How to Make Beats

Having the ability to make your own beats will give your music it's own unique personality, creating a sound that is totally your own. With an understanding of some basic fundamentals you can begin making your own original beats in no time. By taking the time to master these skills your beats could be on their way to the top of the charts!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Drums or a drum machine

1. Learn the elements of a beat. Before you can make a beat you need know what elements make up a beat. A basic beat is comprised of a kick, snare and hi-hat. With these three elements you can play virtually any beat.

2. Listen to music you like. Listen to some of your favorite music and instead of focusing on the beat as a whole, break apart the beat by focusing on only one element at a time. Focus first on the kick drum. Notice what it does. Then hone in on just the snare. Finally, study the hi-hats. You will likely notice that each element follows a predictable pattern.

3. Play your drums or program a beat on your drum machine. Now that you know what elements make up a beat, let's get to work making one of our own.

4. Count 1-2-3-4 out loud. Repeat the count over and over. You will layer your beat elements over the counting.

5. Play your kick drum. You will play the kick drum on the number 1 only.

6. Play your snare drum. You will play the snare only on beat number 3.

7. Play your hi-hat. Play the hi-hat on numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. You will play the hi-hat on every number you count.

8. Practice. Play all three elements while counting at a tempo that feels comfortable. It may be difficult to get your coordination together at first, but don't give up! Once you can play this simple beat you'll have laid the groundwork to play practically any beat you hear. Congrats! You now know how to make a beat!

Tips & Warnings

• Once you can play the beat perfectly and consistently you can stop counting out lout while you play. The counting is just a guide to get you going, but you can count any time you are learning a new beat in the future.
• If you are playing a real drum set and not a drum machine, take frequent breaks while you are playing. If you are new to playing the drums stop playing if you experience any pain. Your body will need time to adjust to using some new muscles.

[type3beats]

on 7/18/2009 Nice article. Simple and easy to follow. Thanks.