Chill nikka. Chopping samples and arranging is so much harder than playing to a certain scale. I’ll continue tmrw after work.
Beat makers I’m so garbage but I don’t want to quit
- Thread starter Rozay Oro
- Start date
Dak Pickscott
Shout out to Dallas my bih is a star
Dak Pickscott
Shout out to Dallas my bih is a star
SupaDupaFresh
Superstar
@NinoBrown The fact that breh is making sampled base music makes it even more important he understands theory. He's constructing his beat around a sample that already dictates what he can do, but I'm guessing Dude fiddles around with every key on his MIDI controller just guessing what sounds right. Once he understands that his sample has a key and a scale-- @Rozay Oro , a scale being a specific set of just up to 7 notes/chords that the beat is built around, with all others being "off key" and excluded--he is gonna "get it," never "struggle" with making a beat again, and lose his shyt at how fun playing music, constructing music, and improvising over his beat coming up with something catchy and jamming out really is.
The first time he learns how to simplify his beat making down to theory and comes up with something geniunely catchy that he created and impresses others, his confidence and skills will soar. It'll give him so much room to then study mixing, mastering, rhythmic techniques and other things. The first time I discovered African polyrhythmic theory (pretty much the foundation of ALL black music)--or "the one" as James Brown liked to call it--it blew me away. Instant technique to making catchy, fun, exciting tunes all your own.
OP sounds like he's still stuck at that stage where he has an idea, he knows how it sounds in his head, but once he stares at the blank canvas and all 88 keys on his MIDI controller he's lost, guessing which notes to play one by one and doesn't understand why it's taking hours and ultimately sound "empty" and not like what he imagined at all. I hope bro knows I'm genuinely trying to get him to that next level of confidence in his ability to conceive and construct his own music.
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SupaDupaFresh
Superstar
Listen to this breh OP. This is what the hobby is really about.
I would just say OP doesn't even necessarily need to practice every scale or worry about flats and sharps since he's just cooking on software and not playing live. I'd give him time before he explores complex time signatures as well. Just needs to know the concept behind music theory. Breaking down his ideas to it's specific key and scale as well as the concept of arranging lead, rhythm, bass, and percussion to "fill out" the frequency range of his beats. He'll be cooking a beat a day from there until he's the next George Clinton.
Dog Based Gremlin
Veteran
@NinoBrown @The Velvet Soul i got to work soon but yeah right now I just want to make hip hop beats by chopping samples.
I have an R&B song from 1981. I’m just trying to figure out how to go with this. I know the biggest thing is focus on bar loops, “moans and groans” like 9th wonder says, melodies whether it’s some instrumental or even with singing. I know to filter out high and lows if too much shyt going on. Definitely struggling to get out what’s in my head.
I only know the C major scale. Would be dope to compose in the future but I think this is a good place to start since I’m not that good at piano.
I have an R&B song from 1981. I’m just trying to figure out how to go with this. I know the biggest thing is focus on bar loops, “moans and groans” like 9th wonder says, melodies whether it’s some instrumental or even with singing. I know to filter out high and lows if too much shyt going on. Definitely struggling to get out what’s in my head.
I only know the C major scale. Would be dope to compose in the future but I think this is a good place to start since I’m not that good at piano.
SupaDupaFresh
Superstar
If you're producing music in a DAW and not playing live you really don't need to be a piano maestro with working knowledge of every scale. You hardly even need to memorize the keyboard itself. Most DAWS and sequencer have chord and scale "modes" that allows you to just select the key and desired scale of the song (everything from major to minor to even foreign scales) and then filters out all other notes so that ANYTHING you're now playing is in key.
Can I hear this track you want to sample? I can guide you on how to find the songs key and it's note scale.
Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None 
again go study music theory, just the basics help.
If you make all your music in c major that's fine you can always transpose them up or down the scale all the major and minor scales are relative it's when you go into non western music thats the scale becomes advanced
here's 2 beats i made no samples, made this shyt from the ground up. but if you want to sample the key is to find the bpm, time signature, and music scale. that takes practice
Yasuke - this one i used a japanese scale, got the instruments from a kontakt bank, and made a crazy drill track
Red Lipstick Joint - simple little afro rnb join i did in d# minor
Damn that’s dope af. Afro beats joint hard!