Drum patterns are the back bone of any beat makers creations. Without a drum beat, there is no "beat" of course, but I think of it more as there is no heartbeat, no life.
if you have a good sense of timing, you can record a drum pattern very quickly using almost any modern hardware or software DA.
Making drum patterns with a software DAW is very easy if you use a program with a drum pattern editor or step sequencer. This is a mode where you have blocks that turned on or off for various drum sounds.
Consider a pattern that contains 16 steps or "squares". This would represent 1 bar of time in a song.
The key thing to remember is that you always place your snare drums and claps on the 5th and 13th square. Of course all generalities can be broken, but let's start off this beat making simply.
Kick drums should always hit on the 1 and can be placed between the snares wherever it sounds good to you. Experiment and have fun making beats.
Hi-hats, particularly "closed" hi-hats can be busy and placed on every other step or sparse. Again, experiment and see what sounds good to you. beat making should not be too boring or you will lose the inspiration and motivation to continue.
Once you have the Kick, Snare and Hi-Hat you will have a basic drum beat that can be built on and around with other musical elements. You now have the back bone!
When making beats, most people I have spoken to start off this way.
Try adding congas or shakers to your beats to make them come alive.
Once your beat has a nice groove, imagine what other sounds would be like in this beat, if you can "hear" other parts, then you are on to something and go with it. Beta makers call this the zone and we all want to be in there as much as possible.
Good Luck!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Friday, December 26, 2008
Learn To Make Beats - Introduction
Learning to make beats is something almost anyone can do.
If you can nod your head in time with a bangin' beat then you have the potential to make a bangin beat!
Making a rap beat requires a few things to accomplish. First you have to have the desire to create something. Second you have to have the incredients. These can be sounds, samples and instrumentation within the rap beat. Third you need some equipment to make rap beats in the form of hardware or software. Finally you need to know a little bit about music and song theory.
All of these things needed for making hip hop rap beats can be learned relatively quickly if you apply yourself.
It doesn't really matter if your goal in making rap beats is to become rich and famous or just to create an artistic expression in the form of a dope rap beat. Commit yourself to learning and follow some of the tips and secrets you will find in this blog (and other places) and your beat making will grow.
There are many beat making sites out there, use wise judgement and don't jump for the first scheme you see. Beat making can be easy and fun and most of all inexpensive if you take your time and read a little bit before you act.
It's my hop to bring you information and resources to help your beat making dreams come true so tell your friends and share this site with others and let the journey begin!
If you can nod your head in time with a bangin' beat then you have the potential to make a bangin beat!
Making a rap beat requires a few things to accomplish. First you have to have the desire to create something. Second you have to have the incredients. These can be sounds, samples and instrumentation within the rap beat. Third you need some equipment to make rap beats in the form of hardware or software. Finally you need to know a little bit about music and song theory.
All of these things needed for making hip hop rap beats can be learned relatively quickly if you apply yourself.
It doesn't really matter if your goal in making rap beats is to become rich and famous or just to create an artistic expression in the form of a dope rap beat. Commit yourself to learning and follow some of the tips and secrets you will find in this blog (and other places) and your beat making will grow.
There are many beat making sites out there, use wise judgement and don't jump for the first scheme you see. Beat making can be easy and fun and most of all inexpensive if you take your time and read a little bit before you act.
It's my hop to bring you information and resources to help your beat making dreams come true so tell your friends and share this site with others and let the journey begin!
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