As I mentioned before, aux percussion is one of my favorite parts of production. I think one of the reasons I like working on aux percussion parts so much is because it really adds a lot of magic to the overall feel of the track and album. This post is going to look at adding aux percussion to; add more rhythm to the guitar tracks, add more groove to the beat, and add more motion to breakdown parts.

We are going to begin with adding more rhythm to guitar parts. I’ve had many drummers comment on how after the initial drum tracking day they are essentially done… but their guitarist has soooo many guitar tracks to do. Although this comment is always made as a sign of relieve from studio expense, it is also often made as a feeling of importance that some drummers lack in. Drums are often the backbone to the production that the entire song sits on… so why do we often feel like one drum track is enough for so many other tracks to sit on? I have found that after the rhythm guitar tracks are finished it is often very beneficial to go back over the entire track with a cabasa and shakers. What I am looking for are the main rhythmic strokes of the rhythm guitar, and then I mimic those rhythms on the cabasa and shakers (maybe not exactly, but very similar). This helps to make the guitar rhythms more pronounced, and it adds motion to what folks often perceive as a “time keeper” hihat track. If you mix these tracks way in the background and give them a wide stereo image you can really add a lot of motion to the entire track.

Doubling guitar rhythms is not the only way I like to use my aux percussion. I often like to add hand percussion (Congas, Cajon, etc…) as part of the drum set sound. Again, these are often mixed way in the background and with a wide stereo image. I started using hand drum parts to accent main parts of the drum beat… however, I noticed that this was often making the production to heavy. Now, I almost always use very light, fill in, hand percussion parts in between the drum beat. I treat the drum beat as an ostinato and my hand drum parts are fill in drum riffs. This can really bring the backbone of the song to life.

Finally, I also use aux percussion to liven up breakdown parts. You know, the parts of the song where most of the instruments drop out… A lot of times a close mic’d shaker, cabasa, or rain stick will help fill in the gaps when instruments drop out. Just make sure to add plenty of reverb;)

Hopefully this helps you think about using some aux percussion in your productions. They can really bring your guitar tracks and drum tracks to life. Also, using aux percussion to fill in a breakdown can really help move a song along. Although it is “aux” percussion… I hope this article helps you realize that it should be more considered “mandatory” percussion.