components of a beat?

[drought]

so what are the components when it comes to making a beat? drums, melody, and what else?

[JGrisly]

Plenty of Hotness....
Is this a real question? I assume you've heard music before yeah?
If not, google harmony, and then google melody. When your done with that, google rhythm. That oughta sort it out for you.

[DirtyGrits]

You can make a beat by hitting a table one time with a pencil. But I think what you are asking is, "what are the elements of an instrumental track". Lets start with the 5 elements of a track. These elements are as follows:

Foundation - drums (and bass in a majority of cases)
Rhythm - guitar, piano, etc. (plays different "pattern" than foundation)
Pad - synths, organ (usually a long sustaining note or chord)
Lead - vocal, synths (although sometimes you leave the lead out because you want the singer/rapper to take that role)
Fills - anything really (fills are used to fill in empty or sparse areas of the base composition or when a singer/rapper drops from the track)

When, where, why and how you utilize theses elements, as well as, what you choose for the instrumentation of these elements is up to you.

You mentioned melody, but this is more music theory than a component/element, but since you mentioned it, don't forget about harmony (two or more noted playing at the same time).

-DG

[Molotov]

Indispensable:

- Drums
- Bass
- Melody

The rest, it's variable, result of your creativity