Transpose Arpeggios for drum and percussion beats
We will now look at a simple set up to create inspiring drum and percussion beats with a single arpeggiator using transpositions.
The MIDI note assignment table for drum and percussion sounds is supported in the most popular DAWs. An example of an Arpeggiator transposition setup is shown below.
We will setup a very simple pattern for Drumbeats that will play a variety of Drum sounds in an appealing pattern very quickly and easily.
As shown in the image below, just solo the C note and select Transposition, One Semitone, Each Cycle, Four Steps and UP direction. Remember to lock the chord selection in the Arp pane.
Remember to lock the chord selection in the Arp pane.
With this Arpeggiator setup, and with the Note Play Pattern setup as shown below, the arpeggiator will start by playing the complete Play Pattern for the C1 instrument sound and will then transpose the note up by a Semitone to C# and play the pattern for that assigned instrument and will thereafter transpose the note by a Semitone for each additional step selected and play the assigned instrument sound. The Transpose sequence will be repeated for a total of four steps, transposing note patterns in the C1 Octave range by a semitone triggers a broad range of drum and percussion sounds.
Try different chord selections, interval settings, and step settings. Also, experiment with different acoustic and electronic instrument sounds in your DAW.
Remember, you can have multiple arpeggiators running simultaneously for Beat creation with each one locked to a different Chord Selection for play different Drum, Synth or Bass sounds.
Below is an example of Four Arpeggiators running simultaneously. Each Arpeggiator is locked to a different Note in the C1 Octave range and are all applying Transposition.
This configuration produces great patterns with amazing instrument sound variety using Acoustic or Electronic Drums in Garageband or with drum sounds provided in Cubasis or ant DAW.
Remember, you can toggle between Notes and Chords in the Arpeggiators to produce even more variety in your Beat creation. You can also solo or mute individual Arpeggiators when creating your bespoke Beats.
An example of Four Arpeggiators running simultaneously