Beat slicing is the process of using computer programs to slice an audio file of a drumloop in smaller sections, separating different drumhits. This is employed to rearrange the beat with either a sequencer or play them with a
sampler, with the results ranging from changing particular hits to completely rearranging the flow of the beat.
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Slicing a beat also allows the tempo of the beat to be altered heavily in music sequencers, without resulting downsides such as the pitch being increased or decreased.
This process is the most prominent in genres of
drum and bass,
hip-hop,
glitch
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among ...
and
IDM, the two latter being notorious for their prominent artists rearranging and altering beats in extreme ways.
Common programs used for beat slicing
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Ableton Live
Ableton Live is a digital audio workstation for macOS and Windows developed by the German company Ableton. In contrast to many other software sequencers, Ableton Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool ...
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BeatCleaver
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ReCycle
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
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Renoise
Renoise is a digital audio workstation (DAW) based upon the heritage and development of tracker software. Its primary use is the composition of music using sound samples, soft synths, and effects plug-ins. It is also able to interface with MID ...
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Reaktor
Reaktor is a graphical modular software music studio developed by Native Instruments (NI). It allows musicians and sound specialists to design and build their own instruments, samplers, effects and sound design tools. It is supplied with many r ...
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Max/MSP
Max, also known as Max/MSP/Jitter, is a visual programming language for music and multimedia developed and maintained by San Francisco-based software company Cycling '74. Over its more than thirty-year history, it has been used by composers, per ...
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FL Studio
References
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Audio editors