EasyRead of the week: Making Music Beats

People ask me all the time for advice on making music beats. You know what I tell them? I tell them to get lost, but that's just because I'm a bit hard to deal with in public. That's why I write these articles. But that's beside the point.

Here are five solid tips for making music beats. From my brain to you. Beat making is the most fun part of making music beats. That's a proven fact, look it up. But it's also got the most things that if you screw it up, the beat is just straight up terrible. No one wants to hear it, and no one can dance to it. So to avoid sliding out a big, sticky, nasty turd and calling it a beat, check out my pro tips for making music beats. Rudiment on these for a while, while I blaze up my spliff:

Making Music Beats - Tip #1 - Bring the Fresh
Make sure before you even lay a beat in that bucket that your head is straight. And let me straighten it for you just in case: the reason for making music in the first place is what? Rudiment on that for a while before you start anything. Clear your mind of anything else not related to what you're doing. Then you blaze up your spliff.

Making Music Beats - Tip #2 - Have a Dope Sample Library
Get away from that slime grime that comes with anything. Always get your hands on something to spice it up a bit. One thing this does is it keeps your music from sounding like the guy down the street's music. Another thing it does is it gives you your signature sound. And the third thing it does is it defines who you are. Now some people tell me that these three things it does are all really the same thing. I tell those people to get lost, and that's for real.

Simply put: Invest some extra money and get yourself some good samples for making music beats.

Making Music Beats - Tip #3 - Beat Takes Time
If you're like me, you're gonna want to jump right in and get your hands dirty. Screw learnin' this stuff, I'm gonna do it! After you realize you haven't a clue what you're doing, take some time to sit down and learn how to actually use whatever you're using for making music beats. Most of the time people barely learn how to do something and their knowledge of that is very limited. Peek around and see just what this thing can do, you know? I cannot stress how important it is to fully learn how your tools work. Red articles, read the manual, watch YouTube how-to videos. And definitely experiment with everything yourself. Make a terrible beat on purpose, just so you can learn how it works. Start with the intention of trashing it, and all of a sudden it's a lot more fun! By the end of it you won't want to trash it. It'll be hot.

Making Music Beats - Tip #4 - Layer it Up, Baby Boo
How many layers you got on that track? Are you making music beats with a few layers? Beef it up with tons of layers. The more layers you have while making music beats, the more room you have to create something completely different than anything anyone else is doing. And there is a time and a place for simplicity. But if you're stuck and aren't sure what to do to a beat, throw on some more layers.

Shoot, producers layer beats with tons of other tracks five or more times before, during and after the initial loop. I've seen it. Or heard it, really.

Making Music Beats - Tip #5 - Separate the Kick
Some producers are in the dark about how to record a kick. And that's a term for anything that takes the place of a kick drum. It's really pretty easy. Make sure the kick sample is on a different channel all by itself so it doesn't bleed over into anything else. You can also put some compression on the kick then dial the gain until it fits in with the rest of your beat. Make sure that the kick is playing on a separate channel so that it doesn't interrupt anything else, and you don't interrupt anything else when you alter it. Apply some compression to the kick, then adjust the make-up gain so that it starts to settle in and ultimately sound right with your other loops.

We'll leave it at that for this article. But you get the point.

People have paid lots of money to know these five things in real life. Be glad this is the internet, where everything is free.

If you want to see more tips and things, check out my blog.

To see the software I use for making music beats, check out Sonic Producer. It's a one-way ticket to the next level of making music beats.

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Making Instrumental Beats

Making instrumental beats is a blast! It's awesome to see how different artists can use your instrumental beats. But there's a lot of people making instrumental beats right now, so it can be difficult to find quality people making instrumental beats.

If you want to be successful making instrumental beats, approach the table wisely. Making instrumental beats is an art craft, and whether you realize it or want it to or not, the music will suck you in. In short, don't start something you can't finish.

Here are some quick tips to get you started making instrumental beats. Who knows, maybe I'll be producing your next joint!

1) Use The Best Tools You Can

A beat is only as good as the tools with which it was conceived. If you've got a really cheesy and lame setup for making instrumental beats, then the beats you make will be equally cheesy and lame. And we don't need any more cheesy and lame people making instrumental beats in hip-hop!

So get yourself some top-notch tools. That doesn't mean the most expensive tools you can find. Find the tools that are easily found around you, because these are the tools that will come together and make up your sound.

I recommend using Sonic Producer for making instrumental beats.

See my full article on it here.

2) Begin with the End in Mind

Keep in mind the reason you're making instrumental beats. And that is for other people to add their vocals on top. So you've got to have an idea of the song structure. You don't want to give be pushing some beat that is impossible to rap on top of and has no repetitious structure whatsoever.

So just remember to keep it simple. If you've got to explain too many things to the person you deliver your beat to, it's too complex. Tone it down a bit.

3) Try Something New

There's nothing worse than a watered-down, prefabricated, same-old same-old beat. There's nothing wrong with drawing inspiration or even downright basing an entire beat off one or two other beats that you really like. This can actually be a good way to kick yourself into gear and avoid never starting anything at all. But take what you've heard and build from it instead of making a bland imitation.

If your beat is sounding too stale, try something ridiculous. What's goofy to you might be what makes it awesome to someone else. You never know, so always try new things.

4) Have Fun!

Always remember why you're doing what you're doing. Hopefully the reason is for fun. Music is made to be enjoyed. So enjoy it!

My motto is:

"Enjoy what you do and others will, too."