Percussion For Midi Dummies

[Coises]

Can anyone suggest good sources of information for non-drummers who want to add a MIDI-based percussion track to their mixes?

I’ve never so much as held a drum stick, but some of the songs I compose seem like they need percussion, so I’ve been flailing in the dark trying to add something that works. Now, I don’t expect that I can use a keyboard and a VST and sound like John Bonham, any more than my keyboard-based MIDI guitar line is going to sound like Eric Clapton. But what about the basics? What should I know to construct a simple percussion track that sounds like something a real drummer would play, and works to make a good demo of the song?

I work under the assumption that everything I produce is a songwriter’s demo, not a marketable track. Keyboard-generated guitars, drums, clarinets and saxophones... they’re always going to be lame. I just want to create something good enough that someone with good musical sense can hear the intent – I’m not asking to replace the real thing, but I don’t want my productions to be so far off that the disconnect is distracting, either.

[john]

hey

That article should be online in the next day or two