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Sequencing drum samples is just about as important as ever in the music production scene, but one skill that is becoming ever more needed and valuable in the rap and hip hop scene is the ability to pan correctly. The reasons for this will become important soon.

In the mixing process, the technique of panning is second in line after adjusting volume. While it may seem hard at the start to some, it seems quite the easy deal to others. It all depends on how you like to work. In any case, it becomes much easier with time and experience.

The process and study behind panning is quite simple to explain and even to grasp for beginners. It basically works by distributing sound across the left and right speakers. If this was done evenly, it would be called volume mixing, but you are taking volume away from the left speaker and leaving the right intact or making it louder, and therefore changing the perceived location of that sound in the stereo phase. Especially useful with obscure drum samples and such, it’s a favorite of mixers.

You would pan drum samples to ensure that each has their own space! For instance, the snare and kick could be in the center (I’ll show you soon why you shouldn’t pan these), the center being 50% on each channel, while supporting drum samples, such as the hi-hat and other rhythmic percussion, could be panned with different degrees of intensity on either side, left or right.

Why is it important in most cases to leave the kicks and snares in the center field, unchanged? Well, that is because if you are making pop, hip-hop, RnB or rock music that you think might one day play in clubs or get popular, and want them to offer the best sound on all platforms, the center channel must contain the bulk of the main instruments. This is especially true of club music situations. Usually, different mono (single channel) speakers are peppered throughout a venue, and if a song with a bad distribution of instruments is played, half of the club could, for example, miss out on the snare altogether if it has been moved to just the other channel. You could see how this could be devastating. This is why it’s best to only push non-essential or supporting instruments to the sides.

The frequency of drum samples can also play a big part in the way that you may want to spread out the different sounds. For instance, a cymbal that occurs once every four bars can be moved all the way to the right of the stereo field as it does not occur often, leaving room for instruments that are more active. It could also be the other way, though, with common sounds occupying the far-reach corners of the stereo spectrum and gaps being left with no drum sounds for creative effect.

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