How to Make Beats / Ways to Start

Approach and Mindset

So how exactly do we start a beat? There is no right or wrong way. Every producer has a favorite way of setting things into motion, and even when you do have a preferred way, you’ll switch it up sometimes just to see what happens.

Basically, you want to find the method that sparks the most creativity in you. If you do this, you won’t only make amazing beats, but you’ll also have fun! I recommend trying different ways and even sticking with those you don’t find interesting for a short while at least, because if you can manage with all of these methods, you will be prepared in the best way to deal with a bigger variety of musical obstacles when they appear in your projects.

The 5 ways you can start a beat

Harmonic composition

How: Start with a chord progression

You can start by using a few chords and playing them in different orders until you have something that sounds good. Chords are just combinations of 2 or more notes (but typically at least 3).
Most songs are composed of just 3 or 4 different chords, so don’t get discouraged. Just find a few chords that sound good together and play them yourself in whichever say sounds good to you.

Melodic composition

How: Develop the melody first

For a lot of people, this is the hardest way to start, because there is no reference point – no drums, no chords to complement – nothing! You have a blank canvas and you are tasked with coming up with a melody that will stick in the mind of the listener.

Layering

How: Develop the initial concept using two or more parts

This is a very popular approach. Layering is when you start with one part (instrument or sound) and compose a short riff or phrase with it, and then use another instrument/sound to complete the this musical idea. The two or three parts you use to form the musical idea will all complement each other, and can differ in note selection, musical range (very confined or open and leaping), rhythmic aspects and so on. This approach can produce very unique results and forces you to look ahead two or three steps. You will be planning creatively.

Holistic composition

How: Chords and melody at the same time

You will be composing chords and melody at the same time. You will need to be confident, as you’ll be making harmonic and melodic choices at the same time. Not recommended for beginners!

Groove-Up

How: Beginning with groove elements

Groove-Up is a very popular approach, especially in rap music, dance and other styles which have traditionally been heavily influenced by hardware groove machines like the AKAI MPC.
You start the beat by programming or tapping out a drum pattern, and then move onto other groove elements, such as the bassline and rhythmic stabs (think big string hits a la old school hip hop) if you plan to use those.

A Split World

If you use a MIDI keyboard, you can create something called a split patch, which is when the sampler allows you to play two separate patches at the same time; it splits the keyboard in two, so sound1 is, for instance, triggered by the first 20 keys from the left, and the keys to the right are for sound2. Creating a split patch is great to use for the layering approach, because you can have separate sounds controlled with your left and right hands, so you can see in real time how certain combinations sound.

Also, it can help in the holistic approach if you want to, for example, use strings on the left side (for chords) and a lead synth (as the melody) on the right side.

Shaping

One of the things you have to consider when staying loyal to one composition approach is the issue of shaping. What I mean is this: the initial components you start with will influence everything to come. Here are some examples:

• Groove-Up: when starting with the drums, everything that comes along later needs to fit with the particular pattern you decided on. That includes the bassline, melody and chord rhythm.
• Harmonic: a chord progression lays the harmonic foundation, and while it is a good springboard for the melody, it also limits it, because the melody is heavily influenced by the chords.
• Melodic: similarly, if the melody comes first, then the chord progression will sometimes just boringly echo the melody’s strong points, instead of taking a musical role of its own and supporting it creatively. This sometimes limits the less knowledgeable beat composers. Also, other melodic components like the bassline and supporting melodies are usually composed a little bit more safely to avoid clashing with the main melody.