Silence, don’t be afraid to use it

Remember that the musical silence that surrounds a note is golden and equally, if not more, significant than the note itself when programming an instrument.

As we mentioned in an earlier post, the way you arrange your notes in relation to the grid can either greatly improve or totally demolish the "humanized" aspect of the programming you decide to do.

However, the real, genuine groove and rhythm of your track are actually determined by the spaces that exist in between the notes themselves and their duration/end time.

Shorter, more focused notes will interact with the drums to create a more rhythmic, or "shuffled" swing.

In the end, this will give your mix more room, which is perfect.

Make longer notes if you want to swing in a more relaxed manner.

You might even discover the ability to "randomize" the notes end-time in the "Advanced Quantize" section of your DAW. Alternatively, you can route the knobs to your controller to adjust the Attack and Release times of your existing synth and change the duration of the note in that way as well (something I do quite a bit).

Just keep in mind that one note is not played twice, regardless of the strategy you choose.

When experimenting with your note lengths, make sure to add some variation, even if it's just a subtle one.