Instrumental Beats Hip Hop

You Don't Need Equipment

One of the biggest misconceptions people have when they are interested in getting into beat making is that you need a lot of money to buy fancy equipment. Over the last few years software has pretty much replaced hardware in the current digital revolution. This is an exciting time because for the first time in the history of music, the playing field is finally evened out - you don't need a lot of money and fancy equipment for you music to sound professional. A common myth is that software doesn't sound as good as hardware - this is simply untrue. I've had a huge rack of hardware worth thousands of dollars only to all be replaced by my laptop. All you really need is a computer, a midi keyboard, and a solid software program to make solid tracks.

I highly recommend starting out using either Propellerheads Reason or Fruity Loops. I say this for a few reasons. The first is that these aren't difficult to get started and start using. The learning curve for these software isn't bad so you can start making beats immediately after you download the software. The second reason is that these programs are extremely powerful in the music you can potentially make. Reason and Fruity Loops are easy to learn but very challenging to master. You'll have the peace of mind that you have the power at you fingertips to make tracks just as hot sounding as a Timbaland or Dr. Dre beat. With these software, you'll have all the resources to make great music - you're only limited by your creativity and the work you put in.

Important Points to Note

One of the most important things in perfecting your craft is having a deep understanding of music. You need to know where music has gone, where its presently at, and where its going. If you ask any great producer what its going to take to be great. In a recent interview, Timbaland was asked what advice he would give new producers on the come up. "I would tell them to go back and listen to real music, 70's and 80's music, something that ya'll young people don't know nothing about. Notice I said ya'll young people. Ya'll don't know nothing about it. Go back and study the art of where real music comes from. Feel me?" I hope you guys take this information to heart and have fun listening and making music - that's what it's all about.

1. Work on assignment. I call this technique going to the well instead of waiting for rain. Sometimes I work free form, just letting the music happen. Other times I work on assignment. A client will ask for a specific style, genre, or sound. In those cases I have a destination in mind and a basic framework for what the end product should be. For me that's much easier. I find that once I get going on this type of assignment, my creative forces take over and I eventually end up with a hot track.

The trick you can use is to create the assignment for yourself. Who says you have to have an outside client to challenge yourself. You can give yourself an assignment within a genre, style, and sound and get to work. The key is to get the assignment mapped out before you step into the studio to work on it.

Get the idea as fleshed out as much possible in your mind. Detail what the end work will sound like and the feeling it will bring when you hear it. If you go that far with it, you push your mind to call up those creative juices to create that feeling. Now when you hit the studio, you have the energy and path to run down.

2. Don't start from scratch. Another trick I've used is almost like remixing my own work or creating variations of a previous work. Start by calling up an old project in the studio, giving yourself access to a ready made pallet of sounds, tempo, song structure, etc, then scrap everything you recorded except for a few elements. If you work using a midi sequencer, this is as simple as creating a copy of the project under a new name and deleting everything except for a simple element like the snare pattern.

At this point, you're already a third of the way down the road to creating something new. You've got a pallet and a tempo and a snare pattern to build from. By the time your done, you might have ditched the original snare and found the session has pulled you in a new direction. And that's what you wanted in the first place. Something new.

3. Call on The Masters. Some days, for me at least, the above two methods don't get me going the way I want and the energy level still needs a boost. This is when I like call on The Masters. Depending on the genre I'm working in, I'll play a few of the masterworks that convey the type of emotion or energy I'm after and also some tracks that are completely different.

For example, if I'm working on an R&B balled and nothing hits the mark, I might throw on some of the classic Janet Jackson joints produced Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and something instrumental like a passionate cello piece by Yo Yo Ma where the emotion is there without lyrics at all. Or some Billy Joel or Debussy, or Missy Elliot, or The Roots, or... you get the idea. Whatever you play, make sure it's material you consider to be excellent, that sets the bar in your mind for what you want in the end from yourself. Throwing in some varied styles points your brain in new directions away from the roadblock you'd been facing and gets you shooting for the stars.

So there you go! 3 ways to get your creative juices flowing toward your next musical masterpiece. Have fun with it see what your get.