Blog – Page 14 – Best Beat Makers

Since you've landed on this page, it means you’re willing to make a beat of your own but obviously you don’t know how to do it yet. Beat Making is not as difficult as many people think. In my opinion, you only need two things to be a professional music mixer: Passion and Patience (The 2P’s). Everything else can be easily learned if you dedicate yourself enough to beat making. It’s normal that you’ll struggle during your first weeks trying to create a beat that is worth listening to. But, if you really have the 2P’s I guarantee you that you’ll sell your first sick beat just after a couple months of practice. In this guide I’ll try to cover the basics that every beginner who’s just starting out with beat making should know in order to make a beat of his own. I hope that after finishing this guide you’ll have a clear idea on what you’ll need to have and know to make your first beat. What’s Beat Making Is All About To make a beat you need to have sound samples and instruments that you’ll mix and edit them using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) in order to produce a beat. There’s another way to do make a beat. It’s by recording yourself playing a melody or a drumline using an MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) Controller connected to your DAW. This method is very popular among professional music producers. But, I think would be easier for you to follow the first method which doesn’t require having a drum machine or a Synthesizer and it's a lot easier. Equipment That you’ll need To Make a Beat In my opinion, I don’t recommend buying so many beat making tools at the beginning for two reasons. The first is that you’ll spend so much money which is not necessary as you’re just starting out. The second is that there’s a good chance that you’ll give up beat making after a few days when you’ll realize that it’s harder than you thought. Most of people start beat making because they love rap/hip hop music (or music in general). But, making music it’s most of the time not as much entertaining as listening to it. I’m not saying beat making is hard or it’s not entertaining. But, many people don’t have enough will or patience to keep practicing until they become good enough to enjoy it. Basically, you’ll need to have: A computer : At least 2GB Ram and 2Ghz/i3 ProcessorA Beat making Software (DAW) : I recommend BTV Solo for Complete BeginnersSound Samples and Instruments : BTV Solo comes With +1000 InstrumentsA Studio Monitor : I Prefer YAMAHA HS5 Powered Studio MonitorPowerful Headphones : I use Audio-Technica ATH-M30xA MIDI Keyboard Controller (Optional). To take a look at what you’ll need exactly with details and how it will cost you. Check out All Things You Need To Start Beat Making Guide. Learn Song structure Every song (rap/hip hop, pop, rock…) you’ve listened to is based on a particular structure. Most of popular songs out there are based on a similar type of song structure. Song structure is the way a song is arranged with different parts. These parts are in general : intro, verse, chorus, pre-chorus, solo, bridge, outro. It’s not necessary that a song contain all parts mentioned before. But, it’s essential to include at least one chorus and one verse. The song structure usually depends on the genre of music. Therefore, I’ll focus on a very popular song structure that most of popular rap, R&B and rock songs are based on. This song structure called Verse-Chorus-Bridge is arranged like this: - Intro: Is a melodic material that comes in the beginning of the song and it builds up suspense for the listener. - Verse 1: is the most important section of the song that tells the main story of the song. It’s that part of the song when the music is the same but the lyrics are different from one verse to another. - Chorus: Is the heart of your song that most listeners will remember. Each song has one chorus that repeats itself both musically and lyrically. - Verse 2 - Chorus - Bridge: is transition from the second chorus to the last chorus. It should be different from chorus both musically and lyrically in order to catch the listener’s attention. - Chorus - Outro: is quite similar to the intro and it comes at the end of the song. You should put in mind that you don’t have to use the same song structure mentioned above. You can try other song structures that has a different arrangement of the song’s parts (chorus, verse…). For example the song structure below is used a lot in R&B, Pop and Rock Songs : IntroChorusVersePre-Chorus: It’s the section right before the Chorus the builds up the energy to a total payoff in the chorus of the song.ChorusVersePre-chorusChorusBridgeChorusOutro I think the first song structure would be perfect for you as a beginner because as it seems it’s simpler than the second structure. So, you'd want to stick to the Verse-Chorus-Bridge structure during your first weeks of learning. Using this structure will make it easier for you to make a beat without complicating things. Which Type of Music You Want To Create This is an essential question you should answer it before moving any step forward. I think it’s better to follow your heart on this one. What kind of music you do like ? There are many types of beats: Rap/Hip Hop, R&B, Dubstep… So, choose the type you like the most and look for its general song structure. For Rap you can use the first song structure I explained above. For R&B, they use most of the time the second structure. Find Professional Sound Samples Sound Samples and instruments are the heart of your beat. So, you should be very careful when choosing them. There are many sources to get some good sound samples. Buying them from other professional sound engineers would be the ideal solution. But, unfortunately their price would be very expensive since you still just starting out. Fortunately, there are two recommended options that provide high quality instruments for affordable prices. 1# The first option is free. I’m talking about the instruments that you get along with your beat making software. For instance, BTV Solo offers a big library that contains more than +1000 instruments and sound samples made by professional sound engineers. If you really know how to use these instruments, I can assure you that you’ll produce sick beats very soon that will blow your friends minds. 2# The second option is to buy instruments from beats online markets. For example, there is AudioJungle.Com that provides both paid and free royalty sounds. Also, I Want That Sound is a good choice. I’ll surely write a whole article in the future about the best sources to buy professional sounds. So you might want to follow us on Our Twitter Account. 10 Tips I wish I knew When I started Beat Making Watch Beat Making Video Tutorials In order to learn how to use your beat making software and develop your beat making skills you’ll need at the beginning to watch a lot of video tutorials. You can find many good video tutorials on Youtube. But, unfortunately you’ll find yourself stuck so many times with unsolved problems. Many Beat makers such as BTV Solo offers , in addition to the software, dozens of High quality video tutorials explaining how to use every feature on their beat maker. In addition, you can check out Beat Generals Membership Site that contains hundreds of great high quality easy-to-understand video tutorials explaining from A to Z everything related to FL Studio. Plus, they offer amazing sound package for every new member. Get Free Access to Beat Generals Now!! Final Words I hope this guide will help you to begin your adventure with beat making and to actually start producing some sick beats soon. Always keep in mind my friend that it's completely normal to feel a little bit frustrated in the beginning. We all have been there. Before you go, you might want to take a look at an article I wrote a few days ago about some things and tips I really wish that I knew them when I started Beat making. Check out the article here