Exercise: Construct a Beat

Construct a Beat

Transcript

In this exercise you will create a looping drumbeat. You should use at least two different samples in your code. What makes a nice drumbeat? A great way to start is by keeping it simple. You could for example start with a bass drum on the 1st and 3rd beat and a snare drum on the 2nd and 4th. Remember, the samples are grouped by their type so you will find the drum sounds under the :drum category. Navigate the drop-down menu with up and down arrow keys and choose a sample you like by pressing enter. How do you know the length of your drum beat is okay? Well, if it sounds good, then it's probably quite alright! If you're in doubt, just keep it simple. It's best to use numbers that easily add up to whole numbers. Change the tempo of your beat with the use_bpm command and also, make your beat loop by putting it inside a live_loop. You have to write live_loop and you also need to give the loop a unique name. Names in Sonic Pi always start with a colon and you know when you have it right when the text turns pink. A live_loop is a code block just like the times do structure you already know. You always start a block with a do and you close the code block with an end command. The beat you will loop goes inside the block good luck and have fun!
Exercise instructions 1/2

Create a drum beat!

Suggested time limit is 10 minutes

  • Use sample command to play the samples
  • Use at least two different samples
  • Use sleep command to create the rhythm
  • Make sure that the sleep values add up to 4
  • Put your drum beat inside a live_loop
  • Save your rhythm code.
  • You will need the rhythm code in the next step as well!

Multiple Loops

Transcript

In this exercise you will add more live_loops to your beat to make it more exciting. Begin by making another live_loop under the one you've made before. I have added a faster rhythm with the hi-hat. Remember that every loop needs a unique name. I decided to call this one :hi-hat. Remember that you can make samples play in a faster rhythm by using smaller arguments for sleep. You can create longer breaks with big sleep values. Remember we're counting to four all the time so one bar has a total sleep value of four. For example I can make a sample play every now and then using values like four and twelve. Let's hear this out. but don't be afraid to try values that don't exactly line up together. Sonic Pi is all about experimenting and you might discover some exciting new rhythms. You can also use the play command inside a live_loop to add a melody to your beat. Remember that you can easily test different ideas while the live_loop is actually running. Simply change the sample or note and press run without stopping the code. If you would like to mute a section, you can use the hash sign to comment it which also makes Sonic Pi skip the line of code. When you have at least two live_loops playing at the same time, write a short comment to the first line of the buffer with your name and a name to the beat.
Exercise instructions 2/2

Make several loops play together!

  • Use sample command to play the samples
  • Make at least two different loops with live_loop
  • Remember that each live_loop needs a unique name
  • You can use larger sleep values to create silence
  • You can also use play inside a live_loop
  • Use the # sign to write a comment with a name for the beat at the top of the buffer
  • Save your rhythm code.