Help: How can I use drums for non 4/4 compositions?

[Olarte]

are there any drum patterns that can be used for non 4/4 compostitions. Specifically 3/4 like waltzes etc?

I was thinking of patterns where each beat may have subdivisions that sound like 3/4 patterns.

There has to be  a reason why all patterns are 4/4. How do others work around the limitation without using external drum sources?

thanks

[beleg]

use the metronome for recording the song and then an external drum machine once you are done to write the drums for our song (better yet, find a live drummer)

[drutgat]

Yes, the Micro BR is limited in this respect.

I would really like a fully programmable drum machine, partly because I am influenced by Hindustani Classical Music (North Indian Classical Music) which has a far more complicated system of structured time than we in the West do.

For example the version of Jhaptal(a) which I like, a 10 beat cycle, is divided 3,2,3,2 with the empasis on the first, fourth and eighth matras (beats).

Also, it's crazy not being able to do a simple 3/4.

[guitarron]

that is am unfortunate limitation of the mbr-the fact that beats cannot be programmed

[ben]

If someone knows the answer or any other solution on this question I would be very interrested!! Perhaps Boss can develop new sofware...?

[64Guitars]

There has to be  a reason why all patterns are 4/4.

There is. Most western popular music is in 4/4, so Boss probably thought that it would be adequate for most of their target customers. Most people who are interested in recording waltzes probably don't have much use for high-gain amp models and effects like flanger, phaser, or delay. And the target customers who would appreciate those features probably aren't very interested in recording waltzes. So, restricting the patterns to 4/4 was probably seen as a way to keep costs down while still appealing to most of the target customers.

How do others work around the limitation without using external drum sources?

There isn't much you can do in the Micro BR outside of 4/4 except for using the 32 metronome patterns which have time signatures from 1/1 to 8/8.

External drum machines and drum software are possible ways of getting better drum capabilities. However, the Micro BR has no midi connectors, so synchronization can be a challenge.

If time signatures other than 4/4 are really important to you, then it would probably be best if you considered moving up to another recorder. The BR-600 is a bit larger than the Micro BR but still quite tiny compared to other recorders. Its preset patterns are all 4/4 like the Micro BR. However, with the BR-600 you can create your own custom patterns in any of the following time signatures:

  1/1  2/1  3/1  4/1  5/1  6/1  7/1  8/1
  1/2  2/2  3/2  4/2  5/2  6/2  7/2  8/2
  1/4  2/4  3/4  4/4  5/4  6/4  7/4  8/4
  1/8  2/8  3/8  4/8  5/8  6/8  7/8  8/8

The custom patterns can be created in step mode by entering the desired drum and cymbal sounds on a grid. Or, you can create custom patterns in real time by tapping on the BR-600's twelve velocity-sensitive drum pads.

But, like the Micro BR, the BR-600 has no midi connectors, so synchronizing with an external drum machine or drum sequencer software could be a problem. If that's important to you, you could consider the BR-900CD or BR-1200, although these are much larger and more expensive than the Micro BR. You could also look at other brands such as Zoom, although most other manufacturers don't include any drum capabilities with their recorders. Still, you might be better off with a good basic recorder like a TASCAM DP-02CF which has a Midi Out connector, and connect it to an external midi drum machine. The DP-02CF lacks some of the Micro BR's features such as v-tracks and a drum machine. However, it makes up for this by being simpler to operate (lots of dedicated controls instead of confusing menus), and including a Midi Out connector for synching to a drum machine.

[drutgat]

There has to be  a reason why all patterns are 4/4.

There is. Most western popular music is in 4/4, so Boss probably thought that it would be adequate for most of their target customers. Most people who are interested in recording waltzes probably don't have much use for high-gain amp models and effects like flanger, phaser, or delay. And the target customers who would appreciate those features probably aren't very interested in recording waltzes. So, restricting the patterns to 4/4 was probably seen as a way to keep costs down while still appealing to most of the target customers.

No offence, but I think equating 3/4 time signatures solely with waltzes is a gross over-simplification, and ignores the many entire songs, middle eights, and choruses that are in 3/4 in popular Western music.

One only has to look at the best known and best selling songs in popular music (The Beatles' songs) to see many examples of this.

I would say that Boss made a bit of a mistake not providing people at least with presets in other time signatures, particularly 3/4

[64Guitars]

No offence, but I think equating 3/4 time signatures solely with waltzes is a gross over-simplification, and ignores the many entire songs, middle eights, and choruses that are in 3/4 in popular Western music.

One only has to look at the best known and best selling songs in popular music (The Beatles' songs) to see many examples of this.

I was not trying to imply that only waltzes are in 3/4, nor that all western popular music is in 4/4. That's why I repeatedly used the word most in my message.

Most western popular music is in 4/4, so Boss probably thought that it would be adequate for most of their target customers. Most people who are interested in recording waltzes probably don't have much use for high-gain amp models and effects like flanger, phaser, or delay. And the target customers who would appreciate those features probably aren't very interested in recording waltzes. So, restricting the patterns to 4/4 was probably seen as a way to keep costs down while still appealing to most of the target customers.

I would say that Boss made a bit of a mistake not providing people at least with presets in other time signatures, particularly 3/4

As I said a few moments ago in another message:

This is not a unique limitation of the Micro BR. All of the BRs contain only 4/4 patterns in their presets (actually, the BR-1200 has 2 patterns in 5/4 and 3 in 6/8, and the BR-1600 has 3 patterns in 5/4 and 4 in 6/8). What's unique about the Micro BR is that you can't create custom patterns, or use custom patterns created with the BR Rhythm Editor or another BR. If you could, then you could use any time signature you like.

[drutgat]

No offence, but I think equating 3/4 time signatures solely with waltzes is a gross over-simplification, and ignores the many entire songs, middle eights, and choruses that are in 3/4 in popular Western music.

One only has to look at the best known and best selling songs in popular music (The Beatles' songs) to see many examples of this.

I was not trying to imply that only waltzes are in 3/4, nor that all western popular music is in 4/4. That's why I repeatedly used the word most in my message.

Most western popular music is in 4/4, so Boss probably thought that it would be adequate for most of their target customers. Most people who are interested in recording waltzes probably don't have much use for high-gain amp models and effects like flanger, phaser, or delay. And the target customers who would appreciate those features probably aren't very interested in recording waltzes. So, restricting the patterns to 4/4 was probably seen as a way to keep costs down while still appealing to most of the target customers.

I would say that Boss made a bit of a mistake not providing people at least with presets in other time signatures, particularly 3/4

As I said a few moments ago in another message:

This is not a unique limitation of the Micro BR. All of the BRs contain only 4/4 patterns in their presets (actually, the BR-1200 has 2 patterns in 5/4 and 3 in 6/8, and the BR-1600 has 3 patterns in 5/4 and 4 in 6/8). What's unique about the Micro BR is that you can't create custom patterns, or use custom patterns created with the BR Rhythm Editor or another BR. If you could, then you could use any time signature you like.

Actually, if you read your own message carefully, you'll see that when you say "most", the first time, you're talking about "most" music being in 4/4, and when you use it the subsequent 3 times, you use it to describe "most people"/"target customers. There's nary even an implication that "most" refers to other types of 3/4 time signatures.

To further this, you don't use any word other than "waltzes" to describe non-4/4 time signatures. There's no implication about it; it's there, pure and simple. Now, perhaps you meant what you've now said, but that certainly wasn't conveyed in your earlier message.

[mduckworth73]

Since the br doesn't have  a 3/4 preset drum pattern (other than the metronome), does anyone know of any samples on websites to go to?
Thanks
Mike