what is your normal beat making process?

[spacetrip]

i'm trying to sketch out how to make a beat, and kinda get stuck. i usually try to find a drum sample, edit it a bit, then record a synth in or something but it never really changes up or get's past that point.

if you don't mind, please share how some of you make beats from start to finish? it doesn't have to be a detailed post just a little summary to help get some ideas flowing..thanks!

[Heat Vision]

For making a traditional rap instrumental beat

i guess a common approach would be

-find a sample that you can loop up
-add your snare
-add your kick drum pattern
-add bass if necessary
-add your hi hat pattern

Once you have your loop to give it variation try muting different elements out around every 4-8 bars.

or throw in some one shot samples.

or add effects

its easier if you have a lot of samples ready to choose from rather than having to find each sample as you go along.

[monstermanchild]

it's the beauty of music... there are no sketches really. personally, i had the same problem when i first started. i always worried that my shit was wack (and most of it probably is to most people). the solutions i've found so far are -1. keep the loops that i made, play with them for a bit and move on. some of the best loops IMO are short and sweet. keep them because if you get more ideas for them later, you can throw them in later and see how they sound. don't worry about how you use something (loops, samples, synths, etc.) as long as the outcome is what you were going for. -2. get to know your gear inside and out so that when you have your ideas, you aren't trying to fiddle around with your machine and lose track of what you're doing. and -3. take your time, have fun and keep at it. as long as whatever you're doing sounds good to you. you'll develop your own sound eventually. good or bad. sorry for no formal beat making tips. a little more abstract

[springwater]

Nice write up man. Sounds like the inside of my head, though i have yet to take the advice. Cool to see someone else write it out like that. I got loops for days and no songs. To busy trying to find the next batch of samples to fuck with. But if i could slow down and focus, i could possibly make a sweet ass groove.

[DPM]

if my beat is based off a sample/chops, then i will find the bpm and lay down the chops to a hat track or something. then i will lay down drums/percussion over the chops and when i get a drum loop that i like, thats when i start doing my layering.

once i get the basics down, i start adding complimentary sounds or sfx and drops to change up the monotony. and start fiddling with panning and stuff.

when i get the beat done completely, i sample stuff into the Sp 303 and add effects and then record into Cubase and re-trim and arrange and maybe some add mutes here and there if needed, etc.

pretty straight forward, but its the way i've always done it

[spacetrip]

yes thank you for all the tips so far! it's helping forsure.

[Mr. Davenport]

Find drums I like, chop them up and lay down a 4 bar pattern
find a sample i like, chop it up into as many parts as possibble
duplicate the drum pattern a couple times
play and record several variations of the chops over drum patterns
mix down, master
start new beat

[LAZER BEAR]

1. find a sample
2. chop it up/ add effects (eq and compression)
3. find a drum break ( i record my own from my roland electric drum kit)
4. chop up drums/ add eq/compression
5. add bass if necessary
i usually like to make 2 different arrangements of samples/drums and alternate between the two through the duration of the track

[postbreakmelody]

a good cup of coffee first
a.have drum samples ready
b.look for samples
c.program drums
d.chop sample
e.tryout different patterns
f.tweak while playing the pattern eq,comp,filters whatever floats the boat
g.look for more samples accent
h.listen over and over
i.repeat
j.spark a joint and listen

[spacetrip]

woah thanks guys!

what program is decent to chop samples?

[monstermanchild]

ableton live is pretty much the easiest DAW i can find for just about anything. just drop your sample in, warp it (or whatever you want to do with it), chop it, and drop the clips into the session view. you can then just trigger what sample you want with that or put it in the sampler (or simpler if you have the lite version). you have a lot of control with ableton. most other DAWs have a chopping functions and samplers, though for me personally, nothing beats the hands on feel of an mpc or 303. then again, you're eventually going to want to record it to your computer. i hear reason is pretty rad too, if you can take the time to learn it but i'm sure most are if you take the time...

[Unfolding]

what program is decent to chop samples?

You can chop samples outside of an SP... Really?

Ha! Nah, if you're after software chopping try Recycle. Its designed to chop samples! It also does some sweet stretching, pitching, compression & EQ. It picks up where the SP series fails a bit (PITCH!!!). Plus it can export files that a bunch of DAWs can play as well as export individual chops as WAVs or AIFFs.

Recycle's the reason why I never bothered to learn how to chop samples in my ESX.

Otherwise, when it comes to beat making processes: get accustomed to one process then regularly change it up slightly. As long as you keep trying new things and trying to get better it doesn't really what you do. How you do it is more important.

[spacetrip]

but the 404 does have pitch on it!

[roygbivs]

1 chop break or get drums.
2 resample to make base drum beat.
3 chop sample on sp add fx and what not.
4 record long track into reason of base drum track + sample chops.
5 chop up 4-8 bar segments and rearrange for structured beat.
6 add bass/extra stuff in reason.
7 record final back into sp for more flavor/fx.

That's my new workflow I'm trying out. You can make shit really fast with this method. Just freestyle with chops and take the best bits.

[sleepy eyes]

as of late:
1. coffee or tea (a must)
2. gather items to make drum sounds
3. record a buncha different shit with a field recorder
4. record into sp and layer to make interesting sounds
5. sample into mpc for effects and sequencing
6. make a loop in the mpc with layered sounds
7. record back into sp, now you have a drum loop!
8. hash break
9. start to look for chops with compression on everything (to get the levels right)
10. record a sample and chop that shit
11. ill usually have about 8 chops layed out for me to play
12. record beat using 404 sequencer (no metronome, 99 bars)
13. delete if its wack, try again
14. finish beat in sequencer
15. send sequenced beat to mixer > tascam (faders)
16. record back into sp
17. EQ
18. done!

edit: not how ive always done it, just lately