Not content just to bang away with his collection of percussion sounds, this month Nigel Lord turns his attention to pitched sounds as well...

With the introduction of new technology to any aspect of music production comes the inevitable blurring of the borders which previously fenced it off from other, related areas. Not only does this place greater demands on our technical understanding, it changes how we define ourselves as musicians. The effect can be clearly felt by keyboard players given the opportunity to trigger percussion sounds spread across the octaves of their instruments, and by guitarists taking advantage of MIDI, and accessing keyboard sounds through the medium of a stringed instrument.

For the dedicated drum programmer on the other hand, the latest challenge is to reconcile pitched and melodic sounds with the percussion instruments of most synth and sound modules. Few people equipped with a multi-timbral instrument will not have inadvertently (... or perhaps advertently) switched MIDI channels, and been surprised at the fascinating results that can occur when a drum pattern is used to trigger conventional keyboard sounds. Despite this, most immediately switch back to the shorter, less troublesome instruments of the drum kit, perhaps returning to explore further at some future date.

Having actually got round to making a few investigations myself, I discovered how the judicious use of a few non-percussive sounds can transform a pattern, and lift it above the rather conventional fare which has become the staple diet of most rhythm programmers. Of course, conventional percussionists are no strangers to pitched or melodic sounds. Many of the instruments of the classical orchestra are 'tuned' in one way or another, as are most of the Latin instruments which have been assimilated into the percussive arsenal, and used widely by programmers over the past decade or so. But there is no need to stop there. With a little imagination, many sounds can be used as part of a rhythm track, even though they might have been originally intended for use with keyboards and sequencers.

Given that the very concept of the rhythm section includes a melodic bass instrument in addition to drum and percussion sounds, there is a strong argument for introducing these instruments whilst a rhythm pattern is at its formative stages of development. Better this than trying to combine two more disparate elements, which have been created separately. I suppose you could refer to it as a 'holistic' approach to rhythm programming.

In the coming months, we're going to be including bass programming as a logical extension of the series. For now, I'd like to take a look at what can be done using pitched instruments within the framework of standard rhythm patterns. Not 'standard', in the sense of them being commonplace; the three examples presented here are all highly distinctive, having been specifically developed to work with the pitched instruments included. But each of them is self-contained, and remains effective, even without the pitched sounds.

As we haven't reached the point in the series where we'll be regularly using tuned instruments as an integral part of the patterns, I decided against altering the layout of the grids to accommodate the new instruments. Instead, you'll find each note of a particular sound given its own line in the grid, and its own sample on this month's Re:Mix CD. This way, we don't get embroiled in different methods of notation, and, providing you stick to the recommended tempos and sample the sounds for their full length (including the complete decay period), you won't have any problem with note durations.

Because many pitched sounds are, by their very nature, longer than percussive sounds, note duration becomes much more significant in rhythmic terms. Often, it's as important to cut a sound off at the right point in the bar as it is to trigger it accurately. As I said, using the Re:Mix sounds will mean you have little to worry about with these patterns, but it is worth bearing this in mind when experimenting yourself.

So radical is the effect of the pitched sounds, any attempt to pigeon-hole each of this month's patterns as belonging to a particular rhythmic style would be pretty pointless. Paradoxically, that's one of the best recommendations I can think of for using them. I accept that the very inclusion of pitched instruments is likely to mean the patterns will be difficult to slot beneath existing songs without a change of key (at the very least), but I suggest you look upon these more as foundation rhythms for new tracks.

All the same, I have stuck to essentially percussive instruments to provide the tuned voices — like the ringing bowls and the bata drums — as these tend to be rather more 'transparent', within the context of a mix. Needless to say, there's nothing to stop you using other instruments, or even writing different lines using the same instruments. The aim of this article is to get you going down the path of combining percussive and pitched rhythmic elements, and hopefully give you an idea of what's possible.

Programming follows the standard techniques. Newcomers are directed to the key for information on velocity levels, but advised to carry out their own fine-tuning to extend the dynamic range of each instrument. The only limit is your imagination!

(Click image for higher resolution version)

(Click image for higher resolution version)

(Click image for higher resolution version)

Percussive and pitched elements combined, in this month's three On The Beat patterns