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Percussion and drum kits pitch

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 A
Posts: 0
Estimable Member
Topic starter
 

My knowledge of percussions and drumkits is very little but to my ears it's pleasing to match the pitch of my drumkits and percussions with my performance. In the waverom, there are plenty of drumkits and percussions but one problem I have is my ears are not capable of recognizing their pitch. Is there a specific pitch used for recording the percussions and drumkits in the waverom? For example all recorded in C? If I know the default pitch, I can adjust it super fast to the pitch I want.

 
Posted : 11/06/2016 7:27 pm
Bad Mister
Posts: 0
 

... but one problem I have is my ears are not capable of recognizing their pitch.

Then it does not matter. If the pitch is not blatantly obvious, as in a tympani set, you can spend much time chasing the predominant pitch in a kick drum when it's really not audible. Besides as soon as any chord changes are introduced, the tuning of the kick, if obvious will now sound out of sorts.

If you begin chasing the key of the bass through multiple chord changes, you may find it is not worth the effort. In the recording studio back in the late 1970s early 1980s it was a common practice in dance music to find the fundamental pitch in the kick drum and marry it to the Kick drum. This worked as often as it it didn't. The better it worked on the original chord, the more noticeable it was when the key or chord quality changed.

So in most instances you will want to leave the Kick that doesn't present a predominant pitch as it is, in many cases, if your kick drum and bass are interlocking, the ear will take the neutral-ness of the Kick and link it with the pitch of Bass. Listen to any classic grooves where the Kick and electric bass are locked. Your ear wants to follow the pitch of the bass line, and use just the thump of Kick, (not pitch from the Kick).

Now, if the song is modal in nature, (in one key throughout) and many dance tunes were, then tuning the Kick made perfect sense. The classic 808 Kick is so full of tone, you'd ignore it at your peril. But if you cannot discern pitch from listening to it, (meaning it is not immediately obvious) then, indeed, it should not matter. Recommendation, link the bass line to the kick drum's pattern and let the listener's ear/brain do the rest.

[Edit---- When drum and percussion samples are made, they are destined to occupy a single Key in a Drum Kit. The convention Yamaha uses is to assign the original pitch to C3. Now don't confuse this the tuning/pitch of the drum itself. The original pitch will sound - allowing the instrument to be tuned "up" or "down" from there. There is no convention for the actual pitch of drum or percussion sound. That naturally varies greatly.

 
Posted : 11/06/2016 9:53 pm
Posts: 0
Active Member
 

Phil,
I have long followed both this forum and Motifator, where you are highly respected and your comments were pertinent and valued.
However, lately some of your responses, rather than being funny (if that's what you're trying to imply) appear to some to be offensive with a "mightier than thou" attitude.
I know this forum has hundreds of questions covering a variety of topics (with many of them asked again and again), and you probably get tired of answering them.
Please answer the specific questions asked as I'm sure other people, apart from the OP, would like to be informed even if the questions may be way off the target.
Regards

 
Posted : 12/06/2016 1:57 am
 A
Posts: 0
Estimable Member
Topic starter
 

Thanks for your thorough answer Phil. With this detailed answer Phil provided, I would never get offended even if the edited part wasn't there. The original intention for asking is sometimes when I make a cover, I want the pitch of the drumkit and percussion to match the original song. This is very difficult for ears.

 
Posted : 13/06/2016 1:06 am
Posts: 0
Active Member
 

Good for you "A"!

If someone personally critical of others should appear, especially in this new world of ours filled with aggressive, opinionated haters, may their attitude one day reciprocate back onto them.

People, as with Mr. Bad, are motivated by the love of their work. Sometimes this type of help cannot be found.
Astonishingly, Phil C. appears tireless at times.
And deserves a reusable 'pass' for any/all of his 'shortcomings', if any, presumed by others.

~A Biker Chick
-edited to be a nicer person-

 
Posted : 13/06/2016 10:45 am
 A
Posts: 0
Estimable Member
Topic starter
 

I'm sure everyone appreciates what Phil is doing here. I myself sometimes don't know how to be grateful and don't know how to do better.

 
Posted : 13/06/2016 4:17 pm
Posts: 0
Active Member
 

A/Bubba,
My comment in reference to Phil/BM was based purely on his original response as posted and which I viewed.
ie the quote from "A" in regard to his ears not able to recognize pitch and his five word response - Then it does not matter.
I am not an aggressive, opinionated hater, however I was being personally critical in that the posted comment could have easily been seen as offensive in regard to A's possible (unknown) hearing disability/impediment.
I'm sure that being a Yamaha website in the public domain and an employee of Yamaha, staff have an obligation to follow their company's policies and guidelines.
The other comment about answering the specific Q's as asked has now been edited to the current five paragraphs of info which such a subject matter expert would know.
I'm aware that the staff here on the forum have years of practical experience and knowledge on all the Yamaha keyboards back through the years, and are themselves going through a very steep learning curve in regard to the Montage and everything that it's capable of.
However, I stick by my post which was based on the response that I saw from Phil.

 
Posted : 14/06/2016 2:11 pm
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