This is a question I get asked a lot. How do you go about creating a beat or creating something that will eventually become a song. It’s something a lot of kids want to know these days and in my opinion everyone already has the capability to do it. They just don’t know they have it.
I think the best way to start is by recording some of your ideas immediately when they happen, and what I mean by that is to have some kind of portable recorder always with you and when an idea comes to your mind just record it quickly so later on you’d be able to develop it. Everyone has a smart phone and I am almost certain that every smart phone has a voice recorder app that comes with it, if your phone doesn’t the you can install a voice recorder app from the Apple or Google stores. The quality of the initial recording doesn’t have to be amazing, as long a you can hear clearly what you have recorded to use at a later time.
Now the next important step is to have some kind of DAW software or a programing software, if you already have that then I will move to the next step (some of you don’t have software can email me and I’ll try and help you decide what to get depending on what you are trying to accomplish).
The next and last step in creating a beat or song is taking that idea you previously recorded on your phone and anywhere else and let it sink into your brain. Repeat it a few time and try to imagine what it is that you want it to sound like. In some cases when you just need a beat, try to vocalized with your mouth for few times and maybe drum it with your hands on a table. Now to program that monster, you should start from the Kick and Snare and build it all the way up by adding the Hi Hat and some percussion/sounds. Sometimes I find it a bit easier to start with the Hi Hat and then program all the way down with adding the Kick and Snare.
Please make sure to have fun as this is the best part about making music. If all you wanted is a beat, then you are good to go but if you are trying to write a song then you should go to the next step of maybe singing some melodies with the beat or maybe rhyming to the beat. If you managed to get a melody going then it would give you a little something to start recording some bass, keys, guitar and maybe even add real drums to it and so on. I think if you just relax and make sure to have fun, you’ll see that some great things may develop.
