Make Your Own Beats

Make Your Own Beats: Tools Within Your Budget

Before we get into the essentials every beatmaker should know to make your own fire hip hop beats, there is something very important that needs to be discussed if you’re an aspiring producer.

Sometimes, you’ll find it tough to be a rapper aspiring to make it if you don’t make your own beats.

I would always get ideas for my songs out of the blue. It’s what we call “inspiration.” When I head to the studio, I would cycle through my collection of hip hop beats from my producer friends. Unless I get the idea for the song specifically for that beat, I don’t really have much luck finding the right beat so I usually have to scout the net for a suitable beat. 2 hours later, I have a handful of crappy beats and a few I could use for other songs, but none for that specific idea that I had.

Eventually, whatever inspiration I had for the song fizzles out, and if I DO end up writing the song anyway, it’s nothing quite like I imagined in my mind.

This is why I eventually decided to look into making my own beats.

And unlike my initial impression of the art of beatmaking.. No, it does not require you to buy thousands of dollars worth of studio equipment. As cool as it might be to have synthesizers and decks and MPCs in your studio, they are a waste of money if you have no idea what the hell you’re doing.

(Not to say that these equipment is unnecessary; if they are, Timbaland, Dr. Dre, the RZA and the Neptunes wouldn’t be investing in Rolands and Korgs and MPCs… But for the beginner looking to get his feet wet in the art of beatmaking, there are other less-expensive ways for him to do so)

• FL Studio 7 - Really on a budget? With $100 you can get FL Studio, also known as the “virtual MPC” in many producer circles. There is also a $50 version, but it doesn’t come with a piano roll which is an absolute must to make good beats, so I wouldn’t recommend that. Little known fact: 9th Wonder used FL Studio to make a lot of his beats. (Skill level: Intermediate)
• Propellerheads Reason 4.0 - If you’re a little more experienced and/or got the money to spend, there’s Propellerheads Reason for you. I personally recommend Reason over FL Studio simply for it’s soundbank. Not to mention I have heard some of the most AMAZING beats created with Reason alone. (Skill level: Experienced)
• Hip Hop eJay 6 - A loop-based software for making your own beats. Really helpful when you’re just starting to see if beatmaking is for you. It isn’t difficult to make a really good beat in half an hour with this program. (Skill level: Beginner)

I’ll go into more detail with the set up you would need in a future article, but for now, this little list should do.

One.

Make Your Own Beats: A Simple Crunk Beat in FL Studio

Guess what one of the most important things you should have if you make your own beats with FL Studio? keep it mind that plug-ins are quite essential for making dope beats; I said it before, but lemme just remind you that the standard sounds that come with FL Studio are garbage.

I found this great video while browsing Youtube of a producer making a pretty dope synth-heavy beat using FL Studio. Take the 5 or so minutes to watch this video. Beginners who are just starting to make their own beats would highly benefit from this video as you get to get an idea of what the basic instruments and layouts are in a good beat. The VST plug-ins he uses are Hypersonic and Pro 53.

Always remember that the journey to make your own beats is a constant learning process! Till next time.

Make Your Own Beats: Understanding and Using Reason

When I first started to make my own beats and messing around with Reason, I was dead confused with the layout of the program. Mind you, I wanted to try it out after feeling I have a pretty good working knowledge of FL Studio, and was getting really amazed with the quality of beats that my peers were making with Reason.

First thing that came to my mind was: “What the hell is all of this?!?”

If only I knew what exactly Reason is for…

Well, if I read this article several years ago while I was installing Reason, then my journey to making beats would have been a tad bit easier. A little bit.

Enjoy, and always remember to have fun whenever you make your own beats! Till tomorrow, one.

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