a. Thought process
The thought process when making beats is never the same. Whether it starts with a melody in your head or a drum track, the process is hardly duplicated. The one thing you can be sure of is that it starts with a feeling or emotion. Tapping into that feeling and translating it into music is the hard part but with success you’ll have the basic idea for your beat. I personally like starting with a drum track: whether I program them myself or use a drum break, it creates the framework and foundation of the beat and helps spawn other ideas. With some experience, you’ll find out what works best for you and once you’ve got that comfort level with your tools, the process will start getting easier.