Giving PROPS to the Rhythm section!

THUMP, thump….THUMP, thump….THUMP, thump…if you’re alive and reading this you can feel your internal rhythm section, yes the pulse of your heartbeat beating proving that we as humans are even rhythmic in nature. This Blog piece is going to be an ode to the foundation and building structure of any great song – it’s rhythm and beat. This is true for any genre from classical music to rock n’ roll. The beat is the nucleus of the song that most other instruments base themselves on, the beat gives the song a certain energy and keeps a song chugging along like a freight train to the end of its three and a half minute tracks.

First off let’s do some rhythm 101, the chart below explains the building blocks of beat lengths and notes. Most modern pop and country music use whole, half, quarter, eighth or sixteenth notes and thirty-second and sixty-fourth notes are rarely used unless in instrumentation solos or fills. For some simple explanation in a time signature of 4/4 the below a whole note would be equivalent to 4 beats in a bar or 4 quarter notes or 8 eighth notes. Most current pop and country music utilizes a 4/4 time signature.

Although not quite as important as the notes and beats themselves, rests or pauses in music are almost just as critical and can be broken down the same way as notes. The band AC/DC was brilliant in putting articulate and tasteful rests in their music that made some of the most iconic guitar riffs in history. Never forget the power and impact of shutting off the music for a second or 2.

The beats per minute and tempo of a song define more so the energy and vibe of a song and not necessarily whether the song will be fast or slow. Pending on how the beats are split up and what the drums accent for a beat a 130 bpm can still have a slow feel (almost half-time) and a song with 73 bpm can feel fast if the vocal melody is sang in all eight note rhythms. This is something that is good to figure out at the beginning of a song seed idea to break down the beat structure of a song to define what will drive it and give it it’s “vibe and feel”.

When producing music I am very conscious of the beat and how tweaking or changing it slightly can really help define certain sections of a song and provide excellent momentum and dynamics to a song. A classic example would be a simple kick drum on the quarter note during the verses that transitions to a full snare and kick beat during the chorus.

Another technique I use when producing a song is to push the tempo till it loses its feel or vibe and roll it back a bit – playing a song at a slightly faster tempo than what it was written at can make it more exciting and commercial.

Timing, beats and rhythm can be an excellent way to add unique ear catching elements to your songwriting. A couple examples would be Eric Church’s “Mr. Misunderstood” which starts at a BPM of 129 and in the 3rd verse it goes up to 139 BPM and the classic rock song “I Love Rock N’ Roll” by Joan Jett has a bar of ¾ in the chorus.

The current number one selling and streaming genre in the world is hip hop music. This category of music more than any other is defined with beats and rhythms proving how important the “head bob” and groove has become in our music and is clear evidence that it is not going anywhere.

Stay in tune and in touch and keep on writing and producing!

Cheers,

Kent