Drums carry the energy of a track, so a weak beat or a messy drum mix holds everything else back. This hub brings together our drum and beatmaking tutorials: programming your first beat in Ableton, the elements of trap and house beats, getting a punchier kick and snare, parallel compression, and mixing drums for punch, clarity and groove.
It’s for beatmakers and producers who want drums that hit hard and sit cleanly in the mix, whatever genre they make. If you’re new, start with Your First Drum Beat In Ableton Live and the Drums In Ableton guide, then try the house or trap beat tutorials. When the pattern is right, work through the kick and snare guides. Finish with the drum mixing articles, including parallel compression, to bring it all together.
Start here: the best Drums & Beats guides
- Your First Drum Beat In Ableton Live
Set up a Drum Rack, choose samples and program your first beat in Ableton Live. - Drums In Ableton Guide
Drum Rack essentials, loading samples and programming drums in the MIDI clip editor. - How To Make A Beat With Ableton
Pick drum samples, build a beat and add bass and melody in Ableton. - How To Create A House Beat Beginners Tutorial
House beat basics: the gear you need and programming the kick and snare. - Top Elements Of Every Trap Beat
The rhythm, hi-hat, tempo and bass elements behind every trap beat. - Midnight Punch Drums For Melodic House Techno
Choosing and layering kicks and percussion for melodic house and techno drums. - How To Make Your Kick Drum Sound Better Great Tricks
Sample choice, EQ, compression and transient shaping for a better kick. - How To Make Your Snare Drum More Punchy
Tuning, drumheads and snare wires for a punchier acoustic snare. - Mixing Drums Techniques for Punch Clarity and Groove
EQ and compression techniques for drums with punch, clarity and groove. - How To Get A Cleaner Drum Mix
Recording, mic placement and EQ techniques for a cleaner drum mix. - How To Mix Dance Drums
Preparing your session, then EQ and processing for punchy dance drums. - Parallel Drum Compression
Setting up sends, compression settings and blend for parallel drum compression.
Beat finished? Get it mastered by Solar Heavy so it hits on every system, or browse all tutorials.
All Drums & Beats articles
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