Ableton Tutorial: What Is Septuplet Swing? (Neo Soul, Drunken Drummer, J Dilla, Wonky Groove)

Today we talk about some rhythm theory. The differences between Triplet, Quintuplet and Septuplet swing aka the drunken drummer groove. The chord sound was created with "Lounge Lizard" and the synth sound I'm using for the solo is created with "Arturia Mini V".
(Neo Soul, Drunken Drummer, J Dilla, Wonky Groove)
Watch my Quintuplet Swing Tutorial here: • Ableton Tutorial: What...
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[@OMDAT]

6 years later and this video is still insanely helpful for new (hobby) producers like me. Thanks!

[@celestial5693]

Very very helpful. I’ve been producing for nearly 10 years and I wish I found this video earlier.

[@mikkamon]

dude i had to come back and say.. your tut has changed the way i make music.. thank you.

[@Slynk]

Awesome! Glad I could inspire you :)

[@stillinmusic]

Same！

[@dariadayle]

YES FINALLY. a "wonky hi-hat" tutorial in terminology someone who's been drumming for years can understand ahaha. all the other tutorials never really gave the exact detail in the swing that I needed. I knew there were different sub-divisions of swing, but this REALLY helps

[@OdinComposer]

When you put that little kick double kick. try to remove the one that's on the downbeat of the next repetition so that you only have the one placed on the last septuplet. Then you can have a bass hit on the downbeat alone without the kick. I think that sounds really good (and I think the double kick hit is kinda abrasive with that type of kick sample, especially when they're the same velocity).

[@Slynk]

+Fiskepudding127 removing the one on the down beat is a good idea. Yes I usually change the sample. I'll put a bit of attack and a low pass on the same kick sample. Call the new sample "pre kick" and play at a lower volume. Just being lazy for the sake of keeping the video short. :)

[@johnnyrivera257]

I play the real drums, and I was not expecting that watching this videos would be a HUGE help to help me understand dilla beats

[@christopherpugmire2969]

Yeah! It's also the way Zigaboo Modeliste plays the drums.

[@ceounicom]

No. Zig comes from 2nd-line school kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpbYimmCiaife7c

[@funkdrummer]

Johnny Rivera check this series out, it’s an actual drummer talking about how to approach this style of drumming, acoustically. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3XOfmOQodigo8k

[@teknastyk]

dilla had his way.. but franky so does every other producer in the past 2 or 3 decades. look at timbaland for example - if it werent for him, half of the mtv hits wouldnt sound as dope as they do. Its just the more you dig the more you know the more you can manipulate and be creative... and its this curiosity that makes music so exciting. i hope watching him moving these legos around to make a sound didnt make you cringe to much. :D

[@drewsam6387]

you all probably dont give a shit but does anybody know of a trick to get back into an Instagram account..? I somehow forgot my password. I would appreciate any help you can give me

[@AmourEtRespect]

6:17 Love how that background noise is being gated under the beat

[@danewav1]

Try to move your snares a little bit back, and all of your hats forward, thank me later

[@wolfbeard1532]

hallelujah lol

[@benbrooker]

Noob

[@danewav1]

Ben Brooker i just combine the Slynk tip with that technique for make it sound a lot less robotic :)

[@gnostic5622]

@@danewav1 What's the slynk tip?

[@jcdawson]

you are a good man

[@ILL8ZILLA8]

I'm very much a fan of doing drums and playing them instead of sequence. .I tend to get decent results just from laying down a basic kick snare and hat, ,adding swing then using a full drum kit and start playing within the spaces create adding rolls and double kicks,rides etc..and from years of listening to hip hop but I don't know exactly what I'm doing...I know this video is gonna help me identify what I hear in my head so I can lay down the beat faster and make it more musically correct so thanks a million!

[@benpenner5587]

This is by far the most helpful video about swing I've ever seen on KZbin. You've earned yourself a sub!

[@Slynk]

Thanks! Make sure you check out the quintuplet swing video too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnfaiHiNmKuHo68

[@lildickwilly23]

Look up Euclidean rhythms very interesting stuff there if your in to rhythm

[@Slynk]

I looked it up and you're right! It is very interesting. Thanks for your comment :) I might do a tutorial on this in the future.

[@aguirre1259]

Slynk you should make a jam session series, just have fun. Kind of like this video but extended, sounds good in my mind right now, but just an idea.

[@marselmusic]

thanks... looking it up rn!

[@pdidz1238]

I'm actually kind of angry after watching this and your quintuplet swing video because it sounds so insanely good and natural that now I have to go back to every one of my tracks with a groovy sort of feel and change the drums entirely. This is amazing, thanks.

[@Slynk]

Wow! Much appreciated my dude :)

[@thirteenonline9503]

Music can be both a "natural and emotional" thing. Or be "analytical and mathematic." So to explain something, that many people have a natural feel for, in an analytical/structured way. It helps people like me whose natural instincts are not in rhythm and beats, but more in pitch and notes, to start playing around in this world too. Thanks for the tutorial brah!

[@khalilmadovi.]

best production video on youtube i have seen in a very long time

[@marselmusic]

seen u b4

[@pepemaravilla2042]

the most inspiring thing about this video is how much joy it brings to you

[@suedejury]

As a producer who taught myself through listening, it's so interesting to hear groove and feel being described and strategized. This is a cool alternate perspective.

[@geoffstockton]

Flam is the drum thing. Flan is the desert. LOL Great video, man. I've been back to it multiple times and have passed it around to friends.

[@MBArkestra]

It's funny, I can play pretty tricky rhythms without much trouble on my SPD-S, but if you ask me to draw them in a grid like this my brain has a total melt-down. It's like the difference between walking down the street and mathematically programming a robot to do the same thing...Then again you can also program a machine to do crazy things your body never could. Both have their advantages. Personally I like to lay stuff down live via midi controller and then micro edit the velocity/samples etc from there.

[@mirmohisefat]

MBArkestra thank you!

[@SocietateaAscendenta]

EXACTLY MY THOUGHT!

[@delfeth]

just récord tour midi notes and thats it

[@teknastyk]

spot on explanation. brain melt down lol :D

[@smith2924]

Best tutorial I've seen in awhile. Great foundation for hip-hop producers

[@samuri4483]

Damn man, this one is for the books. You are a gentleman and a scholar

[@franmaga28]

Thanks man, this is really awesome. As a neosoul fan and ableton user myself i found this video really useful. Subbed.

[@qlubantz1924]

hi slynk. u should try changing metric to 5/4 but use it as 3/4 and 2/4. Each time u hit the 2/4, the beat will sound closer to a 4/4 feel :-) :-) :-)

[@blobmusica]

Man, really love the content you're putting up. Helps a SHITLOAD!

[@Slynk]

+blob no problem

[@mestavros]

bro this video changed my life 4 years ago. thank you so much for sharing this knowledge

[@TheEpicTeatime]

I am SO glad Collab Alliance brought me to you... this is amazing.

[@Slynk]

thanks for taking the time to check me out :) glad you like the video.

[@teknastyk]

4mins in.. And i like where this nitpicking is going. Took me years to warp my head arround how they used to swing those open house hats on machines with no swing back in the days.. This kind of goes in the same direction only by manipulating the grid of one particular sample. That and no quantise is your friend. Watching this just for the thrills as im kind of out of production by now but still is fun to watch. I bet muscial theory students are cringing right now but these hip hop guys knew exactly what they were doing :D

[@Kasperkbn]

This knowledge is straight up gold. Thanks man

[@marcuswudz]

This tutorial is AWESOME dude!! Been searching for this for years, never knew it was a frikking Septuplet swing! Really dope rhythm stuff!!

[@Slynk]

+Marcus W. Glad you like the tutorial! Please check out my other videos too :)

[@businessbusiness9407]

The examples you make in your tutorials are always bangers.

[@bigdawgg1994]

Slynk, back at it again with the fire gnosis. Blessings to you, bruv. Be well , stay healthy, and much love to you.

[@Slynk]

Thanks!

[@briancarter1897]

Awesome. I also created a nonoctuplet (based in 9 not 7) and it sounds great, even sounds good when combined with a septuplet beat.

[@mustbescud]

I took a long hiatus from making music, your vids have given me life again. Thank you.

[@Smokesnmirrors]

Slynk man! really like the way you explain through things really easy to understand will def subscribe and look forward to future videos! cheers

[@RobCartwright]

Just a reminder to everyone that in a traditional instrument setting, this is all based on a shuffle. For reference, if you're playing with a live drummer and you want them to play "quintuplet swing," it's just a straight ahead shuffle. As a drummer myself, I was taught those classic neo soul and J Dilla type beats by playing a slightly ahead of the beat shuffle. Great lesson! It really gives us production guys a strict visual example of what's going on, rather than relying simply on feel.

[@dresmondmclaurin816]

Hi, nice... very nice. I want to return the flavor, so listening to your improv, try this... start your phrases on the down or up beat of 4 - the pickup. Instead of starting on the one, aim your phrasing to end on the one. When combining licks, let the middle phrases end on the upbeat of 3 - this adds anticipation. The concept is called forward motion or story telling. Thanks again for showing us how to grid the septuplet!

[@Slynk]

great tips for improv. thanks man. it's def something i'm trying to get better at.

[@Dgblo]

I wish I could thumbs up multiple times. This tutorial just busted my creative block wide open. Thank you sir!

[@Slynk]

Glad I could inspire you :)

[@housemusic4456]

thanks bro. im a beats guy. and i actually wanted to make my own shaker sample pack. so naturally this really helped me out. its amazing how much maths is actually involved with music. thanks man. you also helped make my beats sound perfect!

[@endo23]

Fantastic tutorial, haven't seen this concept laid out so cleanly anywhere else, and the results are for real. Keep it up!

[@MajestoMusic]

Having a lot of fun with this tips now. Sitting here making a ton of grooves to put in my groove library (y). Great channel man. Subscribed.

[@mattkaz9604]

Great work - some of this is stuff I'd never have thought to do. Very funky beats.

[@joshuaadjeman]

This is a SUPER, SUPER helpful video. Thanks so much!

[@laylowleee]

This is a fantastic video. I'm producing 10 years and I have learned a lot in this. Thanks Slynk!!

[@clarkflavor]

So THAT's what that is!! Been listening to Dilla since early Slum Village, but never figured it out - THANKS MAN

[@gav8838]

Fucking hell dude totally new to beat making, couldnt make shit before watched about 3 of your videos now im sitting here bobbing to my own beats. legend.

[@Slynk]

+GAV fuck yeah! Good luck and have fun with it.

[@fuzzjohn]

It's flam dude, flan is the sponge dessert lol

[@Slynk]

Thankyou haha!

[@blobmusica]

Flan is that thing from Courage The Cowardly Dog

[@sorasky9877]

i love courage the cowardly dog

[@shjazz58]

Koan Sound was where I heard these grooves for the first time. Great video!!! :D

[@jhdrummer4815]

I’m applying septuplets swing to an house track, so kick and claps are not affected, but all the rest like hi hats, shakers and various percussion are getting a very nice groovy swing from this setting. The overall vibe is not as “odd swingy” strong like on a hip hop beat like this.

[@nissandriver433]

wtf how did i miss this tutorial years ago wow you are legendary

[@ishmaelhutson5328]

The more divisions you put in, it becomes less a mere mathematical input, than a musical rhythmic variation evocative of those natural/organic hints in human live playing, which is, in itself, more musical.

[@yotrakzproductions7324]

Very good approach my friend judging from the comments left. Personally I'd just play it into the DAW but still...cool that you can explain it. And I REALLY like what you did at 7:00 with the randomness. 🔥🔥🔥

[@richarquis]

Awww! You gave me a shout out! Bonza, digger! I'm here watching more, I'm learning lots from you. Your tutorials are excellent, you look like you're always having fun. Cheers. P.s. Pronunciation is "Ri-sharky" , same as marquis or snarky.

[@RedSecodaMusicMYS]

Great video and very useful, thanks. Useful for quantising too, lots of comments about playing it in but if you are working with musicians doing this naturally having info like this to hand could really save the day if your not sure exactly what they are aiming for. This peaked my interest as been learning to play the drums for a good few years now.

[@AWFULJ]

Man your voice is so "suave" . Also thanks for the video. The quintuplet one you did a while ago made me realize what grooves actually were. shit's crazy :o

[@Slynk]

Thanks for the voice compliment haha! It's hard listening to your own voice :P Glad you like the videos

[@DjMiflyn]

Bravo!!! You've invigorated my new found love for complex rhythms! thnx

[@Slynk]

+djMiflyn awesome :)

[@mixedbybrayz]

My lofi beats are on another level, since now. THANK YOU!

[@mikematthews15]

Mind blown...Great video Slynk!

[@Slynk]

Thanks! My mind was also blown when I figured this out :)

[@MouldySoul]

You're too awesome Evan, massive big ups for accelerating production know-how!!! Also it's Rich Op like glitch hop! We met briefly once as well at a K+lab n funk hunters gig when I was in Canada, Kalena introduced us if that rings any bells!!

[@02camry_]

wowww mouldy soul, looking thru slynk videos and this comment completely reminded me of your music!! somebody showed me your soundcloud a year ago and i loved it but ended up losing the link/not being able to remember your name. stoked to have your music back in my life :)

[@dickheadrecs]

loving this series mate.. actual science insteada just takin off the grid and mashin around

[@dickheadrecs]

but yeah flan is what u get at a cafe bro haha

[@Slynk]

Ohhhh dude, THAT is why I'm getting confused. My girlfriend made a lemon flan last weekend. Haha!

[@skyboundzoo7529]

WHoa man you're on an Ableton article !! Found your video before I found the article .. keep up the good work (:

[@ryanboyce3365]

Thank you! Your videos are great.

[@lonbro88]

you sir...are amazing. kudos to all your videos!

[@Slynk]

Thankyou so much dude!

[@hirofukama1972]

great tutorial!! defo going to try septuplets swing

[@puvididdle]

Beautifully done. Thanks for the inspiration

[@VC_333]

this sent me on a trip of endless ideas. so cool

[@eduardobezerraz]

You are awesome man! Nice video!

[@BLMeredith87]

4:3 swing, where's 16:9 swing.

[@bliptripmusic]

Deffo 'flam'! Interesting approach using mathematical division to create swing. I just delay the 2nd and 4th 1/16ths notes to whatever feels groovy personally, fl studio has a swing slider. I also like sextuplet swing as it allows for those Tipper-esque fills. Love your tuts man, keep it up :)

[@kmilamv]

wonderful whatched it tons of times already

[@oranjmix]

haven't felt inspiration like this in a while, thank you

[@spencerstewart8604]

great video. you can also drag the handle to have 7 divisions over 2 beats instead of 1, too. 7 divisions over 2 beats yields a totally different time feel than 7 divisions over one beat, which is kinda cool. Thanks!

[@sammysoosa7274]

damn bro thanks for this piece of knowledge

[@petecarter2608]

Amazing! Going to try this tomorrow in my new studio!!

[@mattflores1]

man , thanks, I play those notes just by the feeling and I knew in theory, what I was doing, but this helped a lot to visualize the howl shizze.and the beat is superbe, keep on doing the dooo!

[@calebeliasgmusic6456]

This is sick! I get the same affect by using the 64th note triplet grid... Also sometimes I just play a wonky groove and half quantize certain notes to a grid... This much more calculated though

[@bobbyheap4174]

Dude great video, and such a groove to top it off! Thank you.

[@ChaceBonanno]

Having the drums made wit a septuplet swing and the keys triplets is a vibe

[@azfiu]

man you could make a whole series on this stuff, it's def the first of it's kind on KZbin at least

[@LEZNED215]

Dude your tutorial are the only ones worth it

[@Slynk]

+Josh Bosh thanks!

[@Rlev420]

Yes Flan is a delicious Mexican dessert flam is correct. Also this tutorial is great thnx.

[@Zanobeats]

real cool !!! and you rock on the keys! dope song

[@Slynk]

+ZANO .beats thanks man. I wouldn't say I rock. There's plenty of room for improvement haha

[@revolution909]

Pure gold man, thanks for sharing!

[@Chris120793]

I’m glad i found this video! Thanks a million!

[@FahadAlam]

So groovy, awesome tutorial!

[@bitspacemusic]

My brain hurts, but it sounds so good.

[@justice.2006]

So funky , you need to make a video on how to get synths like that

[@Flux_One]

Brilliant. Gunna try this in my house track 😎

[@beckingmusic9637]

this is awesome dude. I really love your videos! Greets from Amsterdam

[@Slynk]

+Raphael Becking greetings from Canada!

[@taemer7435]

You sound Australian though :P

[@Slynk]

+NanoStorm I am Australian. I live in Canada though :)

[@buhlir]

Triplets are my fav.. great vids man

[@ryandury]

Cheers dude, just getting into beat making and this is a tight groove

[@ekaksana]

Flan is a type of confectionary. Yes Flam.

[@Slynk]

Maybe I was hungry during the video...

[@wyntonk]

You were correct. Flan is short for flanger, the type of effect you were describing in the video.

[@maurogonzalez1990]

thank you man, very usefull video. So visually explained !!

[@hatamitsunami]

Very informative video, much love!

[@Joel-Monterra]

Listen to Flumes first work, you'll hear some subtle Percy sounds which have the septuplet swing in it.

[@staz334]

this is excellent dude

[@leohirsch5056]

Syncopating those kicks was the best thing to happen to that beat

[@alhamdkhan5596]

love your tutorials man bless 🙏

[@sosexii1925]

Your a beast bro !! Good looks with this

[@AngelicalOrABeat]

Super useful! Thank you!

[@elara08]

1. what resources did you use to learn about the different types of swings? 2. how do you know how many midi notes you need as well as how far back you have to move the warp marker to get the type of swing you want? thanks for making these types of videos. i hope more of these are on the way

[@Slynk]

+Edgar Lara 1. KZbin. 2. You want to squeeze 7 notes into the space of one 1/4 note. So if you add an 8th note, once you select all 8 notes you get a handle at the end of the 7th note meaning you can drag that back to the 1/4 note. 7 notes in the space of a 1/4 note.

[@RickySweum]

thanks again for another great video

[@Louisjarto]

Thank you so much for teaching us all of this for free!! PRITTY PLEASE! Can you make more videos about swing/grooves?