You’ve got to have style and learn to be original. - KRS-One
There’s something that has been bothering me for the past while when it comes to beat making. It’s something that I hear and see quite often, and I even catch myself doing it sometimes.
The formula.
Watch any YouTube beat making video or listen to some beats from various websites and you’ll notice that most of the beats sound predictable.
Why? The formula.
Then vs. Now
When I think back to how beats were done in the past with mostly hardware, yes there was a formula, and there always will be but it wasn’t as prominent back then. One would start a beat with a drum machine track and then build from there with various sample chops until a dope-sounding loop was formed.
It’s pretty much the same formula today but now more so than ever because of the software we’re all using and the ease of use.
The old school way was predictable as well, but to a point. If anything it was just a matter of making beats in a routine fashion, whereas today’s beat making has more of a formula to it because software makes it easy to follow said formula.
When I use my MPC to make a beat it contains nothing but samples that I have to piece together and make them fit. Plus I have to make sure that the beat sounds fluid and not something robotic-sounding with boring chops and a drum track thrown on top.
This is where software shines and why it’s a great thing to use, but it comes at a cost.
The DAW Issue
When making a beat in a DAW that has tons of plug-ins and built-in stock sounds, it becomes very easy to make something by simply following the same formula as I did the last time. So if you think about it, that means that I can make a beat in my DAW with the same stock sounds and the same effects as everyone else using that same DAW.
That doesn’t seem right. How can my beat stand out compared to someone else’s? We’re all using the same thing, so eventually someone will sound the same as someone else.
The formula.
If I make a beat in FL Studio and use everything that FL offers by way of sounds and effects, then that means there’s thousands of other beat makers around the world that also use FL, who are going to be making the same kind of beats as me. Eventually everyone’s beats will sound similar, no?
Making beats with software is amazingly easy and it’s great to be able to do so, but unfortunately the trade-off is that we end up with lots of beats that sound the same.
How could we not? We’re all using the same thing!
When you look at how beats were made way back, for example in the 1990s during the Boom Bap era, sure, there were plenty of beats that had the same sort of vibe. But it wasn’t because of the equipment they were using or their process; it was most likely because they were sampling the same artist or genre as others were.
You've Got To Have Style
Now if you’re a beat maker that is using software (and I’m sure 99.9% of you are) then you should consider changing things up, especially if you’re using those stock sounds. This is why when you listen to most beats today there’s definitely some similarities that are not hard to miss.
I make beats with an MPC 2500 and I use mostly samples, so I don’t have this issue with stock sounds, but if I was in that situation I would want to make some changes so that my beats could stand out from the rest, especially if I’m trying to sell my beats.
Why would someone buy my beat when they can buy someone else’s at a cheaper price? That beat maker’s beat probably sounds pretty similar to mine.
So what I propose is that if you find yourself doing the same formulaic routine of beat making, change it. Get out of your comfort zone and try using some new sounds, whether it’s from a plug-in, or by tweaking some effects to turn a generic stock sound into something much more different.
Layer sounds. Add samples. Or play a melody and then sample yourself, then chop the sample and add effects. Just something in order to make it different from the rest.
In the end it’s always about making a dope beat no matter what. If that means you need to do something different, then do it because the last thing you want is to have your beats sound like someone else’s.
You’ve got to have style and learn to be original.
Futher Reading
You can have all the loops and all the packs, if its not from the heart, it will sound shit!