Odds are, your beat is quantized to a particular timing. This basically means that your sounds are aligned to a precise timing, giving the beat a very unnatural and technical feel, most likely lacking “feeling” and “groove.”

Quantization is defined as the process of aligning a set of musical notes to a precise setting. This results in notes being set on beats and on exact fractions of beats. Most software programs come equipped with a Quantization feature, so that you can align recorded MIDI notes perfectly with a click of a button.

For example, let’s say that you have manually recorded the hi-hats to a beat through your software program and a MIDI controller. After recording, you notice that the hats are not perfectly on-time to the beat. Some notes are a bit off. The quantization feature on your software will allow you fix these timing errors with the click of a button, snapping the mistimed notes into the right timing.

The quantization feature is very useful for certain styles of music. Trance and techno music has a definite, repetitive groove in which quantization is used on most instruments. Some modern electronically produced Hip-Hop and R&B music may used a quantized kick, hats, or snare. But what happens when we want to electronically record music with a more natural swing to it?

There are a couple ways to achieve a more natural sounding groove. The first way is to simply record your track as precisely as you can, and disregard the Quantize feature. You see, when you make a recording, even if you think you performed it perfectly, there are very minute, natural human errors in velocity and timing that help contribute to a natural-feeling production. You will have a developed a groove that would be non-existent if you were to quantize.

The second way of establishing a more natural groove is to record the notes, quantize them, and then move each note VERY slightly with your mouse to the left or right (be sure to turn the “snap” feature off!”). This will enable you to make a customized groove, allowing you to have control over each note to establish the exact feel you want.

I hop you understand a little bit more about note quantization and can apply the concept (or unapply the concept!) from your beats!

So long for now,

Tim Adamek
Open Minds Entertainment LLP

I usually begin by setting the tempo of the track. On your software program, adjust the Tempo (most programs simply have up and down arrows to increase or decrease the tempo) and turn the metronome (click) feature to On. Use the metronome ticks to get a feel for how you envision the beat sounding. Begin nodding your head to the clicks, and increase or decrease the tempo accodingly to suit the tempo you desire.

The next step is one that is entirely up to you: Adding the first element of the beat. Dr. Dre said he always likes to start with the drums. Other producers like to start with the hook melody. I myself don’t have any finite way of beginning a beat. Sometimes I’ll start with the drums, and other times I’ll begin by adding an instrument (piano, guitar, etc.).

If you have a killer melody in your head, I suggest that you lay that down right away so you don’t forget it. Set the metronome to the desired tempo and record the melody with the instrument you had in mind. Have a beautiful piano melody in your head? Record it first and build the rest of the track around it. Odds are, that melody is going to be one of the most important elements in the entire track, so use it as the driving force and add the drums and accompanying instruments around it. Try it!

This same concept works for drums. Some tracks, especially hip-hop tracks, can be almost exclusively driven by the drums. So if you have a solid drum idea in mind, by all means get it recorded into your sofware before you start adding the instruments. This method will enable you to establish a “groove” by which you can begin to lay some new ideas in the form of instrumentation.

When laying the drums first, I usually like to begin with the hi-hats. Next, I pick a snare or clap and add that in. With these 2 elements playing I can establish a nice rhythm to groove to while adding in the kick. Finally I may opt to add in some percussive sounds (bongos or congas for example). Again, this is just how I personally add drums – the order is entirely up to you.

Now that you have the beat started, you can begin adding the rest of the instrumentation, work on arrangement, add your transitions, and mix the beat. I will cover all of this in future articles, but hopefully this one has given you some good ideas to get started making beats!

I’m outta here for now.

-Tim Adamek, Open Minds Entertainment LLP

Before I get into any details, let me answer this question for you. There is no “best” piece of software for making beats. The final product of your music depends not as much on the computer program you use, but moreso on the person in front of the computer.

I’ve heard producers create professional sounding music on every piece of music production software. Just because Fruity Loops costs 1/4 of what Reason costs doesn’t mean it that it lacks potential to make professional sounding music.

Though all software has its potential to make great music with the right producer at its helm, there are some major differences in each. Let me briefly explain the major differences in the “Big 3:”

Reason: Reason is my platform of choice for producing music. Out of the box, I’d say it has the best quality and largest library of stock sounds out of the three programs. The program was originally geared toward producing trance, techno, and drum’n'bass music, but has expanded since its release and is now ideal for just about any kind of music. The Reason interface is set up to look like a rack of different sound modules. You can even wire these modules to each other, to a mixer, and to effects just as you would in real life. This is a useful feature, but it contributes to the program having a very slow learning curve. If you decide to choose Reason to make beats, understand that it will take a lot of time and patience to adapt to the program. One final notable downfall of the program is that you cannot record vocals or instruments directly into this program. You must record them in another program first, and then import them into Reason.

Fruity Loops: Fruity Loops is probably the most used software program for making hip-hop beats. It is very affordable and has a lot of expandability. Fruity Loops does not come with a great library of sounds out of the box. However, it has the ability to connect with different “Virtual Instruments” (VSTs) which contain huge libraries of high-quality sounds, something that Reason cannot currently do. These VSTs give Fruity Loops great expandability, keeping it updated with the newest and freshest sounds. Fruity Loops has a much quicker learning curve than Reason. Within a few days or so, you should be able to grasp a lot of the basics and will be on your way to making beats. Though it offers a lot of plusses, the interface is a bit lacking compared to Reason. It is not as comprehensive (especially the effects modules) and the overall look is a lot more amateur. Overall though, a great program.

Cubase: Cubase does not come with many stock sounds out of the box. Like Fruity Loops, it relies on VSTs for its sound libraries (the same VSTs that can be used for one program can be used for the other). The main difference with Cubase is that it offers a sophisticated recording interface. It allows you to record your vocals or instruments, add effects, and mix and master everything within the program. The programming sequencer is not as smooth as Reason’s, but it gets the job done. Another cool feature of Cubase is that you can “Rewire” the program with Reason, Fruity Loops, and other programs, allowing you to combine the two and use them together. This means you can take advantage of Reason’s rich sounds or Fruity Loops’ famous sequencer while controlling the mixing aspects in Cubase. So overall, Cubase may not necessarily have to be a competitive choice with the other 2 programs, but rather an addition to them to get the most out of everything.

So, please do not continue to think that one piece of beat-making software is superior to another. Each offers its own advantages and disadvantages, and when it comes down to it, it is the producer who has most control over how the track sounds.