What is the first thing you start with when makeing a beat?
- Thread starter Wold
- Start date
I usually make a real quick, temporary drum track just so I don't have to play to a click track. Then I either create my bass parts (later changin the drums to match it) or I create the main chord progression for the song.
Try starting the song with the part that you envision to be the standout section of the song, whether it's a lead, some rhodes, or the bass.
Try starting the song with the part that you envision to be the standout section of the song, whether it's a lead, some rhodes, or the bass.
Drums. Got to make sure the drums is crackin, cuz to ME, if the drums aint slappin then the beat as a whole aint gonna be shit... but if im sampling off a record then i usually start off with finding a good sample to cut up and what not... or i might come up with a some dope melodies on the guitar and build a beat around that... but mostly i like to fuck with the drums first.
I always (for the most) start with drums wich the mpc does the best, it is a solid foundation for the tempo and rythm.Next I might add some atmosphere, like a rhodes piano you know the one where the sound goes from one volume, then goes lower, then back higher.From there I might do the bass line, or maybe some strings.I feel the times I make my best beats is when its spur of the moment.Example I was gonna watch a show, but I had an urge to just fiddle with some sounds for just a few minutes.If I say Im gonna go home later on and make beats it may not work, it happens when you aint really trying to make one and your just fucking around with sounds you normally dont use
Cool.
Most of the time when i make good beats it's when i'm fucking around but i have work to do on cd's now and don't have time to only fuck around a make like 2. I need to make about 20 or more beats. for my small cd and for my homeboy Moon. www.soundclick.com/lexmoon
thanks for the replys.
Most of the time when i make good beats it's when i'm fucking around but i have work to do on cd's now and don't have time to only fuck around a make like 2. I need to make about 20 or more beats. for my small cd and for my homeboy Moon. www.soundclick.com/lexmoon
thanks for the replys.
I'm very methodical... I start with the Snare, this allows me to get rid of the metronome... Then I match a Kick to the Snare... Then I find a bassline that works with the Kick frequency wise... depending on the type of bassline I added I'll adjust the Kick, possibly switch out the Snare to a clap, etc... Then I add Hats, Shakers, Crashs, etc... once my drums are super crackin then it's to the melody section. Once the melody section is finished I adjust the drums & bassline accordinly... it just all depends...
it depends, most the time i'll start with drums other times i'll start with a loop and build around that. I just tinker around with all kinds of shit till I find something that inspires me to make something good. If I'm gonna sample, usually I'll base the whole thing around that sample. Honestly i just have fun with it thats when the best stuff comes out when you aren't trying hella hard to make things happen.
Kick + Snare
I use the Yamaha RS7000, which has 16 tracks and 999 patterns. I always start with a kick and a snare and pound them out on the first track at the same time(just like pounding on the table), then quantize it. if it's something I want to keep. I divide the track and separate the kick and snare(or clap), and send them out to occupy thier own track so I can tweek each track to fit the sound best. That way I can leave or replace the original sound by turning a knob without actually having to pound it out again. Then I find a subtle hi-hat preset on the third track(not always though) and compliment those with my own punched in hats on the fourth track(quantizing and adding effects with every step) .But before I even begin this process, I usually have a pre-determined bassline or a melody looping in my head. So I guess I start by thinking about what I want to do, as far as the groove and the vibe is concerned. Although, some of my best shit was on the fly with no thought whatso ever. But that's not the normal workflow. After the majority of my percussions are laid down I usually have about 10-12 tracks to lace with bass ,melodies and samples(although I might not use them all) and fine tune the previous laid tracks accordingly(still tryna master that). All these comments though are just suggestions. What works for someone else may not work for you.
I use the Yamaha RS7000, which has 16 tracks and 999 patterns. I always start with a kick and a snare and pound them out on the first track at the same time(just like pounding on the table), then quantize it. if it's something I want to keep. I divide the track and separate the kick and snare(or clap), and send them out to occupy thier own track so I can tweek each track to fit the sound best. That way I can leave or replace the original sound by turning a knob without actually having to pound it out again. Then I find a subtle hi-hat preset on the third track(not always though) and compliment those with my own punched in hats on the fourth track(quantizing and adding effects with every step) .But before I even begin this process, I usually have a pre-determined bassline or a melody looping in my head. So I guess I start by thinking about what I want to do, as far as the groove and the vibe is concerned. Although, some of my best shit was on the fly with no thought whatso ever. But that's not the normal workflow. After the majority of my percussions are laid down I usually have about 10-12 tracks to lace with bass ,melodies and samples(although I might not use them all) and fine tune the previous laid tracks accordingly(still tryna master that). All these comments though are just suggestions. What works for someone else may not work for you.
sometimes ill make a complete beat and do the drums last sometimes ill do the drums first depends with what im workin with and what sounds i have access to at the time cuz if i only have access to wack drum sounds(stock sounds) then it dont matter cuz to me no matter how tight the actually melodys are if your drums sounds suck might as well call it quits!!!!!!!!
i only go in the studio when i actually got a beat in my head. i dont just go up in there, and start fukknig with dis n dat. when i got the beat in my head, i try just playing it with these orchestra stringz, n i just start beat boxing to it, when i beat box, it helpz me feel what kind of snare it should have, or what kinda hi-hat, or kick to it.