stands for Beats Per Minute. It is the standard way to measure the speed of a song. It's like measuring your heartbeats: you can say your heart beat 90 times in a minute, and in the same way, you can say your song has 90 beats per minute, 90 BPM.
The more you increase the beats per minute, the faster your song will sound.
BPM in Strudel
However, Strudel does not work directly with BPM. Instead, Strudel uses CPM cycles per minute. Since we use 4 beats per cycle, you just divide by 4. So to convert BPM to CPM, we use this formula:
setcpm(BPM / pulses_per_cycle)
Therefore, for a song at 90 BPM, we write setcpm(90/4).
There is another way to indicate the speed in Strudel CPS (cycles per second).
setcps(1) means that there is 1 cycle per second and therefore each beat (if we have 4 notes) will last 0.25 seconds (1/4 = 0.25).
If you wanted your bass drum to sound 1 time per second, if you write setcps(0.25) it means that in 1 second there is a quarter of a cycle. It's the same as saying 1 note (out of 4) every second.
More Iconic Beats
The drum kit is a relatively new instrument. Mozart did not compose anything for drums because they did not exist yet. The drum kit emerged less than 150 years ago out of the need for one person to play multiple instruments at the same time. It all started with the idea of a pedal for the bass drum, which allowed the foot to play it and thus free the hands to use another instrument.
To put into practice everything you have learned, here are more classic rhythms you can explore:
Classic Rock
A variation of the basic beat that gives a little more drive to the bass drum.
Classic House
The hypnotic rhythm of House music has three key elements:
- A bass drum on every beat ("four-on-the-floor")
- A clap on the off-beats
- An open hi-hat on the backbeat
Did you notice that we put oh? It means open hi-hat. It simply means that the hi-hat, when we play it, is open instead of being closed and produces a different sound.
Listen to the hi-hat in the following song on the offbeat, notice how it seems to always lag behind the pulse (or behind the bass drum).
There is something else we haven't seen so far, bank("RolandTR909"). We will cover this in the next lesson 👉>>