- 1). Acquire, via the internet or from your local Pro Audio shop, a free beat-making or music production program. There are many free programs available online, such as orDrumbox, and many fully-featured software suites like FLStudio and Ableton Live are available as trial versions, so you can use them to make music free for a limited amount of time. Garageband comes pre-installed on many Mac computers and can also be used to make hip hop beats.
- 2). Install your preferred music and beat production software by double-clicking the downloaded installer and following the prompts on screen. When the software is installed, restart your computer (as many music production programs install specialized drivers in order to run properly) and open the software by double-clicking its icon.
- 3). Begin a new session by selecting "New Session" or "New Project" from the file menu. If you are using FLStudio or orDrumbox, you will see a blank grid of squares with rows named after drum sounds. If you are using Ableton Live or Garageband, Create a new drum track by dragging one of the pre-installed drum kits from the sound library to the main project window.
- 4). Begin composing your beat with a kick drum. In FLStudio and orDrumbox, think of the boxes displayed as rhythm markers for your beat. Click the squares to add a kick drum where you feel it necessary. In Garageband or Ableton Live, use the pen tool to "draw in" your kick drum where you want it to play. The most basic beats will have a kick on beats one and three.
- 5). Add a snare to offset the low end of the kick drum and create more of a "groove" in your beat. In the same way you did for the kick drum, click or "draw in" where you want the kick to play. If you're starting with a basic beat, try the snare on beats two and four.
- 6). Press the play button to listen to your beat so far. Be sure to select "Loop" in your program's main window so the beat won't stop playing after a single measure.
- 7). Add some flair to your beat by introducing a hi-hat rhythm. Using the same process as you did for the kick and snare, click or "draw in" where you want the hi-hat to play. Pay close attention to where you place the closed (fast) and open (slow) hi-hats to add accents at certain points. To begin, try a closed hi-hat on beats one and three (or even in between them!) and an open hi-hat on beats two and four.
- 8). Press play to listen to your beat. Make any changes you feel necessary by moving, adding, or removing the kick, snare, and hi-hat parts. Remember that in most software programs you can edit the beat while it plays instead of pausing it to make an adjustment. Experiment with drum placement and even adding extra sound effects by dragging them to the main project window from the sound library to come up with a beat that is truly unique, but still very "hip hop."
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