Automatically Classifying Drum Sounds

The Slice page offers a sophisticated Classify Slices feature to analyze sliced drum loops. This function analyzes the slices and assigns them automatically to one of five basic classes: kick, snare, hihat, tom, and percussion.

Each slice is assigned to the class it comes the closest to. For example, a kick drum with some hihat on top will still be assigned to the “kick” class. The name of the class and its predefined color is displayed in the classifier section in the lower part of the waveform display. You can also define your own default class colors. Class colors and class names are transferred to the instrument pads as soon as you classify the slices. This helps you to get a better overview when working with sliced loops.

Note

Some slices are hard to analyze. For example, a kick drum with a crash cymbal on top could be recognized as a snare drum, or a very deep tom could be recognized as kick drum. You can assign these slices manually to classes.

Procedure

  1. Open a kit and load a drum loop onto an instrument pad.
  2. On the Slice page, click Create Slices.
  3. Optional: Adjust the Threshold and Min Length parameters.
  4. Activate Classify Slices.

Result

The slices are analyzed and automatically assigned to one of the five classes. The color and the names of the instrument pads change accordingly.

Note

Very short slices cannot be recognized correctly and are not assigned to classes. In this case, the color and the name of the slices do not change. You can assign these slices manually to classes.

Note

Claps and sidestick are recognized as snare class. Cymbals, shaker, and tambourine are part of the hihat class.