How to make HUGE DRUM INTROS

In this video I show you how I go about making drum tracks for Trailer intros.

These tracks need to sound impactful and generally pretty cool.

You know these, they are the ones that start with claps and then bring in big rocky toms and huge sounding taiko fills. They are so much fun to write and they are perfect foe comedy action films; generally films that want to sound cool and banging (technical terms).

How I build a drum intro

In these tracks the intro, Act 1, is often the part that ends up in the trailer. So I treat it as the most important part of the whole cue. It’s the clicks, snaps, claps, taps and ticks.

I start with one simple rhythm. It doesn’t need to be clever. I used to teach rhythm in schools as “ant, ant, ant, spider”, and that’s about the level of complexity I mean. I vary the velocities a little, keep the tempo fairly fast, and remember that stops and starts matter too, as long as there aren’t too many.

Then I add layers one at a time. A second clap or snap part brings in some syncopation, and the second time round it gets a small variation. Clicks keep the pace moving and add a nice sense of space. Swish hits and taiko rolls bring in the size. Just because it’s the intro doesn’t mean you can’t have drums in it. A few small fills early on actually make the bigger parts feel more natural when they arrive.

Before the drop I build in properly with a roll, rising velocities and a reversed hit sucking into the downbeat. Sometimes it feels like too much, but that’s often what’s needed to lift the drop.

Act 2 is where the big drums come out: the taikos, toms and thudding, thunderous stuff. I start simple there too. A rolling taiko rhythm signals that a new section has begun, like the call in a samba band. Then I copy the same rhythm onto other drums, using them for fills and emphasis instead of playing the whole pattern on everything. Watch out for too much, too soon. Leave space so the track can grow.

For clicks and claps, check what you already own. Some of my favourite claps came from a library I’d forgotten I had, and you can always record your own hands.

For more on this, my Britney vs Spears Trailer Music Walkthrough goes behind a placed drum intro, Epic Drums lays down a swaggering drum track, and How To Write Epic Percussion breaks the process into seven steps. My Action Comedy Drums course goes through all three acts step by step.

Happy composing!Rich