Every week or so, I'm going to try to post a technique that will provide a unique way of approaching your music studio to create unexpected results.

I'm naming this series Oblique Strategies after the Brian Eno & Peter Schmidt card set of the same name. In short, they created the card to be an indispensable tools for busting artists' block; the idea being, that if you are stuck-in-a-rut, you simply pull out a card and do what it says.

Well, I'm going to attempt to simplify it a bit (if it can get more simple than "Use an old idea"), after all it was Eno that said too many options is a bad thing.

So here goes...

This is a old technique that many may be familiar with, but I enjoy it nonetheless, quite simply:

• Get a drum machine (or drum machine softsynth with a midi out)
• Send all the midi events to a synth of your choice
  
• Dial up some patterns and mix the drums and synth together

Sound lame? Try another.

Now many may be thinking, "Isn't this just a lame, limited sequencer, with results that I could replicate in about two seconds in my DAW?"

Well, yes, but the patterns were (hopefully) created for drums and you weren't thinking about key signatures and proper musical counterpoint, so experiment. It's good enough to create some loops that can be chopped up and re-organized, or at least provide a jumping off point for something else.



It's going to work better on synth patches that have long release times, or short attack times, give it a try.