I lack the technical and theoretical background Jimmarchi1 has. What I do have is an ear that knows what it should listen for and can detect when things don't quite sound right.
Have you ever been watching a movie and during the scene when they are about to kiss, there is a sound like a duck looking for its ducklings?
Or have you ever watched a chase scene and heard the tinkling of a wind chime?
No. You haven't. Because the composer/ score writer understands what they are doing and what should/ shouldn't be included.
Be or BECOME aware of the sounds you choose. They should never DETRACT from what you are hoping to achieve. They should never COMPLIMENT what you are playing. They must BE the music.
The drums in this track require and deserve a presence. In this example you have provided, drum sounds are so low in the mix, poorly equalised and so haphazardly dropped in that they sound less like drums and more like the sound of the people in the apartment above you moving heavy furniture... they lacked rhythm and purpose.
And that nasty untreated cymbal!!! Horrific sounding piece of trash. Promise you will never use it again in an orchestral piece!
Think about the ACTUAL BAND that would be playing all of this music. Rows of violins, some straight backed cellists, there would be percussionists with large timpani drums and all sorts of glorious instruments... all playing to create this incredible wave and flow of sound. Where on earth did the idiot who owns that cymbal come from, how did he sneak into the auditorium and who let him stay long enough to ruin the track? To be THAT prominent in the mix and still sound so weak and thin, I almost wonder if you added this JUST to get people to react against it. Never let music be your pawn.
Hint: Choose another cymbal, pull it lower in the mix so that it integrates, detune it to make it sound richer and deeper and if all else fails, drop a flanger across it.
No instrument should be included for the sake of inclusion.... you are a solo artist... you do not need to write parts to give the distracted lesser musician in the group something to do other than scratch their privates on stage!
Your arpeggiator has a tempo... it oscillates through its cycle in a continual pattern. When you add drums, quantise or synchronise (or both) so that they are in time with the oscillation. It is horrifically distracting when they drop out of synchronicity.
In short:
Give the drums some guts! They deserve it in this piece.
Match tempo with arpeggiator
Construct a drum track. Do not just thump drum sounds in.
When you listen to the piece, no one instrument should sound out of place. They should all happen so seamlessly that you are able to smile and think "nice cymbal velocity" or " those drums build so well... so suspenseful."
No Classes or books can teach this. This is about feel. and place. and belonging.
Get the feel right, place everything correctly and make it all sound like it belongs, and you are on the path to making listenable music.
