Drum Samples and Swing

Beat makers of all ages and all expertise levels sometimes overlook two of music production’s biggest ’sleeping giants’ – swing and time-sensitive density. Let’s go through some of the things related to the former, as many newbies and veterans still don’t pay enough attention to the swing that applies to drum samples. By the end of this, you should have a better understanding of the topic!

The first question we often hear is: why should I care about adding swing to my drum samples and other tracks? This question actually appears on so many forums and blogs, it’s not funny anymore. It is a very serious topic if you want to be a great beat maker and music producer, so let’s start at the beginning. The human ear loves musical variance. It is simply science. We pay more attention to things that we see and hear that are not normal, things that have not happened before. Imagine if your favorite artist started and finished their concerts by simply playing their latest album in the same track order, with the same exact notes and more. It wouldn’t be very pleasing to your ear!

When using it for drum sample tapping, swing is similar to quantization and it will help keep you in check to make sure that you’re not hitting off-notes.

But what exactly is swing? Swing is, again, like quantization, but without the 100% timing. There are various styles of swing templates, with varying degrees of swing. A 50% swing, for instance, is no different than snap quantization, so it’s not really swing at all. But moving beyond this, a 63% swing template, for example, is one which moves midi notes from the nearest quantization point by thirteen percent either way. The percentage is of the timing, so it would be thirteen percent of 1/16th note, if 1/16 was the timing selected.

Swing templates are especially useful when combining drum samples tracks with electronic instruments like synthesizers – these ’synths’ do not have any swing applied to them by default (most of the time), so using a swing setting on them along with a straight drum track, or the other way around, can get you some good results. You can also just quantize the drum samples and the electronic synth and simply use a swing setting on one other sound in the song.

Using swing settings for drum samples is an acquired skill, and starting with percentages between 51% and 65% is a good start for most budding producers or those already established who had not delved into the rhythmic aspect of swing. There are various styles of templates that have come directly from groove machines like the MPC 2000 and so, and these can be useful to replicate the swing that legendary hip hop producers have used for countless classics.

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