by Jnmarseille13 (April 16th, 2024)
by Jnmarseille13 (April 16th, 2024)
Quantization in music is a process that aligns notes to a rhythmic grid. When composing on a digital audio workstation (DAW), it helps to create accurate on-beat melodies. This feature can be found in most modern DAWs nowadays, and is widely used in EDM and Hip-Hop.
However, back in the older days, quantization and MIDI piano rolls were not a thing yet, and session musicians woul have to practice songs a lot before playing in the studio, and they would need a metronome to make sure they stay on beat while playing. However, the human hand can never be perfect enough to always be precisely on beat…
Beatmakers and musicians often debate about the use of quantization. While some argue that quantization is great as it helps to make sure all notes are always on beat, some prefer the natural vibes that come from a pattern that has been played by hand with no quantization. Some beatmakers will even create non-quantized MIDI drum patterns on purpose to recreate this natural vibe that you feel while listening to older songs.
Quantization is a feature that was created to help with the composition process. However, some genres and instruments may benefit more from quantization than others. For example, it would feel nicer to hear very quantized drums on a Techno or House instrumental song than a 70s-ish Disco song.
Some instruments like piano or guitar usually may sound better when they are left the way they were originally played, while in some genres like EDM and Hip-Hop, it’s more common to make sure the drums and basses (and other lead instruments) sound perfectly on-beat.
There will always be debates about everything in music, and people religiously taking strong opinions on whether some features should be used or not. My personal take on that is that quantization is a tool that should be used when you think it’s right to use, and not used when you don’t feel the need. So go ahead and enjoy your creative process with all the tools available that you have!
Quantization in music is a process that aligns notes to a rhythmic grid. When composing on a digital audio workstation (DAW), it helps to create accurate on-beat melodies. This feature can be found in most modern DAWs nowadays, and is widely used in EDM and Hip-Hop.
However, back in the older days, quantization and MIDI piano rolls were not a thing yet, and session musicians woul have to practice songs a lot before playing in the studio, and they would need a metronome to make sure they stay on beat while playing. However, the human hand can never be perfect enough to always be precisely on beat…
Beatmakers and musicians often debate about the use of quantization. While some argue that quantization is great as it helps to make sure all notes are always on beat, some prefer the natural vibes that come from a pattern that has been played by hand with no quantization. Some beatmakers will even create non-quantized MIDI drum patterns on purpose to recreate this natural vibe that you feel while listening to older songs.
Quantization is a feature that was created to help with the composition process. However, some genres and instruments may benefit more from quantization than others. For example, it would feel nicer to hear very quantized drums on a Techno or House instrumental song than a 70s-ish Disco song.
Some instruments like piano or guitar usually may sound better when they are left the way they were originally played, while in some genres like EDM and Hip-Hop, it’s more common to make sure the drums and basses (and other lead instruments) sound perfectly on-beat.
There will always be debates about everything in music, and people religiously taking strong opinions on whether some features should be used or not. My personal take on that is that quantization is a tool that should be used when you think it’s right to use, and not used when you don’t feel the need. So go ahead and enjoy your creative process with all the tools available that you have!