{"id":142,"date":"2016-05-14T17:25:48","date_gmt":"2016-05-14T14:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siteblog.tuc.gr\/cpapadopoulos1\/?page_id=142"},"modified":"2016-05-20T14:25:43","modified_gmt":"2016-05-20T11:25:43","slug":"a-guide-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/siteblog.tuc.gr\/cpapadopoulos1\/a-guide-for-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide For Beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"

1) Start Off With A Basic Beat Making Software<\/h2>\n

It may sound like common sense, but too many aspiring music producers want to jump to the big leagues straight away and start using very technical music production software. What tends to happen is that they get so overwhelmed with everything and end up giving up, thinking that it\u2019s too difficult.<\/p>\n

\"Fruity<\/p>\n

By starting with a simple and basic beat making program, you can progressively learn step-by-step at a much quicker pace, while making hot beats at the same time.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let the simplicity of a software fool you, because making hot beats is just as much about what you have in your creative mind as well as your sound kits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started making beats, I started with Fruity Loops, FL Studio. I don\u2019t even remember what number it was back then, but it was a basic one. I had to download a bunch of sounds and drum kits\u2026<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026The biggest tip is to start with a basic program as far as making beats, and that would be Fruity Loops, FL Studio. If the latest versions are too advanced for you, then go and get an older version that\u2019s not as advanced.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that Fruity Loops is a good starting point for beginners, but some feel that it\u2019s still a bit too technical especially for those who have no experience whatsoever in music production.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s an excellent learning tool and long lasting since it offers high quality sound kits and a multitude of special effects.<\/p>\n

2) Get A MIDI Keyboard<\/h2>\n

A MIDI keyboard hooks up to your existing DAW (digital audio workstation) aka. beat making software, and allows you to play melodies and sounds from it instead of using your computer keyboard and mouse. It\u2019s much more efficient and more enjoyable as well.<\/p>\n

\"MIDI<\/a>\u201cEven if you have FL Studio, that\u2019s not enough. You need a MIDI keyboard or a controller because you\u2019re going to have to play your own sounds. This was one of the biggest things I had to learn when I started making beats. [At first] I didn\u2019t have no keyboard. I would just be clicking the mouse or clicking my typing keyboard and it wasn\u2019t working for me.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been trained to play piano or nothing like that but I do eventually plan to take piano lessons to take my skills up to the next level, but it\u2019s not necessary, especially when you have loops and samples that you can chop up.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I love doing is taking a sample or a loop of a melody, chop it up really good and then play a new melody from those chops. That way, you don\u2019t have to play the entire loop as it is, you can play different slices and make a whole new melody. But you need a keyboard for that, so I really recommend you to get a MIDI keyboard controller.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Most decent music production software have the capability to be controlled via a MIDI keyboard, but some basic software do not, and you should avoid those, even if you don\u2019t plan on immediately getting a MIDI keyboard. Both FL Studio and BTV SOLO are advanced enough to have this feature.<\/p>\n

3) Advance When You Feel It\u2019s Necessary<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s important that you don\u2019t rush your initial learning stages. Take your time learning how to make beats, and when and if you decide that you want to advance further, choose a software that is highly rated and has an interface that you like (you can check this out on Youtube).<\/p>\n

\u201cI advanced into Propeller Head Reason 3. FL Studio to me was cool and awesome when I started but eventually, I wanted to get better.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTil this day, 7 years later, I still use Reason because something they do with the sound is so big, juicy and fat. No matter where you listen to it, no matter if it\u2019s in a car system or an iPod, or whatever it is, the drums and sounds are always banging, once you learn how to mix and make a nice default mixing patch.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn FL Studio it\u2019s not like that. A lot of the times, the drums and the sounds are weak. That\u2019s why I say that when the time is right, advance yourself into another program. Either Reason or Logic.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Although certain drum kits and sounds may not be up to your personal liking, you can always upload new sounds and samples into your software. Also, there are techniques to make your beats hit harder, so don\u2019t believe that in order to have great sounds, you need to spend hundreds on a professional software.<\/p>\n

4) Make Beats Everyday<\/h2>\n

They say that practice makes perfect, and you cannot get your beats perfect unless you constantly practice. There are times that you need to take a breather and refresh your memory, which is fine, but you if you want to become great, you need to hone your skills daily.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first started making beats, believe me, I was making beats every single day. I would never take a break because I was so passionate about it that I couldn\u2019t take a break.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in high school, and as soon as I got home from school at 3 or 4pm in the afternoon until midnight, I would make beats all day long. Trust me, that\u2019s how you get good. You just got to practice it and get better.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

5) Listen Closely<\/h2>\n

\"RZA<\/a>\u201cWhat really helps is to listen closely to beats and production that sound good to you. Let\u2019s say that you\u2019re a fan of Just Blaze or Dr Dre, then listen to those guy\u2019s beats a lot and then you\u2019ll start to pick up on what they do with their beats.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe they stack different snares and claps or maybe they have two kick drums going at the same time. Or maybe they pan certain hi-hats to the left. Whatever it is, you got to listen closely for these things because that\u2019s what\u2019s going to train your ear.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody always asks me, \u201chow do your beats always sound so clean and how do you mix so good?\u201d Well, it\u2019s because I train my ear and every single day making beats and listening to other people\u2019s beats that inspire me. So now, instantly I just know what\u2019s good. I know exactly where sounds need to be placed within a beat.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

To be able to effectively listen to all the sound elements of a beat, you need to have good studio speakers or studio headphones. I recommend that you start out with a good pair of studio monitor headphones, put some of your favorite instrumentals on (no vocals), and close your eyes.<\/p>\n

Once you focus your mind on all the different sounds, you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can hear, and how everything is put together. All it takes is patience and concentration.<\/p>\n

6) Use Banging Drums<\/h2>\n

To make your listeners heads bop, you need to have drums that hit hard. In Hip-Hop especially, the drums are everything. Why do you think people feel Dr Dre\u2019s or DJ Premier\u2019s beats more than others? It\u2019s because they utilize the use of drums.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first started making beats using Fruity Loops, I didn\u2019t know about that. I was using any drum sounds, even if they didn\u2019t bang, I would still use them because I didn\u2019t know the impact they had on the beat. I still hear beats til this day that don\u2019t have banging sounds. They use ordinary lame ass sounds.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo fix that, what I do now is, I\u2019ve been using for quite a while now, Traumah Drums. I buy those kits and each beat I make now for the most part, I\u2019d be using Traumah Drums. Even if I use other drums, I would still put those Traumah Drums underneath those sounds just so that they\u2019re banging.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe point of this is to make sure your beats bang hard. That way, when you\u2019re listening to it in the car or at the club or on headphones, the drums bang no matter what. That\u2019s the key\u2026When you get the right sounds, the subwoofer will kick the way it\u2019s supposed to in the car.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDrums are what gets people moving. It\u2019s what gets the head nodding, it\u2019s what gets everybody dancing in the club. They\u2019re not dancing to your synth melody, they\u2019re dancing to your drum track.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

It appears as though Traumah Drums is now defunct, but another great alternative would be to use the professional engineered drums and sounds from The Producers Choice. You can check it out here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7) Use Great Instruments<\/h2>\n

Using bland and unemotional sounds just doesn\u2019t cut it. You need to choose your instruments carefully, and fine tune it to really get the right sound that you want.<\/p>\n

\"orchestra\"<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother thing just as important as the drums are the instrument sounds you use. It\u2019s not so much the melodies you play, although that does make a difference, but the actual sounds that you use.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI recommend getting some VST\u2019s, or if you use Reason or anything like that, get some refills. Personally what I love doing, is going to some loop sites, and buying some high quality loops, like piano loops or synth loops and chop them up, and then I replay them to make my own melodies.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat way, those loops that I buy are already super high quality sounds. Combine those with traumah drums and then you got bangers! It\u2019s a winning formula.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

8) Know How To Use Quantization<\/h2>\n

Quantization is a very useful technique that slides your MIDI notes to a particular point of the track so that it doesn\u2019t sound off key.<\/p>\n

For example, when you\u2019re freestyle playing your melodies on a computer or MIDI keyboard, if it doesn\u2019t synch properly with the rest of the beat, then you should use the quantization.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn different programs it might be called something else. I know in Reason they call it quantize. Some people can\u2019t play piano. I was never trained to play piano, but I can still make melodies easily. I like to use loops, chop them up and play different sounds where I feel they fit best.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest tips I can give you is to take off quantization when you\u2019re recording your melodies, even when you\u2019re playing drums. Most of the time, when I play a drum pattern on the piano roll, I would take quantize off. When I\u2019m done, if it sounds really bad, I would put the quantize to like 75%.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat way it won\u2019t do 100% completely locked in on the note, as it\u2019ll be a little bit off key, which is what you want. Especially when you\u2019re playing melodies and bass lines and pianos, you don\u2019t want to completely quantize on every single note. You want it to be off note a bit, which will give a super awesome groove to the natural feel.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that you don\u2019t want to use quantization too much, otherwise it will sound a bit too perfect. It will sound like it\u2019s machine made, instead of human made like a live band, which is ultimately what you want to aim for.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source: Blitz Beats<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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