Using nudge to create energy and groove
Yesterday I wrote about using nudge in your DAW; today I want to share a practical use for it beyond individual note timing correction.
You can use nudge to create groove! Here’s how.
Select the entirety of a single instrument’s track.
With the song playing (or a chorus looping, etc), nudge the track you have selected a single 1/100th-second click at a time, pausing to listen for a while between nudges.
When you’ve found a place where the groove swings a little harder — stop!
This works great with hi-hat. Want more urgency? Try a couple clicks to the left. Want a more laid-back feel? Try a couple clicks to the right.
It works great with snare, too — same idea as above.
It also works really well to nudge the hat and/or snare to the left just in the choruses, to increase the drive and energy.
Nudging the bass to the right can create more “pocket” and groove.
Nudging a sequencer track a bit off the grid in either direction can not only make it groove harder, but can get it out from under other instruments that are playing more on the grid, which can help it speak more clearly and effectively in the mix. (This is a nice combo of yesterday’s idea and today’s idea.)
Experiment! You’ll find lots of uses for this trick.
I love the grid. But what I really love is a grid with some things pushing and pulling against it — because that’s where the groove lives.
Dancing robots — jamie