Generating a backbeat

[onassis]

I'm wanting to add some sort of beat to a duo situation. Stumbled on this Sarah Jarosz video that has exactly what I'm looking for.



Starts at about :50.

He obviously does it with some sort of stomp box (or close enough). Could I do the same thing with some sort of freeware (Audacity, etc.)? I'm just looking for a straight bass drum/snare/hi-hat kind of thing. I'd love to hear what other folks have had success with.

Thanks!

[rockies]

Mitch to my really old ears it sounds like he's using a drum machine programmed for a bass drum on the down beat and a hand clap on the back beat. It looks like he bends down to turn it off at the end of the song. Why not go to his website and ask, tell him how much you enjoyed the song and arrangement and I'm sure he would be willing to share that information with you.
Dave

[MediumMando5722]

Yes, that is a drum machine. If that sound he's using is what you're after, ANY drum machine will work. There are a plethora of freeware drum machine apps, but you could probably find an old Boss Dr Rhythm, Alesis, or Tascam for pretty cheap.

[pops1]

Sit in a chair, put a bass drum pedal on one foot and a high hat on the other and play with your hands. I remember Robert One Man Johnson playing the bass runs on organ foot pedals with one foot, high hat with the other foot, guitar with hands, singing or playing harmonica all at the same time. Quite the show.

[colorado_al]

You could try ChordPulse Lite
Free and works on Windows
http://www.chordpulse.com/lite.html

[Br1ck]

I occasionally play with a Tennessee stomp box. Google them. Basically screw a license plate on a frame, mount a bass pickup to the floor of the box. Big fun, then get a tambourine that straps to your other. Instant kick and snare. Better yet, get a real bass drum and a hi hat.

Beware, some license plates are aluminum. Won't work. You can buy all kinds of gizmos to simulate a kick drum.

[onassis]

Thanks! Chordpulse Lite seems like just the place to start.

[Nevin]

I have a free software drum machine called Hydrogen that will do that and far more. Have fun.

[Br1ck]

I might add that after two decades playing in a band with a very good drummer, I can't stand drum beats from any machine. I almost always walk away from any musician playing with one. Sucks the lifeblood out of music like nothing else ever devised.

[Nevin]

I might add that after two decades playing in a band with a very good drummer, I can't stand drum beats from any machine. I almost always walk away from any musician playing with one. Sucks the lifeblood out of music like nothing else ever devised.

I agree but they can be good practice and composition aids.

[Drew Egerton]

Just for fun practice at home I have a free app called Loopz that has lots of fun beats. It makes it more tolerable to me than just using a metronome click to play around with the different sounds.

[gspiess]

Having played drums in a working band for years, I'll weigh in. If all you're looking for is a practice/metronome with a kick/snare/highhat, then there are a number of inexpensive drum machines that come with pre-programmed patterns where you can adjust the tempo. You can even find these on cheap keyboards. Next step up allows programming your own patterns, which is the machine that he is using in the video. Finally, you can get a pad controller with an integrated sequencer, which allows you to build a digital drum kit out of pads/triggers as well as have a custom drum pattern available to play along with. I used to have such a set up, where using a foot pedal, I could start a conga track for the song intro, and then come in with the full kit manually for dynamics. The secret is to also program a click track into a headphone mixer so everyone stays on time with the conga track, which can get lost on stage in a live setting.
But that's probably way more than what you're after. What I've noticed is that a lot of roots rock/folk bands are using a simple bass drum to add some punch to their acoustic sound (Mumford and Sons, Rend Collective, etc...) Since taking up mandolin and playing out with some other musicians every so often, I'm toying with the idea of a simple drum machine interface with an electronic trigger pedal that we could run into the sound system and use when we really want to cut loose. I suppose I could use an acoustic bass drum, but I think it would probably be too loud for the venues, plus I've always liked the control of electronic. I've noticed that Rend Collective uses an old leather suitcase with a bass drum pedal for those settings, but these days all of my luggage is just old backpacks and duffel bags.