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Drum Loop

Musical

Example

Drum Loop

Secret

Score

Drum Loop

Animated

Score

Introduction

When composing action music, the goal is to create as much high intensity, adrenaline filled sound as possible. With the advent of video games and spectacular special effects movies, the stakes have been raised even higher. Thankfully, newer technologies that enable us to sample and loop music have given composers a continual source of cutting edge percussion sounds and rhythmic patterns.

Drum Loops

For this musical example, we will take advantage of these newer technologies. We will use drum loops to provide constant high end rhythmic energy. When choosing drum loops, you need to consider each loop's groove, complexity and tempo. Let's listen to the two drum loops we will be using in this piece:

Loop 1            Loop 2

You can hear that Loop 1 keeps a steady, driving pattern, while Loop 2 has a more random, improvised quality to it. Loop 2 is also less intense. We will use the contrast in these two loops to our advantage. We will use the steadier driving pattern of Loop 1 for the main body of music, while we place Loop 2's lighter pattern in the intro. This lighter pattern can also be used later on to provide relief from the intensity of our heavier drum pattern.