Ways to add variations to beats?

MarkySoliloquy

New member
I was wondering if I can get any ideas on how I can add variation to my beats. I don't want to be a one trick pony who relies on four/eight bar loops that I just mute parts on every now and again or roll some hi-hats or snares every now and again to add variation to my beats. With this said I was wondering if their are other things I can do or when is it good to implement the things I just mentioned. Seems I mainly add those type of transitional things when I get into the hook and the hook a lot of time is real similar to the verse. I guess what I'm asking is how can I add variation to my beats so they don't get too dry and than also how can I know when to create new patterns or instruments for different parts?

Are these things that a producer has to decide on his own? or is there a method to it?

I'm interested to hear how beat makers think about this, thank you.
 
Just feel it.. There are no methods or lessons, don't overthink, don't think at all. If you feel it, it's probably all good. So just go with the flow bro!
 
It can help to render the rhythm parts to audio after they are at a mature stage. This way you can process bits and pieces of them in varying ways and also mute individual notes/beats out in rhythmic variations. A lot of variety is created when more than one layer has stuff dropping out and coming back in different ways. If you do this right, nothing ever really repeats the exact same way each time it comes around, yet the familiarity of the raw patterns is there enough. When you combine this technique with the other techniques for creating variations, the music gets deeper.
 
Some ideas:

1. Change key for a section of the song

2. Add some rhythmic variation (Maybe go for a funk feel, bossa feel, swing feel, whatever)

2b. Perhaps alternate the time signature (if you know what you're doing, rhythmically)

3. Add tension to your chords (alterations, extensions)

Just a few ideas that don't involve adding effects or muting/unmuting. How you implement these ideas are up to you.
 
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I was wondering if I can get any ideas on how I can add variation to my beats. I don't want to be a one trick pony who relies on four/eight bar loops that I just mute parts on every now and again or roll some hi-hats or snares every now and again to add variation to my beats. With this said I was wondering if their are other things I can do or when is it good to implement the things I just mentioned. Seems I mainly add those type of transitional things when I get into the hook and the hook a lot of time is real similar to the verse. I guess what I'm asking is how can I add variation to my beats so they don't get too dry and than also how can I know when to create new patterns or instruments for different parts?

Are these things that a producer has to decide on his own? or is there a method to it?

I'm interested to hear how beat makers think about this, thank you.

I also sometimes thought my beat was too dry or so, just by listening to it the beat often sounds pretty boring, mostly because you've been working on it for a couple of hours, then you hear it again and again and again. As soon as somebody raps over it people will listen to the lyrics anyways and to much variation will get the listeners confused. If you work with somebody you will pretty quickly recognize on which parts you should make some variations, that fit the lyrics. If you made some variations beforehand, the rapper / singer has to adapt to your variations and I believe this will be bad for his inspiration because he has to follow certain rules.

Other than that I can feel what you mean, and I thought so as well. What I sometimes do is leave out the drums between verse and hook, and add some arpeggios to my chords or so. nothing fancy, nothing to complicated, but that will already add a little vriation to it.
 
If you use Ableton you could try groove pool to give it some swing. Study drum patterns you like and even try lining up your drums with the peaks in your favorite song's wav files (where the drums are hitting)
 
Some ideas:

1. Change key for a section of the song

2. Add some rhythmic variation (Maybe go for a funk feel, bossa feel, swing feel, whatever)

2b. Perhaps alternate the time signature (if you know what you're doing, rhythmically)

3. Add tension to your chords (alterations, extensions)

Just a few ideas that don't involve adding effects or muting/unmuting. How you implement these ideas are up to you.

to which I add a slightly more unusual idea

change the scale/mode you are using

for an example see this old post

Scale/mode choice affecting mood
 
I was wondering if I can get any ideas on how I can add variation to my beats. I don't want to be a one trick pony who relies on four/eight bar loops that I just mute parts on every now and again or roll some hi-hats or snares every now and again to add variation to my beats. With this said I was wondering if their are other things I can do or when is it good to implement the things I just mentioned. Seems I mainly add those type of transitional things when I get into the hook and the hook a lot of time is real similar to the verse. I guess what I'm asking is how can I add variation to my beats so they don't get too dry and than also how can I know when to create new patterns or instruments for different parts?

Are these things that a producer has to decide on his own? or is there a method to it?

I'm interested to hear how beat makers think about this, thank you.


I think that you can still be creative even using your standard four/eights bar loops etc. Try looking into different mixing techniques or having your sound engineer try some off the wall eq's and compressions.
 
drop stuff in and out. don't have everything all going all at the same time. mute some stuff out rhythmically or for a bar drop 2 items back in for a bar and then mute out one or two more other things. feature certain sounds. fade some out. have some sounds coming thru only via effect and not direct. stuff like that. be actually creative.

use ghost snares like they did in the 90s
 
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I'm not trying to be funny or take the piss, but a handy way of coming up with a variation is just humming the beat in your head and naturally moving on to hum another catchy beat that follows. If that doesn't work, add some fills and change the position of the kick.
 
change of instrument, change of key and effects such as scratching for hip hop beats. Really like what one of the post says you just got to feel it. That's what separates the good from the bad is having the creativity.
 
Lol, there is no method other than having experience and knowledge. Trial and error, my friend.

Totally agree with this. One more thing to add is to just listen to different types of music and really focus on listening to the beat than the lyrics
 
Lol, there is no method other than having experience and knowledge. Trial and error, my friend.

So I'm guessing that all of the composition professors around the world do not know what they are talking about when teaching how to create variation melodically, rhythmically, harmonically and orchestrationally?

trial and error is fine when conducting experiments - that is the purpose of an experiment to test an idea - but when it comes to creative pursuits a lot of that trial and error has been documented and made readily available for beginners to access, that is why music theory exists in the first place - it is a catalogue of successful trial and error attempts
 
So I'm guessing that all of the composition professors around the world do not know what they are talking about when teaching how to create variation melodically, rhythmically, harmonically and orchestrationally?

trial and error is fine when conducting experiments - that is the purpose of an experiment to test an idea - but when it comes to creative pursuits a lot of that trial and error has been documented and made readily available for beginners to access, that is why music theory exists in the first place - it is a catalogue of successful trial and error attempts

Well yea, that's a good way to get some foundation knowledge and get you on your feet. But you can't just read a few books then have the skill perfected. It's just used to aid you with your decision making in the creative process, it doesn't replace experience.
 
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