This is the project for the module. Everything so far comes together in one track: a full rhythm section, programmed so that a listener cannot easily tell which parts were played and which were not.
The brief
Choose one of these, or agree a brief of your own with your instructor:
- A funk or soul groove at 95-110 BPM, with ghost notes, a syncopated bassline, and a muted 16th-note guitar.
- A pop-rock song section at 110-130 BPM, with an 8th-note groove, a root-and-fifth bass, doubled strummed guitars, and a tambourine lift in the chorus.
- A disco or house groove at 118-124 BPM, with four-on-the-floor drums, an octave bass, Nile Rodgers-style guitar, and Latin percussion.
Write at least a verse and a chorus, with a transition between them.
Requirements
- Drums - a sampled kit with velocity layers. At least one groove change between sections, fills at the transitions, ghost notes or accents, and no impossible limb combinations.
- Bass - a line that uses roots, chord tones and at least one passing or chromatic note, programmed with at least two articulations (legato, mutes, slides).
- Guitar - a rhythm part using a strum engine, a phrase library, or hand-programmed strums with offset timing and guitar voicings.
- Percussion - at least two percussion parts with different jobs, panned and placed.
- Groove - a deliberate swing or groove-template decision, applied consistently.
- A session brief - the one-page brief you would send a real bassist or guitarist to replace your programmed part, written as in the session musicians chapter.
How it will be judged
- Realism. Would a player recognise the parts as playable?
- Groove. Does it feel good? Does it make you move?
- Interaction. Do the parts leave space for each other, or fight?
- Arrangement. Does the chorus lift? Do the transitions feel intentional?
- Mix basics. Can you hear every part? Does the low end hold together?
Working method
- Start with the drums and bass together. Get those two working before anything else goes in.
- Add the guitar, then the percussion, then listen to the whole thing at low volume - grooves that work quietly work loudly.
- Bounce a version each session and listen away from the studio. Note anything that sounds mechanical.
- If you play an instrument, record a real take of one part and compare it with your programmed version. What did the player do that you did not program?
Do this now
- Pick your brief and set your tempo and key.
- Program four bars of drums and bass and loop them until they groove.
- Write your session brief before you start the guitar - it will tell you what you actually want from the part.