Hip Hop Drum Samples - 3 Common Questions

In this piece, we're going to be addressing a few questions about hip hop (or another urban music genre) drum samples. These questions are often posed on the most popular music production and beat making forums, and the range of answers provided is sometimes disturbing. Getting correct and unbiased opinions can be a difficult feat this in day and age, with e-rep so prevalent in forums and online communities. The music production communities are not exempt from this observation. Let's begin!

Question 1: Do I have to pay for drum samples? The answer is plain and simply no. There are some shades of gray here, though, but you should know that many top beat makers and producers started out with a lot of stock sounds that come with programs like FL Studio (think Soulja Boy) and others. There is no reason to be buying sample set after sample set if you have great sounds in front of you.

If you're knowledgeable on audio compression and other filtering and processing techniques and have the time (you can probably make time!) then you can certainly develop your own little set of go-to drum samples that you will come back to time after time. The only downside of getting your samples from one source is the common denominator - in this case you. Make sure that all your drum samples don't sound alike, otherwise your songs will start to feel stale.

Can I Use Dance Sounds for Gangster Rap? Yes, you can. The only thing to be wary of is the arrangements. A gangster rap drum loop is what it is, regardless of the samples. A dance pattern, on the other hand, is just that, too. So as long as you keep the pattern right, you can use just about any samples. In fact, you may even come across a great combination of pattern and drum samples.

Speaking on the patterns, you can learn some patterns by listening to your favorite artists and trying to replicate what is going in their songs rhythmically. Compare the different styles and find common elements, and then try to expand on those to make your own style out of this. You can also find some great free MIDI loops on the internet by performing a Google search.

Third Question: Why are some drum samples louder than others? The reason for this is as varied as the number of samples we could analyze for the answer. There are a few causes, though, and I will try to explain a few. First of all, understand that there is a constant loudness war happening in music. In fact, it's not just happening in music, but also on TV. Have you ever been watching something on the Discovery Channel to be interrupted by ads that are a few decibels louder than the show they break up? Yes, me too. This happens all the time, and it's because loudness impresses. Science has shown us that things that are loud are more impressive, and the same goes for size; if something is huge, it's going to impress you, regardless of actual quality or skill needed to produce the item or thing. So take little notice of loudness when choosing drum samples.

There's more to a beat than rap drum samples. If you want to make hip hop beats, there is music theory and arrangement to be learned. Do you have what it takes to be a music producer?