Скачать или смотреть Panning Drums for Added Clarity and Width - Creating Tracks

Panning the drums in your music is essential, but how you go about doing it may depend largely on what kind of music your are producing. This quick video tutorial shares how the main approaches vary, why and provides some helpful insights along the way.

There are two main ways you can approach your drum panning and both are covered in this video. That is not to say that there are not a seemingly endless number of ways to actually pan drums in music, just that there are two main methodologies to consider. The first is more geared toward traditional music mixing, like studio recorded rock and roll or pop. The second approach is geared more toward modern electronic music production, as it generally features many more percussive sounds in the grooves and provides the groundwork for a solid mid/side mix.

Taking a look at the first approach, the basic concept is to pan the individual sounds in the drum mix in relation to the position the drums from the drummer's perspective (or the audience's perspective, if you prefer). So the kick drum is centered, as is the snare drum, while everything else is panned either right or left. So this scheme emulates the positioning of the drums are they are experienced in real life. This particular example is kept intentionally minimal for the sake of keeping the lesson moving along quickly, but in your projects tree may be many more elements to consider. For instance, if you have crash cymbals, a ride cymbal, a cowbell (because you can always use more cowbell) and some shakers, then you will have a much more intricate panning scheme to allow for the added number of sounds being panned. Think of where those drums or percussive instruments are in the room during the recording. Is the shaker in the hands of the singer? Then perhaps it is best to move those to the far sides of the panning spectrum. Crash cymbal just above the floor tom? Then position it so in the panning spectrum.

Now the second approach is a bit different from the very outset. Part of the reason for this is the sheer number of sounds commonly used in modern electronic music productions. Another reason is because much of the modern electronic music being produced right now has shifted toward using mid/side mixing and mastering, rather than the traditional mono or stereo techniques. This means that when a sound is panned to a side, it is then processed and handled independently from the sounds that are fixed in the middle of the mix. And since much of electronic music is not produced with traditional drum sets, there needs to be more flexibility in how we deal with the many various types of sounds used in the grooves. Often times, electronic music productions are much larger than traditional music projects and this means we need to make more room for each sound so it can be heard clearly and fit more naturally amongst the sounds around it in the mix.

In the end, you can approach panning however you like, of course. Just be aware of where each sound is positioned and how that affects the overall experience for the listener and the music alike. As musicians and producers, we all strive to create music that is as close to what we hear in our minds as possible. And we rarely imagine muddied or cluttered songs. So make sure that no two sounds are panned to the same exact location if they are heard at the same time in your song. And keep those kick and snare drums in the center so they cut through the mix and are heard as the predominant elements in your groove.

Cheers,
OhmLab