T he rhythm section isbest described as theinstruments whichnormally drive therhythmic aspect of anycomposition or song.

As such, they play a pivotal rolein just about everycontemporary composition inone way or another, particularlyin dance music.

Traditional rhythm sectionswould have comprised drums,bass, guitar and piano, but withthe advent of electronicinstruments, this collection hasexpanded to include keyboardsand synths. Although thesounds may have changed fromthe original construct, themethodology behind the waythese instruments work togetheris largely unchanged.

Rhythm sections firstdistinguished themselves in jazzand big bands, with theirprimary role being the drivingforce behind the leadinstruments. In the case of a bigband, this would have meantbacking anything up to 21 horn

players. With that kind of forceof numbers to contend with, it’shardly surprising that rhythmsections became the musicalengine for most groups, playinghard in order to be heard abovethe rest of the band.

In a contemporary setting,little has changed, and it’s nosurprise that the kick or bassdrum in most dance tracksmaintains a ‘4-to-the-floor’ feel inorder to hammer home the beat.

InstrumentationThe drum kit is the backbone ofany rhythm section. It consistsof three basic elements whichprovide the mainstay of anygroove: the bass drum (or kick),snare drum and hi-hats. In one self-contained unit, it provideseverything needed to power asong along: kick to provide asolid foundation to the timesignature, snare to break upeach bar on the second andfourth beats, and the hi-hat tosub-divide the beat further into8th or 16th notes. !1

Other elements within the kitinclude cymbals and toms, butthese are generally used forembellishment or to indicate achange in the song structure.

Before the advent of theelectric bass, the bass partwould traditionally have beenplayed on an upright doublebass. Today, we have manysynths, both hardware andsoftware, which can alsoprovide this component for us.One popular option is Trilogy,from Spectrasonics, an all-in-one package that canrealistically re-create upright,electric or synth basses. !2

Guitars and keyboardsshare a very similar role within arhythm section. In 70s-derivedfunk, the guitar is crucial,providing chordal elementswhich drive forward in 8th- and16th-note divisions.

Keyboards often provide asimilar role rhythmically,particularly after the advent ofthe Hohner Clavinet or FenderRhodes. In a morecontemporary setting, manyguitar parts have been replacedby synth sounds, which work ina very similar way.

By arrangementWhen starting an arrangement,it’s often a good idea to put yourdrums and bass in first. Giventhe wealth of good-quality

sample CDs on the marketthese days, you may choose touse a loop. Alternatively, youmay choose to program yourown parts or mix-and-matchwith existing loops. In eithercase, make sure that the grooveyou are aiming for is achievablewith the loop you are using. Ifyou’re programming your drumtrack, keep the individualelements of the kit on separatetracks, as it will make it easier toadjust the arrangement shouldyou decide to change it later.

Once the drums are in place,move on to the bass part, butbefore laying anything down,consider the range that theinstrument will play across. Basssounds can appear very strongin one register of the keyboard,but really lose impact in another,so it’s worth thinking about theline you want to play, workingout the lowest note of the phraseand making sure that it doesn’tsound weak in that register.

In addition to this, try tomatch some elements of yourbass line to the kick drum that

No band is complete without a rhythm section, but getting everything to sittogether in the mix takes skill and patience. Dave Gale picks up the beat...

Rhythm section arrangement

TEN MINUTE MASTER No57

34 June 2005 MusicTech MAGAZINE

An example of a basic drum groove.

Notice the 4-to-the-floor kick part

notated on the bottom line of the stave.

A more elaborate version of a basic

drum groove. The kick and hi-hat parts

are more embellished.

1

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you have already laid down.Bass lines have far more impactif the notes you want toemphasise within a phrase arematched to a beat on the kickdrum. The obvious choice is thefirst beat of the phrase, butthat’s not always the mostappropriate. Consider Prince’sAlphabet Street: there is a reston the first beat of every otherbar. It initially sounds a littlestrange, but it’s highly innovativeand it works. On the other hand,think of Good Times by Chic, in

which the very distinctive andrelentless bass pattern istracked by a kick pattern whichbacks it up – possibly the finestexample of a definitive bass line.

The shape of spaceOnce your drum and basselements are taking shape, it’stime to add keyboards or guitar.If you want to use bothinstruments, it is often a goodidea to leave a little spacebetween the respective parts forone to interplay with the other.You could explore the

question-and-answer device,whereby the guitar plays a linewhich is subsequently‘answered’ by a keyboard chord or riff.

Alternatively, the guitarcould follow the rhythm of thetrack – much the same as thehi-hat – while the keyboardplays sustained chords. One ofthe best examples of this sort ofinterplay can be found on theScritti Politti album Provision;producer/programmer DaveGamson uses an extensive

array of timbres which blendtogether to form a wonderfultapestry of sound.

Arranging the mixHaving thought about the notesthe various instruments will play,it’s now time to consider whereto place those instruments inyour mix. A basic concept tobear in mind when mixing is thatthe lower-frequency instrumentsshould be panned centrally inthe mix. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, but it works effectivelyin the majority of situations.

It is a good idea to thinkabout the way the instrumentsyou have used will sound in alive environment – not at

Wembley Stadium, where therewill be monitoring wedges andtop-quality gear, but at your localpub, with only average facilities.

Ensure the kick drum andthe bass are panned deadcentre and work on mixing thesetwo instruments first. The basswill probably require a littlecompression to give a goodfoundation to the mix. One byone, add the other percussiveelements until the entire kit is inplace. The snare often tends tosit in the middle of the mix, too,

while hi-hats sound best whenpanned to one side (which sideyou choose is a matter ofpersonal preference).

If you have a guitar part,balance out the hi-hat byplacing it on the opposite side.Too much rhythm on one side ofthe mix won’t give theimpression of space that youprobably want. By the sametoken, the keyboard willprobably be less rhythmic, sooffset that against the guitarpart so that they are onopposite sides.

The final mixdownMixing is a good example of atask that requires an objective,focused approach. As youbecome more skilled atarranging and mixing a rhythmsection, you should find that youbegin to get a solid, tight sound,with an element of spacebetween the various instrumentsand phrases.

You can pick up many tricksand techniques from listeningclosely to the type of music youwant to make. Initially, you willhave to train your ear to isolatethe various parts in an overallmix, but it becomes easier withpractice. There is much to learnfrom past masters; listen to as

wide a range of music as youcan to broaden your appreciationof different approaches.

Above all, be brave andexperiment. As long as you keepcopies of your work as itprogresses, you can alwayscome back to it later. Never rushthe process – you will almostcertainly regret it. MTM

MusicTech MAGAZINE June 2005 35

Listen to a wide range of music to broadenyour appreciation of different approaches.

BOOKS! Arranging Music For The Real

World, Vince Corozine! Basic Concepts Of Arranging And

Orchestrating Music, Tom Bruner! Arranging In The Digital World,

Corey AllenSOFTWARE! Trilogy Total Bass Module,

Spectrasonicswww.spectrasonics.net

LISTENING! Lovesexy, Prince

! Good Times, Chic! Provision, Scritti Politti

FURTHER INFO

Tech terms! Rhythm section Collective name for the instrumentsthat comprise the driving forcebehind a band: drums, bass,guitar, keyboards and percussion.! ArrangingThe process of distributing thechords and melody of a songacross a set of instruments. Thisis sometimes known asorchestration, although this islinked more with classical music.! 4-to-the-floorA term often used by drummersto refer to the kick/bass drumplaying on every beat of the bar.! Drum scoreA drum part notated on astandard musical stave. The kickis positioned on the bottom line,snare on the middle line and thehi-hat on the top line.

Trilogy is a perfect example of an

all-in-one plug-in bass synth. The

choice of basses is huge, catering for

every style of composition.

Piano Bass

Drums

Piano/

keyboards

BassGuitar

Drums

2

Generally speaking, the size of a band is

to some extent determined by the genre

of music they play. A small, traditional

jazz band may simply comprise piano,

bass and drums (left). They tend to play

in close proximity to each other in order

to be heard clearly. A typical on-stage

line-up is shown on the right.

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