Make Your Own Beats

While I can’t provide you with a step-by-step guide on making beats (it would be nearly impossible to fit years of learning into just a few words), I hope to shed light on some of my techniques and tips. I hope to get you started and give you an idea of what the thought-process is like. Making beats is a creative process that may or may not follow the same path. The reason for this is because music is created as a result of a feeling, emotion, or influence and there’s never a way to emulate these feelings just as there isn’t one creative path to follow. During your beginning stages, you may get frustrated when things don’t go the way you plan them to and can result in wasted time and without a finished product. The best thing to do when this happens is to learn from your mistakes and persevere. I truly feel that making beats is something that can be learned and a skill that someone can get better at. Like I stated earlier, you definitely got to have a feel for music and have an idea on how hip-hop music is arranged. There is no absolute way of making beats: hip-hop is an open art but it’s also important to respect the art and understand the culture. First and foremost, you’ve got to be a fan of the music and should already have some influences. Who are the producers whose music you are a fan of? Listen to their music and study the way they do it and it can be as much a learning experience as an entertaining one. With a good ear, you should be able to pick up details on the way they pattern their drums to the way they create and arrange their beats. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at the thought process of making beats.