Your beat making program will determine whether it takes you a minute or a month to start making beats. Here’s the key elements your beat software must have.
1. Transport Bar: The transport bar is an essential part of your beat software because it allows you to play, record, stop, rewind, ect. But the key feature here is that it lets you speed up beat or slow it down. This is known as your BPM (beats per minute) or Tempo. Most beat making programs default to 120 BPM and you can adjust it up or down from there. Setting your BPM depends on the style of beat you’re creating. If you’re making a dance beat you would set the BPM higher than if you are creating an RNB ballad.
For example, if you’re making a club type beat like Ushers “Yeah” you would set the tempo around 95-105 BPM. But if you were making a slower “snap” beat like DFB “Lean Wit It Rock Wit” you would sit between 75-85 BPM.
2. Sequencer: This is where your beats come to life. Usually, the sequencer is usually made up of blocks on a time line. Each block represents a beat. First you choose your instrument, then select the each beat (or box) that you want to trigger that instrument sound. You can also record a pattern by playing your rhythm using the onscreen piano keys or drum pads. Once you’ve created a pattern for an instrument, you can add onto your beat by selecting another sound and creating a new pattern. You can continue to build your beat until you’re satisfied or until you run out of empty tracks.
3. The Mixer: Finally, your beat making program needs to have a Mixer. You can use the mixer to create balance between instruments and shine things up a bit. For example, if you’re snare drum is too loud you can use the Mixer to bring the snare volume down and balance the drums. Mixing is something that new beat makers tend to skip. However, properly mixing your beats will increase the sound quality dramatically and can help you get that “industry” sound.
Want to make beats right now? Watch these free videos that reveal where you can make beats online, how to make hot drum beats like Timbaland, and tons of beat making tips and tricks.