Little experience with beat making.. advice/help wanted

nylae

New member
Okay, so I've just gotten a new Macbook pro & it came with garageband so immediately I messed around on it... on my old PC I had fl studios 10 (demo version)... I'm a beginner to music production & I honestly didn't know what I was doing on there but I conjured up some pretty decent sounds... my question for you all is how do I get better at beat making?? my soundcloud is Nylaevonn I have one beat on there & that was recorded & produced from my phone on an app called music maker jam(android) ...Also if any of you know any good software where I can make my own loops that would be great because i feel like when I just piece together some loops someone else made its like copying...thanks in advance... again I'm a beginner
 
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You get better by practising, plain and simple - and of course there's a bunch of technical and theoretical stuff to learn. But nothing beats...making beats. That's how you'll improve - just don't expect an overnight sensation, it'll take a good while to actually become good at it.

As for the software, there's a lot of choice...your ol' pal FL has an OSX beta version; there's Live, Bitwig, Logic, Reaper, Studio One, Digital Performer, Pro Tools, Reason, Cubase and many more - so I guess it comes down to your budget & what feels the most comfortable to work with. Since most of them have some kind of trial versions, I'd suggest downloading those, maybe one at a time, and spending some time trying them out. There's a learning curve, but if you've dabbled around in FL you probably know the basics already.
 
If I were You I would start with Ableton Live. It has great looping properties. You can set whole scenes that will loop for You. Live has also many instruments and drums. There are tons of free drum samples in the web and also tons of tutorials (strat with YouTube). Learn basics and that move on to more difficult topics.
 
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Sometimes you can get a free limited version of Live added to certain products like midi controllers or sound cards. I've got one free, but now I don't remember with what product it was shipped. Probably some little AKAI midi controller like LPK25 or some that cost around 50$. Basic free veriosn of Live is perfect for starters. Add some free samples from net, add some free VST (kvraudio.com) and You're good to go.
 
I'm a beginner as well but i use both FL 11 and Ableton. I'm primarily a rapper but I'm trying to get into beat making and music production and a bit of audio engineering until I meet a decent crew. But don't be afraid to use loops but don't COPY, hip-hop was born out of the use of sampling, some of the most famous songs were made using samples. But that doesn't mean copy and paste it, throw your own flavor onto it. But hey if your a beginner dont just go out spending money all crazy-like; go on youtube or some other forums like gearslutz and learn the basics. After you learn the basics and are sure you want to invest in this type of music, then dont buy anything yet cultivate you're craft or style, and once you think you've reached your limit then you can purchase some gear. But gear is always the biggest downfall because most people dont have much money and dont know what to get so shop around for both quality with minimum quantity loss. For most beat makers You'll want your programming, vsts, additional midi plugins, midi controllers, headphones, studiomonitors, etc.
 
Been reading a lot about how the 10,000 rule is BS and mastery can be achieved quicker then that. Not saying the path is easier, just a overstated myth
 
actually the 10000 hour idea is pretty much spot on

acquiring a new skill may take as little 20 hours, mastering it to the point where you can do it without thinking takes countless hours, usually in the 5000 to 10000 range

this is the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit in most cases: the first period is where you move from knowing nothing to knowing something (20 hours) the second part is where you move from knowing you're shit to knowing your shit
 
actually the 10000 hour idea is pretty much spot on

acquiring a new skill may take as little 20 hours, mastering it to the point where you can do it without thinking takes countless hours, usually in the 5000 to 10000 range

this is the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit in most cases: the first period is where you move from knowing nothing to knowing something (20 hours) the second part is where you move from knowing you're shit to knowing your shit
Love what you did with (you're and your) !!! :-)
 
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