Frustrated?

Tenom

New member
I've been doing this for about a year now and 90% of my beats sound like ass. The ones that sound good sound great. It's just that I have a weird style. It's not good.

I've tried to make it better by learning music theory and playing within scales layering etc. But overall my songs sound like ass.

I enjoy doing it but I don't want to be the guy doing something for years who isn't getting any better.

Anyone have any suggestions?
 
It's definitely a long game. Don't worry to hard.

I do think that if you look back on your first beats and then look to your most recent with a critical eye(ear) you will see that vast improvements have been made.

Definitely peaks and throughs though... Perfectly normal.
 
Keep going. The more you work at it, the better you'll get. It's impossible for you to get worse haha I'mNoGuru is completely right in that it's a long game. Stick to it and you'll progress. Finish things, move on to new things, and don't stop.
 
Good points above, but perhaps you could link us to your music and we may check it out and maybe give you some feedback?
 
The advice above is good so far.... It does take yearS, not 1 year. You need to try and do it every day, not just once in a while. Trail and error. All that...

But what are you finding to be the biggest hangup?.... Transitions? Melody? Mix? Arrangement? Low-quality sounds and samples? What instruments and software are you using?

Get specific, so people here can target the actual trouble spots with their advice. Learning theory is helpful, but there's a lot more info & techniques to learn and utilize when writing/recording your own music.
 
The advice above is good so far.... It does take yearS, not 1 year. You need to try and do it every day, not just once in a while. Trail and error. All that...

But what are you finding to be the biggest hangup?.... Transitions? Melody? Mix? Arrangement? Low-quality sounds and samples? What instruments and software are you using?

Get specific, so people here can target the actual trouble spots with their advice. Learning theory is helpful, but there's a lot more info & techniques to learn and utilize when writing/recording your own music.

Haven't thought about this until you brought it up but I've only been using drum samples from sites and Nexus. Been getting into synths, but it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. I am getting bored of the same sounds. Melody is a huge thingfor me too. They sound all the same.
 
trust bro ' do it by ear and youll be better off , i have a friend who knows scales but cant improvise iff it counted on his life ' playen by ear will dominate anyday trust '
 
trust bro ' do it by ear and youll be better off , i have a friend who knows scales but cant improvise iff it counted on his life ' playen by ear will dominate anyday trust '

Unless you want to improvise to the standard of someone like Jools Holland (first name that came) who wouldn't be able to play the way he does (constantly improvising) without a solid background in music theory...
 
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I read this part:
Anyone have any suggestions?

And have no idea what you want for advice. Do you want a pat on the back like "It's gonna be okay, keep at it"
Or misery loves company hug: "Don't worry, I sucked too when I fist started, but now I'm great!"

There's a huge gap between "I like making beats" and "I just released a finished recording that is worth listening to"
All that grey in-between is where you learn:
1) Technical aspects: How to MAKE music
2) Creative aspects: What's been made before, what's being made now and what would be nice to hear in the future.
3) Your ear and slant/signature: WHY you have ANY reason to be listened to or taken seriously. [hint: Passion isn't part of the answer]
4) Reason you make music: WHAT you create is (or should be) leading you toward that destination.

After you get to 4, you re-evaluate 1 through 3 to make sure they align.

If that sounds a little high and mighty (a little too pragmatic perhaps) then consider....
You need to learn enough about the music making process to bring your ideas/vision/sound into existence.
That means learning your tools. Learning how to present your music at a QUALITY level that matches your vision.
Lo-Fi is a choice and not a limitation. That means you gotta learn the basics of mixing or hand it over to someone that does.
Mix for ALL ways of consuming your music. Listen to professional albums on your system and see how they sound. Train your ears for what a commercial record sounds like in your car and in your headphones and on your studio monitors (get a set if you don't have a set). Mix so that your mix sounds good at neutral settings. In other words, mix so that it works WITHOUT having to crank the base or EQ. For example, let the listener have the option to drown your beats/music in bass [do not do it for them].

Research and seek knowledge. There are 8 million resources for production/mixing help. Books, blogs, websites, podcasts, videos...forums...
Nothing says you can't dive in and expand your knowledge.

Want to study arrangements? Grab some popular songs and WRITE DOWN their arrangements...LISTEN to see what works and what feels right.
8-bar intro
16 bar verse
8 bar hook
16 bar verse
8 bar bridge
16 bar verse
8 bar hook
4 bar bridge
8 bar hook as song fades

That's just a random example- study MANY songs and gain some ideas....
Everything in life requires teaching, study and practice to get better. Why would music be any different?

You also need outside opinions from your target audience.
Yep, let rappers decide if your beats are rhyme-able.
Learn the difference between nice to listen to and worth writing and performing over.
Study the difference between worth making and worth releasing as a $ingle.

Be creative, be imaginative, be original, but also remember IT HAS TO WORK in the required/intended context.
I like criticism, but I sometimes think it's useless until it passes your own filter.
If someone on the internet says "your drums need work" what does that mean? You thought they were just fine. So that's only THEIR opinion and if YOU didn't hear them as problematic, how can you possibly fix any issues? You gotta be happy with ALL ASPECTS of your music before you start sharing [and that's only my opinion]. There's no need to be out here if you still have technical concerns or things wrong that YOU haven't addressed.
Don't like your drums? Work on them. Ask yourself what's wrong. Work on that.
Sounds? Get better drum sounds or mix them better.
Drum patterns? Use new ones or practice your timing or learn to control that tool better (that might mean no quantizing and just play with a better natural rhythm or chopping breaks better or looping more cleanly.)
Or not even play better, but try harder and don't stop at 'good enough' = keep recording it over and over again until it's right.

Music production is nothing more than a particular sound placed when.
Your ear/personality decides what sound and where it goes in your music.

I say listen to more music with a discerning ear and make more music so you can study what you have made and see what works and what doesn't.
Experiment., explore and expand. You'll begin to see a pattern and that will let you know what you need to do next - to either keep going or make a course correction.
 
Honestly what helps me is listening to my favorite music. I never try to copy a beat but i like to take a small piece of a song and make it my own. What could also help you is using the power of youtube to learn more. Whenever i watch a tutorial, i always learn something new that helps me to get better.

--SinchProductions
https://soundcloud.com/sinchproductions

 
Keep practicing, practice everyday and also keep learning music theory. Try to make atleast 3 beats a day. With practice everyday you will get better and faster with your work flow and music theory will help you learn the "rules" of music so you know how to break them.
 
I am sorry, but I found this post to be too funny. When the dude talked about his beats sounding like ass, I keep thinking about strippers clapping their ass cheeks. If my beats sound like that, I would be very happy.

 
I read this part:
Anyone have any suggestions?

And have no idea what you want for advice. Do you want a pat on the back like "It's gonna be okay, keep at it"
Or misery loves company hug: "Don't worry, I sucked too when I fist started, but now I'm great!"

There's a huge gap between "I like making beats" and "I just released a finished recording that is worth listening to"
All that grey in-between is where you learn:
1) Technical aspects: How to MAKE music
2) Creative aspects: What's been made before, what's being made now and what would be nice to hear in the future.
3) Your ear and slant/signature: WHY you have ANY reason to be listened to or taken seriously. [hint: Passion isn't part of the answer]
4) Reason you make music: WHAT you create is (or should be) leading you toward that destination.

After you get to 4, you re-evaluate 1 through 3 to make sure they align.

If that sounds a little high and mighty (a little too pragmatic perhaps) then consider....
You need to learn enough about the music making process to bring your ideas/vision/sound into existence.
That means learning your tools. Learning how to present your music at a QUALITY level that matches your vision.
Lo-Fi is a choice and not a limitation. That means you gotta learn the basics of mixing or hand it over to someone that does.
Mix for ALL ways of consuming your music. Listen to professional albums on your system and see how they sound. Train your ears for what a commercial record sounds like in your car and in your headphones and on your studio monitors (get a set if you don't have a set). Mix so that your mix sounds good at neutral settings. In other words, mix so that it works WITHOUT having to crank the base or EQ. For example, let the listener have the option to drown your beats/music in bass [do not do it for them].

Research and seek knowledge. There are 8 million resources for production/mixing help. Books, blogs, websites, podcasts, videos...forums...
Nothing says you can't dive in and expand your knowledge.

Want to study arrangements? Grab some popular songs and WRITE DOWN their arrangements...LISTEN to see what works and what feels right.
8-bar intro
16 bar verse
8 bar hook
16 bar verse
8 bar bridge
16 bar verse
8 bar hook
4 bar bridge
8 bar hook as song fades

That's just a random example- study MANY songs and gain some ideas....
Everything in life requires teaching, study and practice to get better. Why would music be any different?

You also need outside opinions from your target audience.
Yep, let rappers decide if your beats are rhyme-able.
Learn the difference between nice to listen to and worth writing and performing over.
Study the difference between worth making and worth releasing as a $ingle.

Be creative, be imaginative, be original, but also remember IT HAS TO WORK in the required/intended context.
I like criticism, but I sometimes think it's useless until it passes your own filter.
If someone on the internet says "your drums need work" what does that mean? You thought they were just fine. So that's only THEIR opinion and if YOU didn't hear them as problematic, how can you possibly fix any issues? You gotta be happy with ALL ASPECTS of your music before you start sharing [and that's only my opinion]. There's no need to be out here if you still have technical concerns or things wrong that YOU haven't addressed.
Don't like your drums? Work on them. Ask yourself what's wrong. Work on that.
Sounds? Get better drum sounds or mix them better.
Drum patterns? Use new ones or practice your timing or learn to control that tool better (that might mean no quantizing and just play with a better natural rhythm or chopping breaks better or looping more cleanly.)
Or not even play better, but try harder and don't stop at 'good enough' = keep recording it over and over again until it's right.

Music production is nothing more than a particular sound placed when.
Your ear/personality decides what sound and where it goes in your music.

I say listen to more music with a discerning ear and make more music so you can study what you have made and see what works and what doesn't.
Experiment., explore and expand. You'll begin to see a pattern and that will let you know what you need to do next - to either keep going or make a course correction.
tbh this was the only thing worth reading on this thread. thanks man
 
My advice to you is to keep practicing, and watch tutorials like "Busy Beats Work" on youtube. I started making beats in 2010, but I stopped producing in 2011 because a year went by and my beats were not satisfying me: they sucked. I resumed in 2013 doing remixes of songs into hip hop. Now in 2015, i can say I'm almost a pro and I have beats that sound like hits literally, I even won the Flip This battle remix competition that takes place here on this website..good luck and don't give up and look at producing as an enjoyable hobby.
 
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