ive actually done the same exact thing for qquite a while. ive actually taken songs and put them in fl studio so i can match my snare drums with theirs and find out the exact tempo they use and start trying to completely recreate their beat, usually after i work on that project for a little bit ill start actually comin up with my own melodies and by the time im done it doesnt sound like the same beat but it has the same feel to it. also, yes, definitely do some research on music theory. as bmusic6 said, minor cords usually have a darker feel to them and major usually seems more happy... usually, not always. plus dimininshed, diminished7 and augmented chords are good for building suspense but theyre not usually good for ending.
---------- Post added 02-26-2011 at 05:32 AM ---------- Previous post was 02-25-2011 at 07:49 AM ----------
also, alot of times, when your beat your beat has that "happy" feel when you dont want it to means that your beat is just too cluttered. quite often if you mute some of the instruments youll realize that the mood youre trying to capture is actually right there but it just doesnt sound full enough. try doing that, mute some of your instruments, pads etc... and if thats the case and they just dont sound full enough try to layer the instruments you want to sound more full in the piano roll. like if your strings have an A-C-E-G progression set at C4, copy and paste them at C3 and C2 and bring out some fullness to your track. this makes it easier to capture the mood by having to play less instruments at the same time. When your beat is too cluttered it almost always seems to have that "happy" feel to it so its a good possibility thats what your problem is. if you notice alot of hip hop beats are actually very basic and only have a couple instruments playing at the same time. your drums and bassline also seem to help create the mood your trying to go for on a more subliminal level.