Using the BeatBuddy Manager is a great way to find the right groove and tempo for a song. I go to YouTube or my music library and find a song I want to play and play it back on the computer. Then I open the BB Manager software and pick a style and groove. Hit play and now you are able to hear both the song and the beat at the same time. Adjust the volume on both (adjust the mix) and then move the tempo until it matches the song. If the selected groove doesn’t work just select another until you get a close match.
This has worked out pretty well for me and a really quick way to do it without using the pedal itself.
One software suggestion I would have is that a tap tempo button would be great in the manager software as it would help get to the right tempo quicker.
If you guys want even more function in the software, add the ability to call up an MP3 song so you can do what I’m doing right within the software itself.
Great tip, thanks. I found a website that provides the BPM (Beats Per Minute) of lots of songs here:
You just provide the artist name and song name and it will return the BPM of the song. Depending on the song, sometimes the BPM given needs to be halved in order for it to sound ‘right’ on the BeatBuddy.
Hey Cary,
Great tip. I just followed your link and tested it out… Very nice.
Thanks - Also, let me know if you find any resource that might also suggest a possible groove for a given song or if you know of anyplace to access good quality midi files that can be edited for the different parts needed to build a song in the Beat Buddy.
Thanks again.
I’ve had great luck with this site - http://www.karaoke-version.com/drums-backing-track/. Choose your individual song then click the drums only icon. The BPM is usually listed on the page and it gives me a good beat to start my search under.
Hi everyone. Like most of you “but not all of you”, I’m not a drummer. I notice that all the beats in the BB have names on them that due to my lack of drumming knowledge I can’t make any relevant sense out of other then the basic rock, blues. country… labels. But obviously some blues beat work in rock songs. Jazz beats in hip hop and so on. My question is this. How do you identify a beat pattern. Do I have to memorize them all? Is there a program out there to identify them? I really don’t want to stumble through every loop messing with tempos to see if they fit. It would help just to narrow it down maybe to say 20 different beats instead of say 200.
Thank you
I usually memorize the drum patterns I love the most, but via manager software it is pretty easy to make a new folder for yourself, copy songs (via export/import trick, but keep in mind the song names BEFORE export should not have symbols that cannot present in file names) there, and rename them to your own liking.
That way you can solve both problems at once - you won’t need to memorize drum patterns (after you’ve listened to them once), and you effectively lower the time you will need to search the drum pattern for your next song while, for example, performing live (aka you do a track list for yourself).
If you wish, you can even sort the shipped content (repeating the process above) and split all the songs to folders how you feel that makes sense to you to get even more comfortable with your BeatBuddy!
Personally I experiment and I have my favourite genres.
I don’t like the Rock beats with the open hihats so I don’t use them, I will probably edit them at some point, neither do I have a use for Metal, hip hop or Drum and bass beats. If a song is in 6/8, I need to find a 6/8 beat, 3/4 beats are quite sparse within the BB. It all depends on what you need. I usually start playing a song with a Blues beat and find the right tempo and then move through them till I find one that fits or works. If it works but is slightly too harsh I change the kit to brushes. I then make a note of the song and move to the next. This is similar to how a drum machine would work you have a number of beat names and you just have to experiment. If you want a marching style beat go through that folder if nothing fits or is quite right you either cope and use what is there or import a midi file that would work.
I was after a modern marching beat, couldn’t find it but found a funk swing beat that worked, so used that.
Here on the forum there is a list of songs and what beats tpeople are using with them, but the BeatBuddy is designed for you to use it as you wish. You can remove an intro or use a fill as fill an intro etc… The possibilities are almost limitless.
The best program I have found to get “beats per minute”, is at -www.abyssmedia.com. You put in a media folder and it gives the BPM for every song in that folder in seconds. It’s free too.
This is a great question. I am not a drummer either, but I found some tips to help identify matching backing drums.
- First make sure the tempo matches. As the Beat Buddy works with MIDI and adjustable tempo, you can always make a match here.
- Make sure the time signature matches. Your more likely to find a match if a 4/4 loop backs up a 4/4 song. It will be very hard to find a good match between a 4/4 or 3/4 loop with a 5/4 song.
- Listen first to the bass drum, main beat, or down beat. When you get the bass drum to match, lots of the other drums will either match (winner) or not match (reject).
- Now try to match up the snare or whatever drum/percussion backs up the main beat. Lots of song have a bass and snare going back and forth like the tick tock of a clock. Other songs have the tic tic tic of a high hat running straight over the beat.
That’s a starter. You might also have to match starts/stops to make the song sound right. Also, these rules are meant to be broken. Sometimes a pattern such as bossa-nova might sync up in an odd way with a rock song that sounds pleasing.
Thanks, Dan
Just do a web search for “taps for Beats per Minute” you get a site that all you do is listen to the song while tapping any key on the keyboard it tells you the BPM