1.3 Sample Based Instrumental
An instrumental is a song without vocals that a rapper or singer could use later. A good instrumental has three elements: STRUCTURE, DETAIL, and SOMETHING CATCHY.
Terms
Structure: The layout or form of the song. Each section has a different level of energy
Detail: Subtraction, crashes, risers, falling sounds, and ear candy that give a track life.
Something Catchy: A melody, bass line, or sample that makes the instrumental sound like a hit.
1 | Choose A Main Sample
Listen to music that you like and pay attention to the instrumental. Find a long and short songstarter sample that do not contain drums or bass.
2 | Add Drum Kit
Find a kit that has a kick and snare sound that you like. Create a scratch halftime drum pattern with the snare on beat three..
3 | Halftime Kick/Snare
Complete your half-time drum pattern by extending the drum region to two bars and adding kicks only on the eighth-note subdivisions.
4 | Hihat W/ Pitch Variation
Create a sampler track and load in a hihat oneshot. Pencil in 8th notes using the note C3. Add in 16th note rolls and pitch variation to create a four bar pattern.
5 | Rework Sample
Rework the sample by splitting it into one bar slices and reorganize them over an 8 bar loop.
6 | Add An 808
Create an eight bar 808 pattern that follows the kick rhythm using the same note as the key of the song.
7 | Ear Candy
Add in effect one shots to create more texture. Add a rising sound at the beginning and a falling sound toward the end.
8 | Structure Intro/Verse
Set up the structure of the instrumental and add variation to the intro and verse.
9 | Structure Chorus
Use a different sample as the identify for the chorus. Copy over the verse tracks and alter the energy for the new section.
10 | Arrange 2nd Half
Copy over the verse and chorus to the second half of the track. Add an outro that uses some ideas from the rest of the song.