In this article I'm going to explain how to make
rap
beats for producers
just starting out. Making beats is
one of the most fun and rewarding things
to do in hip
hop. It's not that difficult to make an okay sounding
track,
but its very difficult to make tracks that sound
professional. There are a
ton of different things you
should be doing to help bring your music to the
next
level. Here are a few tips.
Learn The Piano
If you don't want to get into sampling, and would
rather make beats
completely on your own, its going to
be vital that you start taking piano
lessons. I took
piano lessons coupled with a music theory course in my
college and it payed huge dividends in my music.
Understanding the basic structure of music if very
important
if you want to really start making beats on
the next level. When you're
good at the piano, you'll be
able to put together better sounding
melodies, chord
progressions, and generally be able to do a lot more.
The Most Important Advice I can Give
The most important piece of advice that I can give
you is that if you want
to make good music, you have to
understand what good music is. Listening
is the most
important thing you should be doing for beat making.
I've read countless interviews with Timbaland, The
Neptunes, Dr. Dre, etc. The
general consensus from the
best producers in the hip hop industry is that
active
listening is the best way you can get better.
When you
listen to a track - really listen to it. Isolate the
different elements
of a song and analyze them. For
example, listen to just the drums of a track first.
Note
how they are panned, the rhythm - does it change up, if
it does
what part of the song, how much reverb did they
add to the hi hat, etc.
Next, move and isolate other
instruments in the track.
