How to Write Rap Music Beats
Rap music has been popular ever since the late 1970s. Of course, it has changed a lot over this time, especially now that computers are being used. Now you can easily learn how to turn your hobby of writing rap music beats into a job for yourself.
Things You'll Need
- Music production software
- A record turntable
- Some drums
- A pair of headphones
- A computer
- A recording device
- Decide whether you are going to create drum (i.e. The Roots’ beats), DJ-spin (i.e. Run DMC and Public Enemy’s beats) or computer-generated beats (i.e. Eminem’s beats). Understand the different aesthetics of each so that you will be better equipped to work with them.
- Establish your main rhythm line. Understand that this is a deeper bass drum or bass guitar line even though there are a lot of successful songs that have been built around smaller rhythm line sounds (i.e. snares, cymbals). Use this to determine your song’s speed and meter.
- Use several similar sounds to embellish the main rhythm line. Remember that each sound doesn’t have to occur at the same time as the main beat but that each sound must occur in a steady pattern.
- Put some melodic elements (non-rhythmic sounds like guitars and horns) into your song. Make sure that this is catchy enough to get stuck in your listeners’ head. Keep in mind that this plays a minor role in comparison to the rhythm, which is why it sometimes doesn’t exist.
- Create your song’s lyrics. Make sure that they follow the song’s rhythm or melody. Kee these consistent with the main rhythm you established earlier.
- Develop your song’s lyrical and musical bridge (the element of the song that lyrically looks back on previous lines and introduces variations in the underlying rhythm or melody).