How to Make a Drill Beat in Logic Pro

Drill sounds dark and restless. That mostly comes from the shifted snares, the bouncing hi-hats and the sliding 808. In this guide you build a drill beat in Logic Pro, from an empty project to a loop a rapper can write to.

What makes a beat a drill beat?

• A tempo around 140 BPM, with a half-time feel.
• A snare on beat 3, often with a second snare that lands just off the beat.
• Hi-hats with variation: sixteenths, triplets and short rolls mixed together.
• Sliding 808s that drag up or down between notes.
• Dark melodies in a minor key, often with piano, strings or a choir.

Step 1: tempo and key

Set your project tempo to 140 BPM. Working from a sample or a reference beat? Find the BPM and key first with the free Beat Lab. Then you know right away which key your 808 and melody need to be in.

Step 2: a dark melody

Pick a minor key and keep it simple. Two to four chords on repeat often work better than something complicated. With the free chord progression generator you pick the Dark or Sad mood and download the MIDI. Then just drag it into your project. Need ideas? Read dark trap chord progressions. They work well for drill too. Do leave room for the rapper and don't fill every beat.

Step 3: drum kit and Step Sequencer

Make a drum track with an Electronic Drum Kit and create a pattern region for the Step Sequencer. How to do that is in how to make a trap beat in Logic Pro. Choose a two-bar pattern in the Pattern Length menu, so you have room for variation.

Looking for drum sounds? NAME The Trap Oneshot Pack Vol. 1 includes 26 808s, 22 closed hats, 12 claps and 20 kicks, among other sounds, all royalty-free.

Step 4: the snares

Working in sixteenths, beat 3 is on step 9. Put a snare there in every bar. Then add a second snare that doesn't land on a main beat, for example a few steps before or after beat 4. Try a few spots until the groove starts to bounce.

Want a snare just off the grid? That's what Offset mode is for. According to Apple, you drag vertically in a step in that mode to move its start, from -50 to +50 percent of the step rate. With sixteenths, you can shift it by up to half a sixteenth earlier or later.

Step 5: the hi-hats

Start with hi-hats on every step and then break that pattern up:

• Note Repeat: according to Apple, Note Repeat sets how often a note repeats during the duration of a step, from 1 to 16 times. Set a step to 3 and you hear three hits in the time of that one step. That's how you make triplets and short rolls.
• Velocity: don't make every hi-hat equally loud. Choose Velocity/Value in the Edit Mode selector and drag steps up or down.
• Velocity Ramp: Shift-click a step and open the Step inspector. According to Apple, a negative Velocity Ramp gives your note repeat a fade and a positive one a swell.
• Chance: according to Apple, Chance sets the probability that a step plays each time the pattern repeats. That way not every repeat sounds the same.

Want a roll only at the end of your region? In the Step inspector, choose Last Loop under Condition. According to Apple, that step then only plays on the last pass of the pattern at the end of the pattern region.

More ideas in how to make hi-hat rolls. That article is about FL Studio, but the idea is the same.

Step 6: kick and percussion

In drill, the 808 often carries the low end. So use the kick sparingly and don't let it land on top of a sliding 808. A few percussion hits, like a rimshot or a short perc, fill the gaps between snare and hats.

Step 7: sliding 808s

Load your 808 into Quick Sampler and tune it first with Coarse and Fine. How to put a sample in Quick Sampler is in how to make a trap beat in Logic Pro. How to measure the note of your 808 is in how to tune an 808 in FL Studio. The idea is the same. Then play the root notes of your chords.

For the slide, Quick Sampler has a Glide knob. According to Apple, it sets how long it takes to slide from one pitch to the next. Also look at the Polyphony menu in the Amp section. According to Apple, that's where you set how many voices can play at the same time. Pick the lowest setting, so your 808 doesn't keep ringing over itself.

Watch out: with Glide on, every new note slides from the previous one. Only want a slide in a few spots? Put those notes on a second 808 track with Glide on, and keep Glide at zero on your regular 808.

Another way is Pitch Bend. Open your 808 region in the Piano Roll and click the Show/Hide Automation button. Set the Automation button to Region and choose Pitch Bend in the Automation/MIDI menu. Then draw a line up or down. According to Apple, the Bend Range menu in Quick Sampler sets the range in semitones. Bring the line back to the middle afterwards, or the notes after it stay out of tune.

Don't overdo it. A few slides every four bars stand out more than an 808 that slides all the time.

Step 8: from loop to beat

A two-bar loop isn't a beat yet. Give your beat a structure with an intro, hooks and verses. Read from loop to beat. In short: an intro with just the melody, a hook with everything in it and a verse where you take something out so the rapper has room.

Beat done? Read how to export a beat in Logic Pro.

Common mistakes

• Everything tight on the grid. Drill lives on that shifted second snare. Tight on the grid, it quickly sounds like regular trap.
• Glide on every note. Then your 808 also slides where you don't want it to. Put slides on a separate track.
• 808 and kick fighting. Decide per moment which one gets the low end. Read how to mix 808 and kick.
• Not resetting Pitch Bend. Then the notes after it sound out of tune.

Working in FL Studio or Ableton? Read how to make a drill beat in FL Studio or how to make a drill beat in Ableton Live. Rather make trap? Read how to make a trap beat in Logic Pro. Or browse all beats right away.

FAQ

How do you make an 808 glide in Logic Pro?

Turn up the Glide knob in Quick Sampler. It sets how long it takes to slide from one pitch to the next. You can also draw Pitch Bend in the Piano Roll.

What BPM is a drill beat?

Often around 140 BPM, with a half-time feel. That makes it feel slower than the number says.

How do I put a snare just off the beat in the Step Sequencer?

Choose Offset mode and drag vertically in the step. According to Apple, that moves its start from -50 to +50 percent of the step rate.

Source: Apple's Logic Pro user guide.