How do you think of a beat?

LeviiWhite

New member
If you can't tell I am relatively new to the production side of things and I keep running into the same question. How do I create a beat in my head, then convey it physically? Some ways I tried to help the situation was by asking myself questions such as "What emotion do I want to capture?" "Do I want a up beat song or a song that drags?" you get the point. What else can I do?
 
Ask yourself why do you want to produce, what do you enjoy listening to and what makes what you listen to enjoyable.
 
I asked myself the same question but coudn't figure it out. I just go with the flow, specially with using samples!

But your questions are good, but for me they are more aming to choose a style then to transfroming a beat from your head to the DAW!

what genre i want produce?
what bpm i want to use?
How i want my Drums to sound?
clean sounds, raw sound?

Hope i could help a bit!
 
I think of it as composing and song-writing, as I do more in creation and production than "make beats," but the processes are generally the same... Conversely, they (creative processes) can take different forms and have different starting points. If you feel "blocked," it could be because you don't yet have all of the necessary musical tools in your toolbox. If so, keep studying and work with a more simple, loop-based program like Acid or GarageBand or a number of others. In that way, you can practice skills of seeing which samples go with which to create certain types of feels, but you won't have to synthesize music out of thin air, so to speak.

As far as inspiration for composition/song-writing/arranging/producing/beat-making, the process can start with another song you hear, a sound in your head, a drum or percussion rhythm, a bass line, a melody, chord pattern, a riff or melody fragment, or even a lyrical idea...
Try using a part of a melody or a riff from an instrumental solo, and reimagine everything else around it.

GJ
 
Totally depends on the sample or riff/melody I'm using...
If I've been playing my guitar a lot then it's either gonna be real chilled out or riff-hard beat - I have no middle ground with my guitar playing; partially down to a lack of skill.

If I'm sampling vinyl then chances are it's either Jazz or Soul sample thats getting chopped up and I'm really just trying to get a new groove out of it that makes my own head nod.
Really just a case of playing the chops; improvising with the sample (in much the same way as I play guitar tbh) until I have a pattern or progression I can vibe with.
 
I find this a great way to start a track....
I buy a few sample packs which contain midi files. Pick one you like, place it in your DAW add a virtual instrument or sampler to it. Play it back. Take the primary chords or notes and also the bass notes and seperate them onto other tracks. Add more virtual instruments to them and take it from there.
 
I just get started. Depending on how I want the track to sound (aggressive or soft), I'll pick the drums that match that. Then I just go through trial and error to find something I like. I don't plan too much, I just start "drawing" right away, and keep sketching until something good comes out of it.

Like drawing or sketching (a picture), you start with circles, and then start adding detail and erasing the original circles and shit. In beat making, you start with a simple rhythm and add more and more detail, changing the original structure into something awesome.
 
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Definitely depends on a lot of things but most of the time i start with some chords on a simple piano AU/VST and start from there, build on it or add some drums to it then some textures but yes the emotion can be found from what chords you use. Some people start with the rhythm (drums) which i find hard to do for myself personally. Some music theory knowledge would def help though. Sometimes use a reference song to relate to as the mood or sound, if you feel my drift.
 
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