MIDI exercise: program four bars of drums and chords
Place a simple kick/snare/hat pattern and enter a C–Am–F–G chord progression.
Build four bars at 120 BPM in 4/4. This is a programming exercise, not a reference recording. Use separate MIDI tracks for drums and chords.
One bar of drums
Select a drum instrument. Place kick on beats one and three, snare on two and four, and eight eighth-note hi-hats. Loop the bar, then duplicate it to four bars. Check note-to-instrument mapping for your sound source.
Four bars of chords
| Bar | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | C, E, G |
| 2 | Am | A, C, E |
| 3 | F | F, A, C |
| 4 | G | G, B, D |
Hold each chord for one bar. Register and voicing change the sound even with the same pitch classes. Start near the middle register and move higher if the chords crowd the bass.
Grid and snap
An eighth-note grid suits the hi-hats. Increase resolution only for finer detail. Zooming the view does not necessarily change snapping; verify both separately.
When it sounds too mechanical
Instead of randomizing every note, lower alternate hi-hat velocities slightly. Keep kick and snare anchors steady and listen to the effect of one change.
Export both formats
Save MIDI for editing and audio for listening. Verify instrument and tempo when opening MIDI elsewhere. Reimporting an export helps catch wrong note durations and loop ranges.
A reproducible editing exercise
Download the four-bar MIDI exercise and import it in the DAW. This original LA STUDIO CC0 exercise has 12 notes at velocity 80 and 120 BPM: C uses MIDI notes 60/64/67, Am 57/60/64, F 53/57/60, and G 55/59/62. Each chord lasts four beats. Compare note numbers if octave names differ between applications.
- In the piano roll, verify that the first three notes begin together. At 120 BPM in 4/4, one bar takes two seconds and the exercise lasts eight seconds.
- Shorten only the highest note of the first chord, without creating a duplicate. Play it and check that only that note stops earlier.
- In Export, select MIDI as Format to save note events. WAV instead saves sound rendered with the selected instrument.
- Import your exported MIDI into a separate empty workspace and compare note count, duration, and tempo. Audition one version at a time to avoid doubled playback.
Drum note assignments depend on the instrument’s mapping. Test one kick and one snare note before repeating them across the grid.