Even for the most percussion-light genres, layering rhythmic elements into a mix is the time honoured way of injecting extra interest. When percussive virtuosity is hard to find, we show you a few tricks to get the party started.

Hiding Percussion

It’s hard to find any record that hasn’t been adorned with extra percussion. Whether as subtle rhythmic cues embedded in the mix, or up-front entire sections, more often than not it’s there.

While some music is entirely defined and driven by percussion instruments, even records that sound percussion-free upon casual listening can have extra added rhythmic interest. The classic technique of reinforcing and complimenting existing instruments is well established. Tricks such as doubling up acoustic guitar strumming with shakers and maracas, or layering snare drums sparingly with tambourines, handclaps or other short sounds can give the main sounds extra interest that is hard to achieve any other way.

Generating Musicality

Playing a percussion part that is right for the music requires technical skill and an ear for arrangement. One scenario familiar to engineers and musicians alike is the familiar offer of “I’ll play tambourine!” before enthusiasm is replaced with surprise at how difficult it is to do right. Indeed anything that must be shaken or struck needs skills that might not be present even when surrounded by those with abundant talent in other areas. One thing however, that almost anyone can do is provide a single hit that can be pasted into place if absolutely necessary.

Rhythms From Thin Air

A quicker, less crude method is to use a delay designer type effect to generate either simple repeated patterns or intricate figures that a human percussionist would be less likely to come up with. Without the constraints of rhythmic convention, the engineer or arranger can try different things out in seconds without needing to accurately convey ideas to the musician.

Watch in the video how we turn single percussive hits into rhythmic ear candy by duplicating and slipping audio before laying on some designed delay to pull a performance out of thin air.

Sometimes, added rhythmic edges that extend beyond a simple tambourine or maraca overdub can lift more pedestrian arrangements into a more engaging listen. By filling any percussion ‘skills gap’ in the studio, even records without strong percussive presences can benefit from using delay to spice up single hits or to weave entire rhythmic passages from scratch. This trick can certainly enrich any arrangement when used tastefully, so assuming the presence of anyone who can hold a stick, or press a key without missing, new delay generated metrical textures await.