Putting It in the Pocket Explained
Studio guru Larry Holcombe presents an in-depth video guide to putting instruments "in the pocket"! Learn everything you need to know about placing instruments and grooves ahead or behind the beat, making things groove, and much more!
Videos
• What do we mean by "in the pocket"? (02:16) - Larry welcomes you to the course and discusses how to introduce groove into your music to get listeners heads nodding!
• Quantization vs Live Playing (09:06) - In this video, Larry introduces the concept of quantization, and some strategies for leaving beats natural with an organic feel.
• "In the Pocket" Bass Playing Styles (02:08) - See a few "in the pocket" playing styles are demonstrated by a bass player.
• Swing (06:10) - In this video, Larry explores what swing is and how you can use different swing values to inject a feeling of groove and shuffle into your beats.
• Syncopation & Polyrhythms (07:31) - Larry outlines how subtly thwarting the listeners expectations of the rhythm of a beat can work wonders in allowing us to create an infectious groove.
• Natural Velocity & Tone (09:57) - Larry explores how to add more rhythmic interest into your drum parts. Real drummers are incapable of playing exactly the same velocity every time, so, by re-creating this in our DAWs, we can introduce some natural groove into our beats.
• Pushing & Pulling (05:27) - Next up, Larry brings parts forward and backwards to enable a more rushed or more laid-back feel. He also programs a flammy clap effect.
• Fine Tuning the Bass & Kick Drum (05:55) - Velocity changes can also affect the tone of a drum hit, so by automating attack/decay times and filter tone, we can also re-introduce the funk! In this video, Larry shows you how!
• Sidechaining to Increase Groove (14:13) - In this video, Larry uses attack and release times to help gel different sounds together in the groove.
• Extracting Groove (09:12) - In this video, Larry outlines how you can extract grooves from existing beats to inject some of their character into your own beats.
• Putting it All Together Pt. 1 (09:16) - Larry uses many of the concepts shown in this course while building a groove.
• Putting it All Together Pt. 2 (11:46) - Larry continues building the groove and works to get it "in the pocket".
• Polyrhythms (06:37) - In this video, Larry uses different parts playing different complimentary patterns to enhance a sense of groove and momentum in a beat.