I was thinking the other day about how to create something when the chips are down and the music is not flowing as usual. So I was listening to a classic 80s record by Loose Ends and their seminal hit "Hangin on a String" from 1985. I was listening to most specifically the drum pattern which is of course a Roland 808 set.
So I decided to recreate this awesome pattern by taking the original song into a drum extraction AI website and isolating the drums away from the synth bass etc. The one I use for free which is pretty good is this one VOCAL REMOVAL Then proceeded to Ableton and dragged into the arrangement one of their 808 core kit drum racks and began recreating the pattern.
To my surprise it was quite simple to do and I was very pleased with the results. So my advice here is when you are struggling for ideas but don't want to make a full track, simply try and learn one aspect of music by working out how that part was recorded and see if you can apply the skills to your own productions at a later stage.
The second piece of advice is watch the video below and try your hand at this one too and see how much this short tutorial can help your listening skills and arrangement skills too.
Enjoy.
Rob Webster October 2024.
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