Using the Channel Rack to create billboard charting drum loops

Let’s first dive into how traditional hip hop drum arrangements work in the Channel Rack. There are a few essential stages to creating a hip hop drum arrangement in FL Studio, which are as follows:

1. Create a fresh pattern in the step sequencer or a fresh MIDI clip on the Piano Roll to get things going. This will be the basis for your drum arrangement.
2. Add the various drum sounds that you’ll be using in your arrangement after that. To accomplish this, choose them from the Channel Rack or browser, drag them into the pattern or clip, and then drop them into a Channel Rack line. Kick, snare, hi-hat, and clap drums are typical hip hop drum sounds.
3. Start composing your drum beats using the Piano Roll or step sequencer. It’s typical for hip hop rhythms to employ a constant kick and snare pattern while changing the hi-hat and clapping rhythms to increase variety and interest. The tools and plugins can also be used to improve the sound of your drums.
4. To arrange your drum patterns and create a full song, you can also use the Playlist window. Here, you can quickly arrange, edit, and organize your drum patterns.
5. Create an original and captivating drum arrangement by experimenting with various rhythms and patterns. Using automation and pattern effects, you can also add variations and create fills on the Piano Roll.
6. Once you have a strong drum arrangement, you can add samples, basslines, and melodies to finish off your hip hop track.
7. Then, mix and master your drums by adjusting the volume, EQ, compression, and other effects.

Using the Channel Rack to create hip hop theory-based drum programming sequences is easy; let’s talk about using a simple formula to use as a foundational template. A foundational template is a framework term for describing a base-level template upon which you can expand, specific to a genre or type of music you are composing. I will walk you through the basics of each of these foundational templates, so you have a base foundation for each main driving genre created in FL Studio.

The hip hop Channel Rack framework

Now, let’s walk through this framework by opening the Channel Rack and adding a kick and snare sample:

1. Let’s set the Beats Per Minute (BPM) to 90:

Figure 4.1: In the center of the image, you will see the BPM manipulator at 90 BPM

2. Now, let’s set the kick and snare pattern as follows:

Figure 4.2: Channel Rack | Drum sequence pattern 1

3. Now, let’s add a hi-hat sound into the Channel Rack, and place it on a basic four-bar loop:

Figure 4.3: Channel Rack | Drum sequence pattern 2

This is the basic hip hop drum loop pattern you will hear in most hip hop records.

The West Coast hip hop Channel Rack framework

West Coast drum programming follows the funk-R&B theory of drum placement. Let’s talk about how to use the Channel Rack to identify basic foundational templates you can build from in your productions:

1. Let’s set the BPM to 100 and make a West Coast drum pattern that has worked for 3 decades:

Figure 4.4: Channel Rack | 100 BPM | Drum sequence pattern 3

2. Now, let’s place the hi-hat on a two-bar placement loop:

Figure 4.5: Channel Rack | 100 BPM | Drum sequence pattern 3 | Fill each 2 steps

3. Now, let’s give the hi-hat some energy by augmenting the volume of each second hit:

Figure 4.6: Channel Rack | 100 BPM | Drum Sequence Pattern 3 | Velocity | Volume

This makes it sound closer to a live hat, whereas when a drummer hits a cymbal, they don’t hit the cymbal with the same intensity as before.

You will see that the kick is sparse; that’s because West Coast hip hop relies heavily on bass guitars to create the rhythmic section, whereas in East Coast hip hop, the drums are more driving.

The modern West Coast hip hop Channel Rack framework

Modern West Coast hip hop is a hybrid of southern 808-driven drum programming but keeps the same tempo as its predecessor. Let’s show you what that looks like:

1. Here, we will take a slightly replaced drum pattern but add an additional kick and 808 sound:

Figure 4.7: Channel Rack | Drum sequence pattern 4 | 808 Kick

Now, these two 808 kicks are adding a heavy bottom frequency to the kicks, but 808 sub-kicks typically act as bass notes when composing. They aren’t typically kept on middle C or the root note of your track.

2. Open the Piano Roll and place the notes throughout the key sections to create a bass rhythm loop. In this example, I’m following a simple layout:

Figure 4.8: Piano Roll | 808 Kick | Note adjustment

3. Now, when it comes to hi-hat patterns in the modern West Coast music style, you can follow a two-bar placement formula like this:

Figure 4.9: Channel Rack | hat closed 3 hard | Hi-hat two-step pattern

You can also follow the modern hi-hat triplet and chop framework in West Coast music when taking a modern approach to creating these types of compositions.

The trap music Channel Rack framework

Now, let’s discuss the basic framework for creating hi-hat sequences using the trap framework:

1. Start by opening the Piano Roll and creating a new MIDI clip. This will be the foundation for your hi-hat pattern.
2. Next, add a hi-hat sound to the pattern by selecting it from the Channel Rack or the browser and then dragging and dropping it into the MIDI clip.

Begin programming your hi-hat pattern using the Piano Roll. In trap music, it’s common to use a consistent 16th-note pattern, with the hi-hat being played on every 16th note. However, you can also play with the rhythm and the pattern to add variation and interest.

3. To create the characteristic “rolling” hi-hat effect, you can add a series of 16th-note triplets by adding a series of three 8th-note triplets. This can be achieved by selecting the 8th note, and then using the Triplet function.
4. Once you have the basic hi-hat pattern, you can add variations by inserting ghost notes or open hi-hats. Ghost notes are played with a lower velocity and create a more subtle and smooth flow.

Open hi-hats are played with a velocity of zero and are used to create a break or a build-up in the pattern. You can also add automation and effects to your hi-hat pattern, such as panning, filtering, and reverb, to create a more dynamic and interesting sound.

5. Finally, don’t forget to adjust the volume and the pitch of your hi-hat pattern to make sure that it sits well in the mix with the rest of the elements in your track.

To use this basic framework for creating hi-hat sequences using the trap framework, follow these steps:

1. Let’s open the hi-hat pattern in the Piano Roll:

Figure 4.10: Piano Roll | Hi-hat two-step pattern

2. Now, let’s stretch the following notes in the Piano Roll so that when we use the Chop tool, we have the runway to add notes:

Figure 4.11: Piano Roll | Hi-hat two-step pattern | Note extension

When it comes to adding triplets or chopping hi-hats into the modern hi-hat roles, it’s important to note that these types of nuances are best used in transitionary positions within the four-bar loop before the snare, or before the loop end to carry the rhythm section, as in Figure 4.12.

3. Now, let’s go to tools and select Chop and 4 bar:

Figure 4.12: Piano Roll | Piano Roll - chopper | Hi-hat triplet

Now, we have a modern hi-hat pattern! You can experiment with how many hi-hat rolls you want to include using the Chop tool, but this describes the basic overview of how to integrate hi-hat rolls in trap music hip hop frameworks. Using this formula and framework, we can also incorporate this hi-hat framework into modern West Coast hip hop templates, as a matter of preference.

Now, let’s make a trap or southern loop. In hip hop, southern music described the type of sound that was developed in the early 1990s and 2000s, which eventually evolved into modern trap music. Southern music, in this instance, refers to the more soulful approach to this genre-specific type of sound. Let’s do this now:

1. Set the BPM to 140. Because we are in double time, we need to add an additional 16 bars in the Channel Rack:

Figure 4.13: Channel Rack

2. Now, place the snare in double time, as follows:

Figure 4.14: Channel Rack | Snare placement

3. Now, let’s start adding the kick using a proven trap loop formula:

Figure 4.15: Channel Rack | Kick placement | Snare placement

4. Now, let’s add the 808 as follows (we won’t tune them in the Piano Roll now; this is to show you where they fit best as far as trap rhythm goes):

Figure 4.16: Channel Rack | Kick placement | Snare placement | 808 Kick placement

5. Now, let’s add a hi-hat on a two-bar placement:

Figure 4.17: Channel Rack | Kick placement | Snare placement | 808 Kick placement | Hi-hat placement

The hi-hat can stay like this, or you can use the modern hi-hat triplet theory as we did in the trap music hi-hat theory. Let’s do this now.

6. Open the hi-hat pattern in the Piano Roll and stretch these specific notes to create a rhythm as follows:

Figure 4.18: Piano Roll | Hi-hat placement | Note extension

7. Select Tools | Chop | 4 bar:

Figure 4.19: Piano Roll | Tools | Chop

8. Now, let’s chop the following hi-hat sections to create a trap hi-hat pattern:

Figure 4.20: Piano Roll | Hi-hat placement | chopper | hi-hat triplets

We can also create another hi-hat triplets pattern as follows:

Figure 4.21: Piano Roll | chopper | hi-hat triplets variation two

The examples can be tweaked to fit your personal style and creativity. This example simply shows the framework for using the Chop tool in the Piano Roll to create trap hi-hat roll patterns.

To summarize, the hip hop Channel Rack framework is a structured approach to programming hip hop drum patterns using the Channel Rack in FL Studio. These frameworks involve dividing drum kit sounds into separate channels for each drum sound and exploring different types of drum patterns commonly used in hip hop, including boom bap, trap, and West Coast styles. Throughout the chapter so far, we have emphasized the importance of experimentation and creativity within the framework and provided step-by-step instructions for creating each pattern. By following the guidelines laid out in the chapter so far, you can create authentic and dynamic hip hop drum programming for your tracks.

Now, let’s discuss how we can create tension and keep listeners captivated by using transitional ear candy!