Drum Kit Anatomy & the Step Sequencer
Learn what each drum does, then program a beat by switching on steps.
- I can identify the kick, snare, clap, and hi-hat by their sound and their job in a beat.
- I can explain what a backbeat is and program one.
- I can build and edit a drum pattern in the Step Sequencer.
Warm-up: beatbox it
With a partner, beatbox a simple beat: a low “boom” on beats 1 and 3, a sharp “kah” on beats 2 and 4, and a quiet “ts” on every eighth note. You just performed a kick, snare, and hi-hat.
The drum kit and what each part does
- Kick (bass drum)
- The lowest drum. It gives a beat its weight and usually lands on strong beats like 1.
- Snare
- A sharp, cracking drum in the middle of the range. It usually lands on beats 2 and 4.
- Clap
- A hand-clap sound used in electronic and hip-hop music, often layered with or instead of the snare.
- Hi-hat
- Two cymbals that sound a short “ts” when closed and a longer “tssss” when open. It keeps time and fills the space between the kick and snare.
- Backbeat
- A strong hit on beats 2 and 4, usually from the snare or clap. Almost all pop, rock, and hip-hop has a backbeat.
| 1 | e | & | a | 2 | e | & | a | 3 | e | & | a | 4 | e | & | a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
| Snare | ||||||||||||||||
| Kick |
The basic beat · snare on 2 and 4 is the backbeat
The Step Sequencer
- Drum Machine Designer
- A Logic software instrument that holds a whole electronic drum kit. Each kit piece is on its own key and gets its own row in the Step Sequencer.
- Step Sequencer
- A Logic editor where you build a beat by switching boxes (steps) on and off in a grid, like a classic drum machine.
- Step
- One box in the Step Sequencer. By default each step is one sixteenth note, so 16 steps make one bar.
- Pattern region
- A region made for the Step Sequencer. It repeats its pattern and can be looped like any region.
The Step Sequencer looks just like the diagrams on this site. The diagram above is a map of what you'll click.
Try it in Logic
- Press Option⌘N, choose Software Instrument, and click Create.
- Press Y to open the Library. Choose Electronic Drum Kit, then pick any kit. The track now uses Drum Machine Designer.
- Play keys starting at C1 on your MIDI keyboard to hear the kit pieces. (Use the octave buttons on your keyboard if you can't reach them.)
- Control-click (or right-click) an empty spot on the drum track at bar 1 and choose Create Pattern Region.
- Double-click the pattern region to open the Step Sequencer at the bottom of the window. Each row is labeled with a kit piece.
- In the Kick row, click steps 1 and 9.
- In the Snare row, click steps 5 and 13. That's your backbeat.
- In a closed hi-hat row, click every odd step: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15.
- Turn on Cycle over bar 1 and press Space. Adjust anything that doesn't match the diagram.
- To change how hard a step hits, switch the Step Sequencer's edit mode to Velocity, then drag a step up or down. Lower the off-beat hi-hats to create accents, as in Lesson 4.
Make three new pattern regions (bars 2, 3, and 4). Start each one as a copy of your basic beat (Option-drag), then change it:
| 1 | e | & | a | 2 | e | & | a | 3 | e | & | a | 4 | e | & | a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
| Snare | ||||||||||||||||
| Kick |
Variation 1 · move the second kick to step 11
| 1 | e | & | a | 2 | e | & | a | 3 | e | & | a | 4 | e | & | a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
| Clap | ||||||||||||||||
| Snare | ||||||||||||||||
| Kick |
Variation 2 · 16th hi-hats, clap layered on the snare, pickup kick on step 16
Check your understanding
Quick check: Which beats normally carry the backbeat?
Quick check: In the Step Sequencer, how many steps make one bar of 4/4 by default?
Describe the job of the kick, the snare, and the hi-hat in one sentence each.