For my track, I’ve set my tempo to 130 BPM. The tempo of a track can totally change the feel of a beat, so make sure you select a tempo that is appropriate for the genre and style you’re going for. Let’s get started! Step 1: Define your vibeīefore you sit down to make a beat, it helps to first think about the vibe you’re going for as this will help you with your sound selection and in determining the right tempo for your project. I’ll walk you through the basic steps for how to make a beat using one of my current works-in-progress: “I Like it Raw.” Although this song leans more EDM, these concepts are applicable across any genre that involves programming beats, including rap, hip hop, and more. The only requirement is that all elements work together rhythmically. Keep in mind, though, that these elements can be added in any order you like. Lastly, I’ll add in some melodic elements and foley sound effects to fill in the gaps.

Then, I’ll add my kicks, snares, and high-frequency percussion. When crafting my own beats, I prefer to begin with the bass line. The majority of modern beats can be broken down into only a few standard elements: a kick, a snare, some high-frequency percussion sounds, a bass, and at least one melodic element. In the world of beat-making, where repetition is so prevalent that it can become overwhelming, finding this compromise is especially important. It’s the producer’s job to find the right compromise between variation and repetition to create something that’s interesting but still relatively accessible to a non-musical listener. Without any repetition, the listener doesn’t really have anything to latch onto, which can cause the music to feel unstructured. Without any variation, the listener can get bored (and will likely skip to the next song). Good beat making, in general, is finding the balance between variation and repetition.

Making hip hop beats on garageband