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• What makes a good beat?
• What do you need to make beats?
• How to make beats in 6 steps (with visuals)
• How to expand your beat into a full song
• How to sell your beats
• Conclusion

First and foremost, it's worth laying out what makes a great beat. Though this is clearly subjective and depends on the style of hip-hop you are producing, there are a few general principles that form the basics of beatmaking​​. Remember, these are not absolute and there are plenty of exceptions.

Firstly, most beats have a catchy, uncomplicated melody and an addictive, propulsive drum beat. Whether it's an unforgettable sample (Ayatollah's use of Aretha Franklin's "One Step Ahead" for Mos Def) or an iconic drum beat (NWA's "Straight Outta Compton"), many hip-hop classics are known for their legendary productions and melodies.

Now we've dealt with definitions, how do you set up your DAW for making beats?

How to set up your DAW for making beats
In setting up your DAW for beatmaking, you are initially faced with two main options: linear production or loop-oriented production. Both settings will work for hip-hop production but there are some important differences. If you are looking to structure your track and prefer a traditional compositional style, the linear mode will give you more control and might appear more logical in its layout. On the other hand, if you like the loop format and prefer a more dynamic style of production, loop-oriented production might be for you.

Secondly, you might want to create and organize your instrumental tracks in an ideal format for hip-hop production. This could mean that you'll want to set up a drum track (a sampler or VST), a bass track, a sampler plug-in, and a few other melodic options too (pianos, synths, etc.).

MIDI controller

Before explaining MIDI Controllers, it's key to understand what MIDI is. MIDI—as it relates to DAWs—is simply a means of recording information to your track. As opposed to traditional audio recording, (i.e. the recording of audio waves), MIDI notes appear as blocks that are easily editable and highly dynamic.

How to make beats with MIDI
MIDI is ideal for hip-hop because it allows the producer to have control over each note's characteristics. Along with a host of other features, you can change the note's length, its velocity (how hard it is triggered), its position, and its pitch. This means that the MIDI recording format is the most flexible method of beatmaking.

Beat sequencer

A beat sequencer—often called a step sequencer—is an alternative tool for arranging and playing back your beat. Sequencers were once their own hardware machines but are now mostly software emulations.  Though arranging your beat can be done through traditional MIDI or can be performed and recorded live through a MIDI Drum Pad, many producers prefer the structure of the beat sequencer as it is more visually clear and allows for the spontaneous addition of individual elements.

Headphones / Speakers

Any producer needs a good set of speakers or headphones. Whether you're testing kick drum sounds, tweaking effects, or mixing and mastering, it's important that you are hearing an accurate output of your sound. In fact, ideally, you should switch between headphones and speakers so you can see if the sound is sufficient across listening devices; something might sound great on headphones but terrible on studio monitors.

Mixing and mastering software

Though some producers like J Dilla would send beat tapes full of demos without mixing or mastering them, other producers like to make sure the sound of their work is as high-quality as possible before releasing it. Thus, it's important to make use of mixing and mastering software.

For beginners, the stock plug-ins and controls of your DAW should be enough to craft a solid mix. Alongside the adjustment of each instrumental track's controls (volume & pan), this process of fine-tuning your sound requires the use of effect plugins like EQ, compressor, limiter, and a de-esser. For example, if your bass guitar sounds too muddy, it might be worth filtering out the extreme low-end using an EQ. Similarly, if your rap vocals have a high dynamic range, you might want to flatten it out a bit using a compressor. This way the louder parts are quieter and the quieter parts are louder.

For more experienced beatmakers, it might be worth looking for some third-party software designed to give you extensive control over the intricacies of your track's audio.

Loops, instruments & samples

There are three main ways of composing beats within your DAW. Firstly, producers can use pre-composed loops to form the basis of their tracks. This could be anything from simple piano phrases to slick bass licks to boom-bap drum loops.

Plugins

Though used in relation to VST instruments, a plugin also refers to the various effects that can be applied to your instrumental track. Just as VSTs are software emulations of real instruments, plugins are software emulations of effects hardware. Some of the most used effects plugins include EQs, reverbs, compressors, echoes, and distortion effects. Most modern DAWs have a comprehensive library of stock plugins but if producers would like more control of the intricacies of their sound, they can always buy third-party effects plug-ins.

Step 1. Define your style

Before producing a beat, it's worth thinking about what style you'd like to attempt. What your stylistic goal is will define how you proceed with the following steps. For example, if you'd like to produce trap music, you'll want to choose VSTs, plug-ins, and samples that suit that style (i.e. synthetic drums, 808s). On the other hand, if you want to produce old-school boom-bap, you'll want different sounds (i.e. sampled acoustic drums, dusty samples, catchy bass loops). Furthermore, the use of effects, mixing, and mastering process often vary according to genres.

Step 2. Lay a foundation

This simply refers to the first layer of a beat. Much like building a house, all beats need a foundational structure from which to develop. For some beatmakers, this step will be the bassline while for others, it will be a drum beat or sample. To give you an example, we'll demonstrate this first layer using a bassline.

Step 3. Add Drums or Melodic Elements

Now you've got your foundation, you'll want to add a drum beat. This will complete what is often referred to as the rhythm section (bass and drums). You can add drums using sampling or through a VST. The sampling process can be done in two or three different ways. Firstly, one can simply extract a drum break from a pre-existing track and then loop it. An example of this would be the drums on NWA's "Straight Outta Compton."

Another method is to take a drum break, chop it up, and then play it through a MIDI controller. This allows you to maintain the sound of the sampled drums, while having control over the drum arrangement. This technique was frequently used by the likes of J Dilla. Finally, producers can use the established sounds and samples of a VST drum preset (this can be stock or third-party).

On top of your bass and drums, you'll probably want to add some further melodic elaboration. This can be piano, synths, or any other melodic input.

Step 4. Fill in the Gaps (such as Effects & Edits)

At this point, the key parts of the beat have been constructed. But now you'll need to "fill in the gaps." This refers to adding interesting edits to your instrumental tracks, adding effects (i.e. reverb, echo, compression, chorus, distortion, etc.), and generally making the beat feel cohesive.

For example, regarding edits, producers will often utilize a technique in which the drum beat drops out momentarily before returning seconds later. Similarly, beatmakers will manipulate listeners by temporarily filtering out the bass, and then bringing it back in at a key moment.

When it comes to effects, lots of producers like to add sidechain compression to a melodic input by tying it to the timing of the drum beat. This means that the melodic input lowers in volume whenever the drums reach a certain volume threshold. It's a technique that helps with mixing, makes the instrumental tracks feel connected, and adds a nice stylistic flair to your beat. One could also add reverb to a snare to thicken it up or add distortion to a synth for a more raw feel.

Additionally, one could add echo to a sample for a more psychedelic sound or vinyl emulation for a vintage touch. In short, the process of "filling in the gaps" elevates your instrumental tracks from being discrete and uninteresting to being fleshed out, unique, and cohesive.

Step 5. Structure & Finalize the Beat

For most producers, adding structure is a vital part of the beatmaking process. This step elevates your beat from being a high-quality loop to being a proper composition, with variation and progression. This could mean adding an intro, a verse, a pre-chorus, a chorus (or hook), a bridge, and an outro. The structure is not absolute and many beatmakers prefer a simple verse–hook–verse-hook structure.

The key thing to remember here is that the verse must leave space for the rapper to record the vocals. A useful tool for structuring your beat can be found in most DAWs at the top of the workspace layout.

Step 6. Mixing & Mastering

Mixing and mastering is the final step of the beat-making process. Though some producers like J Dilla and Madlib were famous for sending unmixed demos to rappers, others place lots of value in the mixing and mastering process. Think of the crisp, detailed sounds of a producer like Nujabes.

The first part of this step—mixing—refers to the adjustment of how each instrumental track interacts with the broader sound. In other words, determining how everything sounds when it's combined together. This can include adjusting the pan, tweaking the volume, changing automation levels, EQing, using compression where necessary, and many more. For example, if your bass sounds too muddy, you might want to filter out some of the low-end on your EQ.

To use another example: if there is frequency clashing between a snare tone and a synth, one could try weakening that frequency using a narrow notch filter. Automation refers to the adjustments of volume programmed into the track. You can adjust any of the instrumental track's controls across a particular span of time. This means you could increase the volume over the intro, pan tracks from left to right, and program adjustments to your various effects plugins.

Compression refers to the containment of a track's dynamic range, dampening the peaks and avoiding any jarring changes in volume. This is especially useful for vocals, as singers or rappers tend to change their volume without knowing it. All of these effects are just a few major mixing techniques for aspiring producers.

Mastering is the post-production process that takes place after you have mixed down your track into a single audio file. Here, you are fixing minor errors, “bringing the sound together,” and generally trying to optimize the listening experience across all different platforms, devices, and perspectives. This often means using similar tools to the mixing process (compression, EQ, limiting, etc.). Though mixing is incredibly important, mastering is necessary for a high-quality sound.

Bonus: How to expand your beat into a full song

Often producers will find themselves with a high-quality beat or idea, composed of a single,  unchanging combination of drums and melody. But how does one transform a cool but repetitive idea into a fully realized song?

The most important distinction is the idea of structure. Most complete songs will usually have a sense of development and progression throughout, keeping the listener interested. Thus, as touched on in Step 5: structure your beat.

Secondly, as described in Step 6: make sure it sounds professional and high-quality. Seasoned listeners can immediately tell the difference between a demo and a professionally mixed and mastered track. Thirdly, having a singer or rapper contribute to your track can be the final goal. This added element will make your track feel like a finished product.

Bonus: How to sell your beats

So now you have your perfect, well-rounded, mixed and mastered beat. At this point, producers face the difficult task of having to market and sell their beats. This is a tricky, multifaceted topic, worthy of its own comprehensive article. Thankfully, we at Tracklib have already written a guide to making money with your beats.

Conclusion: Start making your own beats

Learning how to make beats from scratch can be a daunting process. But through a mixture of learning as you go along, listening to lots of hip-hop, and trying out our step-by-step guide, you may discover an entirely new passion for beatmaking.