How do YOU start making a beat?

the.boy

New member
I produce hip hop beats and I have been having bad beat block recently, I sit down with the intention to make a beat and I just can't do it. So Im curious how you start usually? What are your first steps when you open up your DAW? Maybe it can help me out trying something new
 
I usually start with the melodies and incorporate the drums in to fit with the rhythm and emotion of the melody.

I plug everything in, turn everything on, and then open FL Studio lol. Once its open I start recording through a midi keyboard to get the melodies. I'll program the drums in kick by kick, snare by snare, hat by hat using the step sequencer in FL Studio.

Then I'll bounce back and forth from bassline, effects, melodies, and drums as the ideas just come to my head.
 
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^ ya, if your doing hip hop, it's drums first lol

if you doing any kind of rock n roll, or new electronic music ...it's the other way around.

But ya, I see Hip hop in the original post, so sure, start with the drums and build the notes around the beat. But drums are easy lol...writing an emotionally charged melody is a lot harder.

lol peace.
 
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There is no "right" way. I would say 80% of the time i start with a melody on the piano or a synth, if i start with drums first i usually build it up starting with hats/open hats cymbals, random percussion elements. I leave the kicks and snares for last in the basic skeleton. I think most people making hip hop do melodys first.
 
Depends on my mood.

Sometimes I'll find a sample I'll like and literally spend 2 hours filtering it and stretching it different ways and then laying that out in FL then add some drums over it.

Sometimes I just get a beat stuck in my head, then build up from that. I like to go a bit overboard with my snares.

I hardly ever start melody first unless I have some chords in mind, usually drums then I freestyle until I get a melody I like
 
Yeah it depends on my inspiration levels... I find that sometimes I can get beats sounding decent without being particularly inspired, but if I'm in a good place then I'll start with melodies, chords, basslines etc, then program a beat afterwards. Or if I have a load of beats lacking anything else, then I'll go back to them and finish up.

If you're feeling a bit "blocked" - use the time wisely to create synth patches, or do some mixing/mastering that doesnt take as much of a creative spark.

Failing that, listen to a track you love and try to recreate it - as you do this you'll probably get sidetracked or inspired and create something different entirely, or rework what you've done anyway. Not the greatest way to be a producer but if it gets you out of the rut then it's worth a bash!!
 
I start with sound design, because that's what drives my tracks more than things like genres and tempos.
I usually have a kind of vague plan like "today I'm gonna mess with this thing for the drums, then put that synth on top... and see where that takes me"
Having too much of a defined idea at this stage only works against you because you'll ignore sounds with a lot of potential, just not the one you're looking for.

I just keep messing about until I have something, a sound or group of sounds that really grab my ear. Usually it comes from the interaction between one or more sounds,
an instrument and it's effect chain, or finding a technique I know I can apply to other elements in my track. Having that makes me relatively sure that I have a bunch of ways available to modulate and change for variation.
My experience is that you need that interaction... if you start building from 1 nice sound and 1 nice drumloop, you still have to figure out a progression for them. I've been producing beats for well over a decade now, I know the ledge, but working like that still will put me up against a wall with not many ways to get over it.

So look for sounds that interact with each other in an interesting way before you get to the composing stage is a real tip. Once you have an idea going like that, it'll usually inform the rest of the creative decisions, like what rhythm or tempo, what sounds to add (if anything.. if it's a good idea it'll probably work best with a lot of flourish), etc. Since I figured this out I've hardly been stuck on any tracks anymore, there are better and worse ones obviously but I've never been stuck for inspiration. So if I have the time to sit down for it, pay it attention, then yeah.. I can be really fucking fast and keep up a constant output.

Another real simple tip that helps a lot: Stay varied. Never do anything half-assed, make every move and decision count.. but at the same time always make sure to have a bunch of different things going on. Different projects, or similar ones in different stages. If you're stuck for inspiration on one project, move to the other.
 
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