MPR-130
Music Composition Programming
Beat Making
Table of Contents
Try these progressions in your own beats!
Food for Thought: Progression Questions
Listening
3
Introduction
4
About Beats
5
The 5 Components of Beat Making
5
Chapter 1: The Groove
6
Kick
Snare
Hat
Food for Thought: Groove Questions
Chapter 2: The Progression
Root Movement
Diatonic Progressions
Other Diatonic Progressions
Half Step Motion
Descending Intervals
Chromatic Progressions
Tension and Release
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Chapter 3: The Bass
How the Bass Functions
Types of Bass Lines
A Quick Word on Bass Sounds
Food for Thought: Bass Line Questions
Chapter 4: The Hook
40
About The Hook
Principles of Writing Hooks
Food for Thought: Hook Questions
Chapter 5: “Ear Candy”
14
26
51
Production Effects
Percussion
Orchestrations
Other “Confections”
Food for Thought: Ear Candy Questions
In Conclusion
65
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Listening
All the listening for this book can be found in the following Spotify playlists:
Chapter 1: http://spoti.fi/Q7EA0s
Chapter 2: http://spoti.fi/NDGF3Y
Chapter 3: http://spoti.fi/OCrDJW
Chapter 4: http://spoti.fi/OcIVxV
Chapter 5: http://spoti.fi/Mu8RlF
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Introduction
By this time in your career, you’ve experienced a lot of music theory, music history, technical principles, and some other pretty heavy stuff.
This course may seem a little different from some of those others you have had up to this point. In this course, we want to give you an
opportunity to really put in to practice some of the techniques and concepts put forth in the other classes, but we’re going to do this a little
differently. Basically, we want to give you an open sandbox to explore, experiment, and play around in while drawing on the courses
that have come before (like music theory, music listening, music history, MIDI, etc). As always, there will be new technical things to learn
along the way here, but we really want to hear what you got. Think of it this way: you’ve been given the crayons in those other courses,
and now we want to let you have fun and just color (with some pushing and prodding from us along the way).
We’re going to focus primarily on hip-hop/electronic oriented music in this course, but it’s our intention that the projects here will draw out
your own personal style and creativity, and hopefully ignite some sparks for you and your career goals - whatever they may be. Whether you
want to be a hip-hop producer, a dubstep Skrillex clone, a singer/songwriter, or a film and game composer, we think you’ll find something in
this course that you can grab on to and run with. Additionally, the techniques from this lesson can give you some more footing using a DAW
(Digital Audio Workstation) to create individual music blocks for songs, and can be a great way to get the juices flowing since you won’t have
the pressure of having to write an entirely fleshed out composition.
In this text, we’re going to focus on the looping, musical element of hip-hop and electronic music that we’re going to call a “beat.”1 We’re
going to break down the basic components that make up many of today’s hip-hop/electronic beats, and we’re going to employ some of those
concepts using Logic Pro. Don’t worry too much right now if you’re still a little foggy on some of the theory stuff. This book is all about
diving in and getting your hands dirty!
A special note on inspiration.
What inspires you? What gets your creative juices flowing? It could be the latest cut you heard on the radio this morning or it could be a
patch you found in Ultrabeat. It could be the weather today, or it could be walking by that same homeless guy on the way to work.
Whatever it is that motivates and drives you to write, it’s important that when that creative spark happens, you’re ready and willing to do
something with it! That may mean looking like a fool on the bus as you sing into your own voicemail, but if that’s what it takes to capture that
spark, you gotta do it.
1
Let’s clarify the terminology we’re using in this lesson. We need to be sure not confuse “beat” here with the term, “drum beat.” When we say “beat” we’re not talking about just the drum pattern, but rather we’re
taking about a more complete looping section used in hip-hop (and electronic) music that is comprised of several music elements. This is what is now commonly now known as a “beat” in the hip-hop community
and it’s the term we’re going to use in this lesson.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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About Beats
There are just a few key components that make up a vast majority of beats used in today’s hip-hop and electronic music. While much of the
music may sound very complex, at the core are some relatively basic concepts at work. We’re going to break down these components, and
the initial concepts may seem simple on the surface, but it’s how various producers and composers use these components, these basic
ingredients that make the difference between the basement and the Grammy stage. Think of it this way: I can cook up some mac & cheese
at home, but what happens when Gordon Ramsey gets a hold of those same ingredients? Hmmm.. now I’m hungry. Let’s keep moving!
The 5 Components of Beat Making
The music we write is made up of several different components that come together to make a complete musical idea. Just as a painter
paints a piece by adding one color (component) at a time, we when we sit down to write, we as music composers and producers must also
think like a painter and add our own musical ideas one color at a time. These layers of musical expression need to be balanced and blended
together perfectly
In hip-hop and electronic music we can break down these layers (colors) into five2 components:
Component 1: Groove
Component 2: Progression
Component 3: Bass
Component 4: Hook
Component 5: Ear Candy
2
It’s important to recognize that you don’t absolutely have to have these five components to your track to make a hit song. Just listen to Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow”. That track is pretty much just a groove
and vocals. We just want to give you a starting point with the guidelines listed above.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 1: The Groove
So what is “groove”?
Listening - http://spoti.fi/Q7EA0s
The groove is something more than just a drum pattern. It’s style.
It’s finesse. It’s swagger. And your beat’s got to have it. Check
out the examples below and listen to how each one uses groove in
its track. Each cut was chosen because of the individual vibe, feel,
and tone of their grooves. If they sound alike to you, listen closer.
If they still sound too much alike, keep reading. We’ll point out
some specific things to be listening for.
It all starts with the groove. You know, the groove? That thing that
makes you nod your head involuntarily? That’s groove, and your
beat has to have it. Whether it’s a laid back slow jam or an uptempo electronic blitzkrieg, if your beat doesn’t want to make
people want to move their body, then you’re doing something
wrong. Groove really does transcend style and genre, so don’t
think that only hip-hop or funk music has a groove to it.
Here’s a little bit of history.
In the early days of hip-hop, DJs would find drum breaks in old
funk records and by using two turntables (and two of the same
record) they were able to keep these drum breaks (or “break
beats”) looping indefinitely. Think of it as early sampling.
The two most popular and notable drum breaks of all time are the
“Amen Break” from the 1969 track, “Amen, Brother” by the
Winstons (m1:26),3 and the “Funky Drummer” break from James
Brown’s 1970 single, “Funky Drummer” (m5:22). These funk
beats (played by some of the world’s funkiest drummers) provided
the foundation of groove upon which hip-hop, trip-hop, chill,
breakbeat, and many other electronic music styles are based.
Fast forward to today and while almost all hip-hop and electronic
music is produced using MPCs, samplers, and software, the music
still needs to have the feel and groove found in these early funk
records.
3
Some of these examples feature actual played drum grooves,
some are sampled grooves, and some are programmed, but notice
how even the simplest drum patterns can dish out the phattest
beats!
“Billie Jean”
Michael Jackson
“Walk This Way”
Aerosmith/RUN-DMC
“Rhymin & Stealin”
Beastie Boys
“Eple”
Röyksopp
“Yeah!”
Usher
“2 of Amerikaz Most
Wanted”
2Pac, Snoop Dogg
“Galvanize”
The Chemical Brothers
Day ‘N’ Nite
Kid Cudi
“Halo”
Beyoncé
“If I Never See Your Face
Again”
Maroon 5
“Empire State of Mind”
Jay-Z, Alicia Keys
“Wide Awake”
Katy Perry
“Star”
The Roots
“Everything is Everything”
Lauryn Hill
“Gangsta’s Paradise”
Coolio
“Lose Yourself”
Eminem
Because the vast majority of hip-hop, electronic and pop music is
in 4/4 time, we’ll be focusing on this time signature for our
grooves.
Check out this fascinating Youtube video that breaks down the “Amen Break”: http://youtu.be/5SaFTm2bcac.
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Chapter 1: The Groove
Wait.. what exactly is “swagger”?
I’m sure the technical part of your brain is itching to get a handle
on some specifics to wrap around all this talk of groove and
swagger. Ok, ok, ok. We’ll set aside the philosophy for a minute
to talk about some easy techniques to accomplish “groove,” but
you got to know on the front end that these are just suggestions.
In no way is this the only way to accomplish good, head-bobbing
grooves, because really, the most important technique is to use
your ears! Does it sound good to you? Can you not keep from
bouncing to the beat? Just so we understand each other. Now,
let’s get into some details.
Swing Pulse - One way to give your groove some swagger is to
add a little swing pulse into your groove. You can do this
manually by swinging or bouncing the drum parts as you play
them in, or you can do this “in post” by adding in a swung
quantization. Check out how swing quantizing can affect your
groove. Does more swing equal more more swagger? What
about the bounce in “2 of Amerkias Most Wanted” by 2Pac and
Snoop Dogg. Hear the bounce in the lyrics and how it lines up
with the bounce in the groove and the bass?
layer upon layer of sauce into your groove, but too much and
you can bury your groove. Leave some space in those layers to
let each one breathe a little. The amount of space will depend
on what kind of beat you’re going for, but simpler is almost
always better. Check out how wide open Usher’s groove is in
“Yeah!”.
The Building Blocks of the Groove
Now that we know, conceptually, what a groove is, what are the
specific parts that specifically make up a groove? You really only
need three components to make up any groove: kick, snare, and
hat (as in, bass drum, snare drum, and hi-hat found on a drum set).
With these three elements you can communicate everything you
need to know about your groove: tempo, pulse, feel, syncopation,
and interpretation.
Each individual element of the groove has a different function,
musically. Let’s examine each of these...
All that having been said, you don’t have to have a swing pulse
to have a bangin’ joint. Just listen to the groove of
“Sexyback” by Justin Timberlake and hear how straight forward
it is? However, you’ll find even a slight swing in most hip-hop
and groove-oriented music, especially in regards to the lyrics.
Space in the Groove - To help give your groove some finesse,
think about adding space in the layers. It’s tempting with all the
technical toys you have at your fingertips to just keep adding
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Chapter 1: The Groove
How It’s Used
The kick is typically found on beat 1 (the downbeat) and then again
(in some form) on, or around beat 3. Obviously it doesn’t have to
be on these beats, but it’s a good place to start. Check out some
examples below of some common kick patterns. These can all be
used in various tempos.
Common kick patterns found in hip-hop beats
Kick
What It Does
The kick (or kick/bass drum) lays down the foundation and provides
the sure footing for you to build your groove. The kick anchors
your groove and keeps it in place!
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 1: The Groove
Listen to the kick sound in the RUN-DMC’s “Walk This Way” and
compare that to the kick sound in “Yeah!” by Usher. Hear how
Usher’s kick sound is much rounder and has a lot more bottom
end?
When you pick out kick sounds, it’s good to keep in mind what
your snare sound is going to be since the kick and snare have such
a close relationship. Speaking of snare...
These are just a few patterns (and we didn’t even look at 16th note
variations!). You can use these in your own beats, but feel free to
experiment and have fun with the rhythms! As long as it grooves,
it’s all good.
By the way, what happens if you don’t have a kick note on the
downbeat? How does that make your groove feel? What if we
put the kick on beats 2 & 4? What happens to the feel of the
groove? Try it for yourself and see if you like the results!
How It Sounds
In terms of the sound of your kick, that entirely depends on what
type of beat your writing. If it’s a funky breakbeat, you’ll want a
more live drum sound - like the drums heard in the original breaks.
If it’s a slow jam try using a low frequency, tonal kick sound - one
with a sub kick sound to it. You know this one. It’s the one that
rattles your license plate! If your groove is pretty busy (as in,
rhythmically complex) you’ll want to think about using tighter,
shorter kick sound so that each little intricate part can be heard.
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Chapter 1: The Groove
How It’s Used
Unlike the kick, the snare’s backbeat is fairly regular and is typically
found on beats 2 & 4 (in 4/4 time). The “predictability” of the
backbeat allows other parts of the groove to have more rhythmic
variation and frees up the kick to be more syncopated.
Special note: While it’s most common to find the backbeat on
beats 2 & 4, it’s not uncommon to find a “displaced” backbeat
where the backbeat is delayed to give the groove a little twist.
Listen to “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer. Hear
how the snare hit on the second bar of the pattern is offset
(displaced) by an 8th note, Notice how the snare backbeat doesn’t
hit directly on beat 4 but instead comes in on the “and” of 4 (and
don’t let the hand claps throw you off in this example). Early funk
drummers4 used this technique and it makes sense why some
grooves use a displaced backbeat. It is a great way to add some
interest into your groove, but just be careful that you don’t overdo
it or you could throw off your groove.
Snare
What It Does
The snare is the backbeat to the groove, and may just be the single
most important aspect of your beat. If the kick is what makes you
bob your head, the the snare makes you wanna clap your hands or
snap your fingers. Think of the the snare as the answer to the
kick’s question. It’s the ying to the kick’s yang. Every groove
needs to have a good, solid backbeat.
4
How It Sounds
There are a lot of different snare sounds to choose from. From
tight, electronic sounds to fat, open hand claps, the choices are
nearly endless. Just like with kick sounds, it entirely depends on
what groove you’re trying to shoot for. Check out the snare sound
difference in Beyoncé’s, “Halo,” and “Everything is Everything” by
Lauryn Hill. What is the difference in the sounds?
It should be noted that the backbeat doesn’t have to be an actual
snare sound. The backbeat can also be a clap, snap, or cross stick
sound.
Check out James Brown’s “I Got the Feelin’” for an old school, funk example of displaced backbeats.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 1: The Groove
doesn’t vary much at all, rhythmically. It’s not unusual, however,
for a hi-hat pattern to be broken up with an open hat sound in the
groove (in the middle, or toward the end of the phrase).
Listen to RUN-DMC’s/Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” for a clear
example of open versus open hi-hat sounds.
“Walk This Way” by RUN-DMC/Aerosmith
open hi-hat
How It Sounds
The hat can have a lot of different types of sound. Since the hi-hat
sound is created on two small cymbals (14” or smaller) together,
the sound of the hat is usually a tight, short, “chick” sound.
Hat
What It Does
The hat gives your groove motion and momentum. Think of the
hat as the glue that ties the kick and snare together. It can fill in
the spaces in the groove and help give a sense of continuity as
your groove progresses.
The hat can also provide rhythmic
interest at and around the phrases.
How It’s Used
The hat is usually played in 8ths or 16ths and is played throughout
the groove. Like the snare, it tends to stay somewhat regular and
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Check out ?uestlove’s hi-hat work on “Star” by The Roots. He not
only incorporates open hi-hat, but also punches the crash cymbal
on the bass hits. How is that hat work different from the hat work
in “If I Never See Your Face Again” by Maroon 5? Listen to not
only the rhythm of the hat, but also to the texture, or sound of the
hats in the various song sections. How are they different?
If we think back to how a drummer plays the hi-hat, the tightness
(or shortness) of the hat sound depends on how hard the player
pushes on the hi-hat pedal. If the drummer doesn’t push the hihat pedal as hard, then the cymbals won’t be as tight and this
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Chapter 1: The Groove
creates a “mushier” hat sound. In production, we could call these
differences in hat sounds as either “dry” or “wet.” Which sound
is right for your groove? Well, just like the kick and snare, that all
depends on the beat your making. If it’s a busy hat part, then a
sloshy hat sound will just sound muddy and mess all over
everything.
rid
e
In some grooves, it’s not uncommon to hear some other kind of
cymbal used. You can use ride cymbals or even crashes in your
beats, but these sounds are much longer in duration than the hat
and need to be used more open, rhythmically, than a hat. John
Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change” uses the ride cymbal in
the groove. Notice how straight it is and how drummer, Steve
Jordan, keeps it very constant. Also, hear how he changes to the
hat in the bridge of the song (around 1:51). What effect does
changing cymbal texture have to the feel of the groove? Is it a
more closed or open sound?
It should also be said that some grooves don’t even use a
sound (like “Halo” by Beyoncé). While not that common, it
happen from time to time. Why do you think this grooves
without a hat? What do you think the producer was thinking
he made that call?
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
hi-hat
does
work
when
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Food for Thought: Groove Questions
Now that we’ve examined what textures make up the groove in making a beat, take a listen through the tracks from the listening playlist and
ask yourself these questions:
1. How would I identify the kick sounds? Thick? Punchy? Tight? What about the
snare sound? Does it sound like a live snare drum or electronic?
2. How are the kick and snare working together, rhythmically? Could I beatbox the
pattern or tap the kick and snare parts out on a desk? Could I write out the kick
and snare rhythms if I had to?
3. How does the groove interact with the other parts of the song? With the bass? Is
it always in sync with the other parts or does it sound disjointed?
4. What is the flow of each groove? Are they bouncy or pretty straight?
5. What’s your favorite groove from this list and why? Is it the rhythm? The sounds
used?
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Chapter 2: The Progression
Chapter 2: The Progression
It’s best to avoid the same root movement for your entire
progression. Mix it up!
Listening List - http://spoti.fi/NDGF3Y
“Chord Progression: A succession of two or more chords that have
a harmonic coherence, especially a pattern used repeatedly in the
same form.” – New Grove Dictionary of Jazz5
Root Movement
“Strong” progressions are those that have root movements of a
4th or a 5th, whereas “weak” progressions have root movement
by a 3rd or a 2nd. These aren’t strong and weak as in good or bad,
but rather defined as having the strongest tendencies to progress
back to tonic (I).
Diatonic Progressions
Diatonic Progressions are those which are located completely
within the key and have absolutely no added accidentals (extra
sharps, flats, or naturals which are not in the key signatures).
For instance, in the key of F major, we have the following chords:
A Diatonic progression would only have the chords that naturally
exist in the key and move from one chord to another using the root
movement guidelines listed above.
You can chose from pretty much any of those chords and come out
with an OK-sounding beat. However, there are some progressions
which work better than others.
root motion
of a 4th
root motion
of a 3rd
root motion
of a 4th
root motion
of a 5th
Let’s examine what makes all progressions work by unpacking one
of most well known chord progressions in all of pop music.
5
"Chord progression." The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed.. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed January 3, 2013, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/
article/grove/music/J085500.
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Chapter 2: The Progression
The Money Chords: I V vi IV
Some of the most popular songs of the past forty years have been
based on this progression. You’ll know it when you hear it! It’s
based on The circle of fifths, and also on early blues progressions
that used predominately I, IV, V. This progression works because
while the function of IV is to go to normally go to the V, we’ve
been hearing IV-I (also known as “plagal” motion) for centuries.
Additionally, although the function of V is to go to I, it’s also very
common for the V to go to the vi (a.k.a. “deceptive” motion).
The number of songs that use this progression in pop is almost
endless. Perhaps you’ve seen the YouTube video from “Axis of
Awesome.” If not, it’s worth a look!6
Why Does it Work?
Why does this progression work for so many genres and styles?
It’s got everything to do with progression and retrogression.
“Progression” means that you’re moving toward I. The chords you
are choosing are driving the music back to I; they clearly have a
sense of direction and push, harmonically speaking.
“Retrogression” means that you’re moving in another direction.
It’s not necessarily “away” from I, but the chords do not seem as
direct; they may feel more like they are meandering.
Let’s take a look at I V vi IV:
The tonic chord (I) moving to V is very strong, and sounds like
progression; just about any chord after tonic (I) will sound like
progression because the I chord is home-base of the key, and of
course, you have to run away from first base before you can run
back around to it. Moving away from it most always feels like
progress.
The V chord has a very strong tendency to move toward I, as you
remember from the Circle of Fifths. In fact, that’s the V chord’s
main job. However, you can fool the ear by intentionally not going
back to I, but instead going to vi, therefore deceiving the ear for a
moment. This doesn’t feel nearly as direct as V going to I, and so it
delays the gratification of I and builds a bit of tension.
And then we have the IV chord; its function is to go to V, or, as in
this case, the plagal motion to lead back to I. This provides you
with a softer cadence sound that is generally preferred in the
6
You can find “Axis of Awesome: 4 Chords” at http://youtu.be/oOlDewpCfZQ.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 2: The Progression
industry today. IV to I may be familiar to you as the sound of a choir
singing “amen.”
You can use almost any variation of these four chords and have a
solid progression for your beat. Here’s a list of hits which have
used this diatonic chord progression. Note all the different styles
you see!7
7
“Africa”
Toto
“Barbie Girl”
Aqua
“Can You Feel
the Love Tonight”
Elton John
“Don’t Stop Believing”
Journey
“Down Under”
Men at Work
“Fall at Your Feet”
Crowded House
“Forever Young”
Alphaville
“I’m Yours”
Jason Mraz
“If I Were a Boy”
Beyoncé
“Kids”
MGMT
“Let it Be”
The Beatles
“No Woman No Cry”
Bob Marley
“Not Pretty Enough”
Kasey Chambers
“Pictures of You”
The Last Goodnight
“Poker Face”
Lady Gaga
“Save Tonight”
Eagle Eye Cherry
“Scar”
Missy Higgins
“Self Esteem”
The Offspring
“Sex and Ear Candy”
Marcy Playground
“She Will be Loved”
Maroon 5
“Superman”
Five for Fighting
“Take on Me”
AHa
“The Horses”
Daryl Braithwaite
“Torn”
Natalie Imbruglia
“U & Ur Hand”
Pink
“Under the Bridge”
Red Hot Chili Peppers
“When I Come Around”
Green Day
“Wherever You Will Go”
The Calling
“With or Without You”
U2
“You Found Me”
The Fray
“You’re Beautiful”
James Blunt
“You’re Gonna
Go Far Kid”
The Offspring
Other Diatonic Progressions
There are other diatonic progressions which have a bit of a
different feel. We’ll take a quick spin through these so you can
have a look at the possibilities within the key.
The Displaced Tonic
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake” - http://spoti.fi/NGq4YZ.
Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake” is in the key of F major. The same
progression is used throughout the song, though the I chord does
not begin the progression.
The V resolves to ii instead of I, creating more tension and
propelling the song forward and upon repetition of the groove,
provides a slightly “darker” harmonic framework.
For those of you who are theory geeks (like me!), this progression
could be argued in G minor as i III VII IV, since the C(sus4) (IV)
resolves to i. Many of these types of diatonic chord progressions
fit well in both the major and the minor keys, depending on how
you hear it, but upon listening, the F major in bar 4 of the
progression does indeed sound like the I chord. This is a good
lesson that just because something in music could be musically
(and theoretically) argued one way, it’s ultimately our ear that tells
us what the correct analysis should be,
All these tunes can be found in this Spotify Playlist: http://spoti.fi/NDBzmA.
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Chapter 2: The Progression
By the way, don’t let the (add9) or (sus4) trip you up at this point.
These are extra colors added to the chords that we’ll cover soon
enough! For now, just focus on the basic chord structures.
Cool thing to note: Check out the opening synth pattern, which
has arpeggiator-generated 16th notes which carry throughout the
song. The 16th notes repeat throughout the song on the single
note “C,” along with another synth patch farther back in the mix,
also on “C.” This also helps with tension and release because the
note “C” is a common chord tone through Bb(add9), F, and
C(sus4). It’s not a chord tone of Gm, and so it feels a bit “off”
during the first chord. Then it “resolves” back into a chord tone on
the Bb major chord. There you go, tension and release with just
one note!
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Half Step Motion
Eminem, “Lose Yourself” - http://spoti.fi/ODNxMT.
This tune makes great use of only two diatonic chords once the
beat kicks in. The bass never leaves the note of D, and most of the
harmonic motion is provided by the half step move in the upper
voices; the note moves between A and Bb--a powerful half-step
relationship. Once you hear the A to Bb to A, your ear wants to
hear it always.
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Chapter 2: The Progression
pedals which would play those super-low notes, and sometimes
stayed on the same note, especially at the end of a movement.
In western music, the thirds of the chords help determine the
quality, either major or minor, or, with the fifth taken into account,
diminished and augmented. The underlying tonality of the entire
song implies D minor, even though the thirds of the chords are not
overly stressed.
Even though we can’t hear the thirds very well, we hear this tune
in D minor:
Why does it work?
The key to the harmonic success of this tune lies in the intervals of
the perfect 5th (P5) moving up by half step to the minor 6th (m6)
and then back down again. This is a diatonic interval in D minor,
and it’s one note moving back and forth which changes the chords:
A to Bb and back, over and over. The m6 (D to Bb) really wants to
resolve downward to the P5 (D to A), building tension each time
the note moves.
Think of it this way: half-step intervals in music always want to
resolve... somewhere. Whether it’s up like a 7th scale degree
wanting to go to 1 (try to play a major scale and stop on the 7 and
tell me you’re not begging to hear it resolve to 1), or down like we
see in this example, half-steps are almost gravitationally drawn
towards their resolutions. It’s almost like a form of musical
magnetism.
The lyrics to this song are all about nervous energy, the anxiety of
having “one shot” to make it. As you listen, there is no place
where the harmony of the song comes to rest, or feels finished, or
sounds like it’s driving back to the I chord. The driving, one-note
bass also ratchets up the tension. There is no real release in this
recording, and it communicates the anxiety of the writer perfectly.
The D remains constant in the bass. It’s the root of the Dm, and
the 3rd of Bb. In traditional harmony, this is called a “pedal tone,”
so named because back in the day, the church organs had the
foot
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MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Chapter 2: The Progression
Descending Intervals
Introduction
Maroon 5, “Payphone” - http://spoti.fi/M0iWev
A quick listen to “Payphone” by Maroon 5 reveals that most of the
tension and release is provided by textures and instrumentation.
The chord progression is diatonic, and consists of descending
chords leading back to I. The ii chord is related to the V chord,
sharing one the same notes (they share 2 notes if we were to look
at 7th chords) but it doesn’t provide the same type of “drive” back
to I like the V chord does. So it sounds good to us, but isn’t a
super-strong sound; the progression slides nicely back to I instead
of banging us over the head with it.
Verse 1
•Four-on-the-floor bass drum
•Piano continues in higher octaves with addition of mid-range
arpeggiated chords
•Addition of additional instrumental texture
Chorus 1
•Instrument rest with sound effect
•Entry of all instruments
•Addition of fuller synth in mid-range and high strings
•Addition of background vocals
Verse 2
•Thinner instrumentation
•Addition of whole-note strums in acoustic guitar
•Bass drum 8th note pattern resolving to 4 on the floor
•Addition of more complicated snare drum pattern
Chorus 2
•Instrument rest with sound effect
•Entry of all instruments
•Addition of fuller synth in mid-range and high strings
•Addition of background vocals
Bridge
So, the chord progression doesn’t provide a ton of forward motion.
How does this tune control tension and release? Have a listen
while following this brief listening guide:
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
•Vocals, keys, and light guitar
•Addition of 8th note bass line ending with rest
•Sound effect
Chorus 3
•Bass and percussion moves from 4 on the floor to syncopated
groove
•Bass changes sound from traditional guitar to electronic with soft
attack
•Electronic-based breakdown section with instrumental texture
reduction
•Addition of instrumental texture every 8 measures
•Builds to instrumental rest with snare drum/cymbal 8th note build
during beat 2
•Return to driving 4 on the floor groove
•Final resolution to vocal only
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Chapter 2: The Progression
Chromatic Progressions
Using Chromatic Chords
“Chroma” means “color.” When you think of chromaticism in
music, think of color, because this is what we’ll use it for. Certainly
those diatonic “money chords” have been the basis for great
records all throughout the history of pop, but we often want to
stretch more and add some color to our beats.
Yes, there are rules in music theory, and we’re going to “break”
some of them. It’s important to remember that almost any
chromatic chord can be explained and justified with a high level of
music theory knowledge. But since we want to use this course to
have fun and create, we’re not going to get bogged down in all the
technicalities. In this class, you can use any chord you want, so
long as you can name the chord you are using (for instance, Gm,
Eb7, etc.). If you’re interested in the theory behind what we’re
doing, just ask your instructor, and he or she will help you wrap
your head around what’s going on.
The chromatic scale contains all the notes within the octave, not
just those that might appear in a major or minor scale. Therefore,
when we talk about chromatic chords, we’re talking about chords
that use any of the notes in the octave--not just the ones in the
major or minor scale.
Borrowed Chords
Eminem, “My Name Is” - http://spoti.fi/MMA3eB
Eminem’s “My Name Is” is not a diatonic chord progression, but it
surely sounds pretty cool.8 Each time the beat comes back around
to the F major chord, you feel a definite sense of reaching tonic. As
long as you are accomplishing this type of musical progression,
you’re good. But why?
Let’s talk about the key of F major. The F Major chord is I, and the
key signature has only one flat: Bb. If this progression was all
diatonic to F Major, the progression might look and sound
something like this:
8
The progression and bass line for “My Name Is” is a sample from Labi’ Siffre’s “I Got The...” from 1975. The sample starts at the 2:09 mark.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 2: The Progression
I is in the key of F major. Great!
Next we have G major. As you can see, if we stayed only in the
key of F, this chord should be G minor, spelled G-Bb-D. Instead, we
have G major, spelled G-B-D. This chord is chromatic, and exists
outside the key. It makes the progression more interesting by
using a chord from somewhere else--from some other key. But
from where?? We can’t really talk too much about where this G is
coming from, but let’s just say that G may be the V of some other
key. Oh, the suspense! Let’s stick a pin in that and come back to
it later.
However, the progression from the track is not diatonic and uses
chromatic chords. Let’s dig in a little further.
Here is the non-diatonic progression from the tune: F - G - Bb - Ab.
The Bb major chord is easy to understand. It’s IV in the key of F
major. This is a diatonic chord.
The progression winds up on Ab. In the key of F major, we should
see the chord, A minor; instead we see the chord changing quality
(minor to major) but also starting on a root that’s not even in the
key! Ab major is spelled Ab-C-Eb: definitely a chromatic chord!
This Ab chord is specifically called a borrowed chord because we
have borrowed it from somewhere near and dear to F Major. Are
borrowed chords from a parallel universe?!
This particular progression is using a “borrowed chord.” The Ab is
called borrowed a chord because while this chords doesn’t exist in
the F Major scale, this chord does exist in the F minor scale.
We’re switching back and forth between F major and F minor. In
“My Name Is”, the Ab is borrowed from F Minor. That’s totally fair
game. Sweet. F major and F minor are called “parallel keys.”
Don’t believe me? Check it on the next page:
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 2: The Progression
Tension and Release
F Major Scale
F (Natural) Minor Scale
Why it Works
The thing to take away from this concept is that changing the
expected notes or chords by a half step (or sometimes a whole
step) can lead you to some pretty cool progressions. So when you
go to write your progressions, know that you can borrow chords
from the parallel minor key (or major key if your progression is
already in a minor key) of whatever key you’re in. Booyah!
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
The whole point of making beats is to evoke a response. When
you get a great groove going, it should make people want to move
-- fast, slow, and everything in between. But you’re also looking for
an emotional response; do you want your beat to make people feel
happy? How about anxious, sad, or joyful?
We’re also looking to provide some motion in your beats. Your
choice of harmonic content will always propel the harmonic
progression forward--or intentionally hold it back. Having a good
grip on how to control harmonic progression gives you a definite
advantage over simply plunking out chords and hoping it sounds
good.
Tension and Release. You already know this term with your ears;
you’ve heard songs in all genres that seem to ebb and flow
perfectly, that are arranged flawlessly to propel you to an emotional
and physical response. For the most part, great music builds this
tension in the listeners’ ears, and then provides some sort of
release, revelation, rest, or more excited energy.
Much of the tension and release will be provided through your
harmonic progression, but there are plenty of other ways which
you can and should use:
Texture - Texture is the mixture of different musical elements in
place in music. We can create texture by increasing or decreasing
different types of sounds, in differing octaves, to create a more
complex or a less complex aural pattern. This can also includes
changes in instrumental rhythms.
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Chapter 2: The Progression
Dynamics - This is how loud and soft the music gets. This is more
prevalent in live situations, where the instrumentalists have control
over their volume. However, it’s standard in the music industry to
employ Dynamic Range Compression, which equalizes the volume
of the music, making loud sounds softer, and amplifying softer
sounds. While this is a common practice, some audiophiles and
musicians argue against it because of peaking, clipping, and the
loss of dynamics within the music itself. Much of the tension and
release which was formerly achieved through dynamics is now
achieved through textural changes, which are not affected by
compression.
Harmonic Rhythm - Harmonic Rhythm refers to how quickly the
chords are going by. Many beats and pop tunes utilize one chord
per measure, however, manipulating the number of chords per
measure can increase or decrease tension.
Instrumental Builds - Percussion moving from quarter notes to
eighth notes, bass lines which become more rhythmically
complex, and guitar and keyboard riffs all create tension which
usually resolves into release.
Whew!! And we’ve only just started! We’ll get into the other three
components of beat making (the bass, the hook, and the ear
candy) later in this book, but hopefully you can already see that just
with the first two components (the groove and the progression) you can get some nice sounds happening.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 2: The Progression
Try these progressions in your own beats!
Starting on the I chord...
i - iv - v - I (borrowed)
Starting on the vi chord...
vi - ii - V - I
“Turn on the Lights” by Future (A)
“In the Waiting Line” by Zero 7 (Cm)
I - V - vi - IV
“I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz (B)
I - vi - IV - V
vi - IV - I - V
“Whistle” by Flo Rida (C)
“Beautiful” by Akon (Eb)
“Eeenie Meenie” by Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber (Db)
“Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys” (A)
vi - V - iii - IV
i - VI - VII - I (borrowed)
“Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (G)
“Some Chords” by Deadmau5 (G#m)
Starting on the IV chord...
IV - I - vi - iii
“Coming Home” by Diddy (D)
IV - V - I - vi
“Viva La VIda” by Coldplay (Ab)
IV - V - iii - vi
“Titanium” (Chorus) by David Guetta (Eb)
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 2: The Progression
Food for Thought: Progression Questions
Now that we’ve examined what aspects make up the progression in making a beat, take a listen through the tracks from the listening playlist
and ask yourself these questions:
1. Try to play along with some of the tracks from the listening. Can you find some of
the chords on your keyboard?
2. Which of the progressions in the listening list are diatonic? Which are chromatic?
3. What sorts of textures and dynamics are used in the songs to create the sense of
tension and release?
4. Are there instruments used in these progressions that you feel work better for
certain types of beats? If so, what are they and why?
5. What is the relationship of the progression to the bass line?
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 3: The Bass
Chapter 3: The Bass
Listening List - http://spoti.fi/OCrDJW
We’ve just spent the last several pages talking about the groove
and the progression in a beat. These are all well and good, and you
can do a lot with just these two components, but as you’re
probably feeling by now there’s just something missing. What we
need to add now is some bottom end to our beat!
However, we can’t deny how the bass informs our aural perception
of the harmony of a song. Let’s look at why this happens.
Let’s take a I chord in the key of Bb. It is spelled Bb-D-F. In root
position, the Bb will be in the bass and will look like the first chord
on the on a piano staff below. But if I drop that bass note down by
a 3rd but leave all the notes the same above it, what chord am I
now spelling? The new chord is spelled G-Bb-D-F and that makes a
nice, mellow G minor 7 chord. Check it out:
In this chapter we’re going to discuss how the bass functions in
your beat, a few different types of bass lines, and then we’ll look at
how to write some good bass lines by looking at some examples
of some great bass lines in music.
How the Bass Functions
The bass serves many different functions in music. From root
movement to bass hooks, the bass is a force to be reckoned with!
The three primary functions of the bass we’re going to explore are
the harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic functions. Let’s unpack each
of these to give you a better understanding of how each function
differs in some of the popular music you’re already used to
hearing.
Harmonic Functions of the Bass
The bass plays one of the most important roles in music: it
communicates the tonality of any given chord. This means that our
ears tend to hear the bass note as the root of a chord and
whatever harmony gets laid out on top of the bass is heard in
reference to that bass note. Now, this doesn’t mean that the bass
only plays the roots of chords, in fact it’s often quite opposite!
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Just by altering the bass note, we’ve radically changed what chord
the listener thinks they’re hearing! We’ve gone from a very stable
tonic chord to a less stable vi7 chord. Also, just by moving the
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Chapter 3: The Bass
bass note we’ve created a new 7th chord with more color to it
than just the basic triad.
primary roles of the bass is to correctly communicate what chords
we’re hearing.
Ok, now let’s see what happens if we move the bass note up by a
third (instead of down). For our example, we’ll start with a 7th
chord.
Many songs feature bass lines that don’t do much beyond just
giving us the roots of the chords in a progression.
“Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley
Once again we’ve changed what the listener hears as the chord
progression. That’s some serious kung fu!
As you can imagine, bass players have a lot of say in the harmonic
structure! The bass, therefore, plays a vital role in determining the
perception of any given chord, and because of this, one of
the
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MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Chapter 3: The Bass
Check out the bass part in the example above from Gnarls
Barkley’s “Crazy.”
It’s an incredibly simple bass line, it hangs out on just the root
notes of each chord, and has very little going on, rhythmically, but
it perfectly fits the song! Notice how the bass part is not too busy?
It’s hard to go wrong with a bass line that clearly communicates
the roots of the chord.
If you’re not careful, your roots-only bass line can come off a little
boring, so it’s ok to mix it up a little to keep things interesting.
returning to the root of the next chord. This is totally cool and can
add a lot of melodic interest to your line (but we’ll explore melody,
specifically, later in the chapter).
Word of caution: if the rest of your beat isn’t doing much, and your
bass line is just hanging out on roots all day, you run the risk of
making a boring jam. You have to balance what the other elements
are doing and make your bass line work in conjunction with the
groove and progression.
For some other examples of bass lines that function primarily
harmonically, check out the tunes listed below.
Check out the bass line below from “Heartless” by Kanye West.
“Heartless” by Kanye West
“Coming Home”
Diddy-Dirty Money
“The Edge of Glory”
Lady Gaga
“Gangsta’s Paradise”
Coolio
“Say My Name”
Destiny’s Child
The Bass and Chord Inversions
As mentioned previously, the bass plays a vital role in helping to
determine what chord we’re hearing, and it does this primarily
when the bass note is perceived as the root of a chord. However,
there are many times when the bass note of a chord isn’t the root
but is instead another note from the chord. When this happens, we
say the chord is in an inversion. The cool thing is, any note of a
specific chord can act as the base note! We just have to be careful
of how and when we use it.
There are three chord positions when we’re dealing chords made
up of at least 3 chord tones: root position, first inversion, second
inversion.
Even though the bass line hangs out on the roots most of the time
in this track, it does jump up at the end of each measure
before
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 3: The Bass
When we write the chord symbol, we indicate the inversion with a
slash “/”. The first letter represents the chord itself as if it were in
root position, and the second letter of the symbol represents the
bass note.
Check out the following example that shows a Bb chord spaced
out across a grand staff. Note how even though the top voices are
moving around in various chord tones, that it’s the bass note that
tells us what the inversion is!
A G major chord with the 3rd of the chord in the bass is said to be
in first inversion and the chord symbol would be “G/B.” Likewise,
if the 5th of the chord is in the bass, the chord symbol would be
written as “G/D.”
The diagram below illustrates the different inversions in a closely
voiced G chord as well as the different chord symbols.
When we look at chords that are not in a close voicing (as most
music is by the time it gets spread across different instruments
and textures), it’s important to keep in mind that the rules of
inversions still apply. Basically, you can have just about any
iteration of the chord in the upper voices, but the bass note alone
determines that chord’s inversion.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Remember how earlier in Chapter 2 how we talked about root
movement? We can use inversions to help create smoother bass
lines when chord progressions are made up of chords with root
movement greater than a 2nd.
Let’s look at the root movement example from Chapter 2.
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Chapter 3: The Bass
note that the chord is build upon. You can always see what the root
of a chord is by looking at the chord symbol. With inverted chords,
the root is always the symbol before the slash. When the chord is
is root position, the root and the bass note are the same, but when
a chord is in an inversion, the root is found elsewhere in the
voicing. Check out the Eb chord in 2nd inversion below.
root motion
of a 4th
root motion
of a 3rd
root motion
of a 4th
root motion
of a 5th
Watch what happens when we implement inversions to help
create a smoother, stepwise motion to our bass line:
Eb = Root
Bb = Bass Note
Guidelines for Harmonic Bass Lines
Here are some quick guidelines to help you write some good,
harmonic bass lines. Keep in mind, these are just guidelines, and
not hard and fast rules. If your beat works by bending some of
these, then good on you!
1. Try to play the root of the chord on the downbeat of every
measure.
Note: even though the bass line has changed, it’s important to
remember that the root movement of the chords hasn’t changed!
The bass is the lowest note in your progression, but the root is
the
2. Keep your bass line rhythm to to relatively simple, repeated
rhythmic patterns.
3. Don’t deviate from the root for more than one beat at a time.
4. Quarter notes and whole notes are your friend!
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MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Chapter 3: The Bass
Melodic Functions of the Bass
Even though the bass usually plays a harmonic role in musical
arrangements, there are many times it takes center stage and
become the main melodic force in a tune. Many times, the bass
line is elevated beyond a secondary, harmonic role and plays actual
melodic lines.
The bass line for “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson is one of the
most iconic bass lines in all of pop music. It’s a very simple, linear
lick that moves around the F#, but it sure is memorable. It’s easily
one of the main melodic devices in the song, but it isn’t really the
main hook (Michael Jackson sings the songs main hook in the
chorus). Nonetheless, this bass line is made of win.
If you’re wanting to write a melodic bass line, try to think of your
bass line as carrying the “hook” (main melody) of the song, but
that doesn’t mean you can’t have a hook elsewhere in your track.
“Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson
Here is the grandaddy of all hip-hop bass hooks: “Rapper’s
Delight” by Sugarhill Gang that features a bass line from “Good
Times” by Chic. It’s instantly recognizable and is foreshadowing
the heavy use of sampled material in hip-hop and pop music.9
“Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang
Bass Riffs
Funk and disco frequently incorporate melodic bass lines due to
the riff-based, dance style of the genres. A “riff” is a short,
melodic and rhythmic fragment that gets repeated several times
while the rest of the song arrangement plays off of this riff. Listen
to “Brick House” by The Commodores and “Stayin’ Alive by the
Bee Gees. These are both great examples of melodic bass riffs
that work under all the chords in the main hook, and are extremely
catchy! In both of these examples, the bass hook is dropped
during some of the song sections to give the listener a little break
from it only to have it return again!
9
The site, http://www.whosampled.com, calls itself “the ultimate database of sampled music, remixes, and cover songs” and has an in-depth exploration behind samples and their usage. The site spans multiple
artists and genres. Warning: be prepared to lose several hours of sleep poking around this site!
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 3: The Bass
“Brick House” by The Commodores
questions you need to ask yourself as you’re looking to write more
melodic bass lines.
Guidelines for Melodic Bass Lines
Here are some quick guidelines to help you write some good,
rhythmic bass lines. Keep in mind, these are just guidelines, and
not hard and fast rules. If your beat works by bending some of
these, then good on you!
“Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees
1. Use shorter, riff-based melodic “hooks.”
2. Your bass melody should work under all of the chords in the
progression
3. Take a break from your hook to give your listener a rest from it
for a little while. Then, when it returns your listeners will be
glad it’s back!
Below are a handful of tracks that feature bass lines that function
as melodies. The bass plays a prominent role all these songs
“Don’t Wanna Go Home”
Jason Derulo
“Fire Burning”
Sean Kingston
“S.O.S”
Rhianna
“The Choice is Yours”
Black Sheep
“Super Freak”
Rick James
“Low Rider”
War
4. You should be able to sing back your bass melody. If you can’t
then chances are it’s not quite the hook you’re hoping it is.
Memorable, singable lines are what it’s all about!
We’re going to talk much more about how to craft melodies and
hooks in the next chapter, but for now just ask yourself these
questions: is your bass line catchy? Could you sing it back? Does
it work with all of your chords in your progression? These are
all
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MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Chapter 3: The Bass
Rhythmic Functions of the Bass
So we’ve discussed what a bass line looks like in the harmonic role
of your beat, but that’s not all it can do. Often, the bass will provide
a rhythmic function to the music along with a harmonic function.
Your bass line can communicate as much about the groove as the
drums themselves!
Rhythmic bass lines come in two flavors: 1) the bass line syncs up
in conjunction with the kick and adds tonal/harmonic support to the
drums, and 2) the bass line adds extra rhythmic mojo to the overall
musical texture.
Locking in with the Kick
Very often, rhythmic bass lines will line up almost exactly with the
kick drum. This is true in so much of popular music from hip-hop
to indie rock, because drummers and bassists have always run in
lock step. It’s no wonder this carries over in electronic music
production and beat making.
Check out the bass line from “Refill” by Elle Varner.
some things you notice about the bass line?
“Refill” by Elle Varner
What are
One of the first things that should pop out to you right away is how
the bass is locked in so closely with the kick that it actually
becomes the kick pattern! The bass sound has a slight “click” to
its attack so it sounds like a kick drum sound, but the bass line has
become the kick itself in this track. Pretty neat trick.
It’s not uncommon for bass lines that lock in with the kick to be
pretty straight-forward, harmonically; meaning, you’ll often find
these kinds of bass lines playing mostly chord roots with a few
notes bouncing around the harmony.
Check out these other tracks where the bass line and the kick
pattern stay synced up almost exclusively.
“Turn All The Lights On”
T-Pain feat. Ne-Yo
“Mo Money Mo Problems”
Notorious B.I.G.
“Life is Better”
Q-Tip, Norah Jones
The Bass as an Additional Rhythmic Texture
The other way bass lines can by used rhythmically is to have the
bass line actually create an additional rhythm line in the beat.
These usually aren’t locked in with the kick, but instead introduce a
completely new rhythmic idea.
Sometimes it can be tough to hear the bass as a harmonic
instrument when it’s functioning in a purely rhythmic function.
This is because the bass line is almost used as a percussive effect.
It’s not unusual to heard slaps and pops (like in funk and disco), or in the case of electronic music - distorted, heavily synthesized
sound.
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Chapter 3: The Bass
Listen to how the bass is used in “Jump” by Flo Rida. The bass
uses an extremely aggressive synthesizer sound that bends
(portamento) from E1 down to E0 (as seen on a MIDI piano roll). It
looks like this in standard notation:
“Jump” by Flo Rida
Take a listen to these tracks that feature rhythmic bass lines. Note
how the styles range from dubstep and old-school hip-hop to rock
and funk. Rhythmic bass lines are found in many, many styles.
“Scary Monsters and
Nice Sprites” - Skrillex
“The Humpty Dance” “Tommy the Cat” “Shine it On” - Sly and
Digital Underground
Primus
the Family Stone
Guidelines for Rhythmic Bass Lines
Here are some quick guidelines to help you write some good,
rhythmic bass lines. Keep in mind, these are just guidelines, and
not hard and fast rules. If your beat works by bending some of
these, then good on you!
Technically, the bass in this example is providing the root of the
larger E major harmony, but it’s the unique use of the bent note
and sawtooth wave synth patch that elevates the line out of a
strictly harmonic role and into a rhythmic function.
There is no other style where this rhythmic effect technique is as
recognizable and wide-spread as in dubstep. The archetypal “wubwub” wobble bass sound becomes an entity of its own and single
handedly gives dubstep it’s unique, distinctive sound. And it’s
crazy popular right now. For better or worse, Skrillex has become
the mainstream face of dubstep. Before you start sending in your
hate mail, I know that many hardcore dubsteppers don’t consider
Skrillex a dubstep artist (and he would probably hate the
delineation), but let’s face it, he’s become the poster-child dubstep
needed to press into public consciousness. Don’t be a hater. Be a
celebrator!
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
1. If you’re wanting to support the drums, lock in your bass line
with your kick pattern.
2. If you’re wanting to create additional rhythmic textures, make
sure your new bass rhythms are complimenting your groove
and not stepping all over it.
3. Don’t overuse a rhythmic effect (like pitch bends, slaps, or
pops). Too much and it could take away from the uniqueness
of the effect or you could end up with a track that just sounds
like a bunch or random sounds with no real musical cohesion.
4. Spread the love because leaps are your friend! Stretching out
your bass notes to intervals of fifths and octaves can do a lot
to create very interesting rhythmic lines.
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Chapter 3: The Bass
Types of Bass Lines
Now that we’ve discussed the ways bass lines function in music,
let’s look at how we write bass lines. There are two types of bass
lines commonly found in much of music: linear and non-linear bass
lines. There is also a 3rd type that defies categorization, so I’ve
included it here as well. Let’s look, shall we?
Linear Bass Lines
When we refer to music that is “linear,” what we’re talking about
is music that moves in primarily stepwise motion (intervals of a
2nd) with few leaps.
This song ‘s hook features a simple, ascending linear bass line that
walks up straight up a G blues scale (minus the C#, or a.k.a. G
minor pentatonic). There’s no great mystery here. It’s about as
linear as it gets!
Now look at Deee-Lite’s “Groove is in the Heart.” This song
features an extremely catchy bass hook that could just as easily
been discussed in the melodic function section of this chapter!
The bass line is a two bar riff that is primarily linear in bar 1 ending
on D that leaps up a 7th to a Cb in the second bar, continuing its
linear motion.
“Groove is in the Heart” by Deee-Lite
One way to use linear motion in your bass line is when you are
moving between and connecting roots in your progression. When
writing, try to keep your chord tones on the strong beats (beats 1
and 3 in 4/4 time) and put your linear, connecting lines on the
weaker beats with non-chord tones by step (2, 4, and off beats in
4/4 time). Jazz bassists also do this in a technique called “walking
bass.”
Let’s look at a couple of linear bass lines. First is the perennial
wedding party classic, “Cupid Shuffle,” by Cupid.
“Cupid Shuffle” by Cupid
Check out the recordings below and listen to the bass parts. Can
you hear how they all use stepwise motion to connect their lines?
“Give it To Me Baby”
Rick James
“Used to Love U”
“Billie Jean”
John Legend
Michael Jackson
“Pork Chops & Pasta”
Jack McDuff
Remember, not every single note has to be stepwise to be
considered linear. It is the over arching contour and flow of the line
that makes us consider it linear... or not. Speaking of not linear.
What happens when we have bass lines that jump around? Let’s
look at non-linear lines.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 3: The Bass
Non-Linear Bass Lines
Once you get your brain around linear bass lines, non-linear bass
lines are pretty easy to hear and very easy to spot when notated.
Simply put: non-linear bass lines are bass lines that are, in fact, not
linear. This means that you’ll have bass lines with many intervallic
leaps and jumps. This technique can give bass lines a very
disjointed sound - and that’s not a bad thing when done properly.
Now examine Flea’s syncopated bass line the “Give It Away” by
The Red Hot Chili Peppers. You can see how the bass part leaps
up and down the staff. These leaps, coupled with alternating
between long and short articulations really reinforces the disjointed
nature of non-linear lines.
“Give It Away” by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Non-linear bass lines are all over funk and disco. Check out the
bass line to “Disco Inferno” by the Trammps. This is a pretty
standard bass groove found in many disco tracks. Note how the
bass part pops up to the G throughout the first three bars of the
phrase before ending ending the line on a “walking” octave leaping
lick - yet another technique common to disco bass lines.
“Disco Inferno” by the Trammps
Below are more examples of non-linear bass lines. Listen to how
the bass parts jump around and create non-connected phrases.
“All Tied Up”
Robin Thicke
“Sun Toucher”
Groove Aramada
“Get Up”
James Brown
“Feelin’ Single”
R. Kelly
Pedal Bass
The pedal bass is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to bass lines.
As we discussed previously, your bass line supports the harmonic
structure and rhythmic motion of your beat. What happens when
your bass line doesn’t support the harmonic structure, but instead
camps out on one note while the progression happens above it?
I’m sure you’ve heard this many times. This is called a pedal tone
(or pedal point). What makes this work is how the listener is able
to hear both tonalities at once - the sustained pedal note and the
changing chord on top (even if they’re dissonant).
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 3: The Bass
Listen to the bass line from “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” by
Michael Jackson. The chord progression is alternating between an
A major and B major. B is not a chord tone under the A chord, but
is instead, a pedal tone.
the bass even though the Db is not a chord tone of F minor? I
suppose we could analyze the Db as a chord tone and we’d end up
with that second chord as a D major 7, but our ears hear that
second chord as a changing chord, not as a restatement of tonic.
Listen for yourself!
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
“It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over” by Lenny Kravitz
Pedal Riffs
While pure, bonafide pedal tones are not all that common, you’re a
lot more likely to encounter pedal riffs. As we discussed in the
melodic functions section, riffs are repeated licks that the rest of
the music plays off of. Pedal riffs are bass riffs that repeat while
the harmony above it changes. These riffs are more than just one
note repeated and often have melodic contour and shape like most
bass riffs.
Here are a few other songs that contain pedal points.
“Lose Yourself”
Eminem
“Dancing Queen”
Abba
“Jump”
Van Halen
“Living for the City”
Stevie Wonder
Check out the pedal riff used in Lenny Kravitz’s “It Ain’t Over ‘Til
It’s Over.” The phrase used in the hook is a 4 bar phrase with a Db
pedal point under the first three measures. See how even though
the chord in the second bar is an F minor, the Db still “works”
in
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MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Chapter 3: The Bass
So there it is. The three main functions of bass lines and the way
bass lines are composed. Keep in mind that most songs don’t just
keep to one kinds of bass line throughout the whole tune. Often,
they will incorporate one type of bass line that functions one way
in the verse then switch to another type of line functioning in
another way for the chorus.
• Try layering different bass patches to create a fatter bass
sound. You can simply copy the same MIDI data to both
tracks. For example: take a low, sine wave bass (for bottom
end) and layered in with a “clicky” bass synth (for attack). Do
be careful not to peak out your tracks.
By mixing up these bass functions and you can help to elevate
your beat to a whole new level. As you’re writing grows, you
should always be looking for new ways to incorporate these
different ideas. Experiment. Try it out! If something’s not
working, then switch it up!
A Quick Word on Bass Sounds
So we’ve talked a great deal about how to write bass parts, but
let’s take a few minutes to talk about what sound you should be
using in your beats. You have a few choices when you’re looking
find that perfect bass sound:
• If your track is more of an old-school jam with sampled funky
drums, then you could use an electric bass sound, or a patch
that sounds more like an actual bass player.
• If your drums are more electronic sounding, then you could
use an electronic bass sound.
• Experiment with a bass sound that is derived from a pure sine
wave. Be sure to have good monitors or headphones that
can push out those low, sub frequencies.
• The more synths are in the other parts of the arrangement,
the more likely a synth-type bass will work.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 3: The Bass
Food for Thought: Bass Line Questions
Now that we’ve examined what aspects make up the bass line in beat making, take a listen through the tracks from this chapter’s listening
playlist and ask yourself these questions:
1. Do some of these tracks have bass lines that function in harmonically and
rhythmically? Melodically and harmonically? Rhythmically and melodically? All
three?
2. Does one genre tend towards a certain bass function (harmonic, melodic,
rhythmic)? If so, why do you think that is?
3. Does one type of bass sound work better for these different bass functions?
4. Does one genre tend towards a type of bass line (linear, non-linear)? If so, why do
you think that is?
5. What are some of the bass sounds used in the listening list? Are they synth
sounds or more “live” bass player sounds? Why do you think the producers chose
these bass sounds?
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 4: The Hook
Chapter 4: The Hook
Listening List - http://spoti.fi/OcIVxV
So we’ve just spent the last three chapters talking about the
foundational elements to the beat. The groove, progression, and
bass line give us the groundwork to now start to have some real
fun. Although your track can be very successful just having those
first three elements, sometimes it’s just not enough. These final 2
chapters are what really helps to give your beat its individual
character.
About The Hook
What is The Hook?
Since this is a textbook, here’s a nice textbook definition for you:
Hook (ho͝ok): a chorus or repeated instrumental
passage in a piece of popular music that gives it
immediate appeal and makes it easy to remember.10
Stated another way, the hook is the primary melodic device in a
song that gives a song its most memorable musical idea.
The hook is called “hook’ because it needs to grab you and get its
hooks into your ear. The German word for the hook is “Ohrwurm.”
Literally translated this means “ear worm.” Yeah, that’s kind of a
disturbing image, but that’s what it really is: a musical motif that
gets stuck in your head. All good hooks have this quality.
10
There are a couple of different types of hooks in music so let’s take
a look at two of them.
The Vocal Hook
Take a second to think of any pop song and try to think of the
melody that comes to mind right away? Most pop and R&B songs
feature a vocal hook, or a main chorus likely to incorporate the
song title. We could fill this entire book exploring all the pop and
R&B songs with memorable hooks, but chances are if you’ve
heard it on the radio, it had a hook (and having a good hook is part
of what got it on the radio to begin with). Take, for instance,
“Rehab” by Amy Winehouse. As tragic as Ms. Winehouse’s story
is (and oddly prophetic this song has become), you simply can’t
deny how catchy this song’s main chorus is! And that’s the main
thing - catchy is the name of the game with hooks. Your hook has
to be catchy.
In hip-hop, the usage of vocal hooks isn’t necessarily the same as
in pop music. One difference is that in hip-hop, the vocal hook is
typically sung by a featured artist that is not the main artist/rapper.
An example of this is from a song we’ve already explored in this
book: Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind”. This song’s chorus features
a vocal hook sung by Alicia Keys and doesn’t really contain any
melodic ideas from the verses. Another interesting example of this
is “Gold Digger” by Kanye West. This track features Jamie Foxx
singing an opening chorus hook in the style of Ray Charles. It
almost sounds like a Ray Charles sample from the song, “I’ve Got
a Woman”, but upon closer listening the opening lyric have been
changed from Charles’ “she gives me money when I’m in need”
to Foxx’s “she take my money when I’m in need.” It sounds like a
sample, but it’s not. Man, Jamie Foxx sounds exactly like Ray
New Oxford American Dictionary, 3rd edition, (NY, Oxford University Press, Inc. 2010), s.v. “hook.”
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 4: The Hook
Charles! The rest of the song does indeed incorporate a sample
from the Ray Charles’ original.
Speaking of samples, often, hooks in hip-hop will be vocals hooks
sampled from another song. As we hear in in “Stan” by Eminem,
this song features the a vocal hook by Dido from her song, “Thank
You”. Interestingly, the hook Eminem uses is actually the first
verse from Dido’s song and not the song’s chorus (which is far
more upbeat and positive than Eminem’s track). Another song that
uses a vocal pop hooks is “Whatcha Say” by Jason Derulo. This
track incorporates a sample of Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek”.
On the flip side, it’s not unusual to have pop tunes featuring rap
sections in a pseudo, hip-hop breakdown. Artists like R.E.M.,
Michael Jackson, Maroon 5, and Katy Perry have all released pop
singles with a rap section. And since there are so many hip-hop
elements in much of pop music (and as genres repeatedly blur
together) this is less of a novelty as it may have once been in the
earlier days of hip-hop.
Check out some good vocal hooks from these pop songs.
“Party in the USA”
Miley Cyrus
“Stronger”
Kanye West
“Stereo Hearts”
Gym CLass Heroes
“I Gotta Feeling”
The Black Eyed Peas
“Party Rock Anthem”
LMFAO
“We Are Young”
Fun.
“Somebody That I
Used to Know”
Gotye
“Just the Way
You Are”
Bruno Mars
“Im Yours”
Jason Mraz
“Umbrella”
Rihanna
DJ Got Us Fallin’
In Love” - Usher
You will talk much more about vocal hooks late in your Songwriting
and Development course.
The Instrumental Hook
There is another kind of hook we find in hip-hop, electronic, and
pop music and they are somewhat different than the vocal hooks
we’ve been discussing. As we said previously, vocal hooks are
melodies that reinforce the main main melodic motif of the song in
a chorus. What if your music has no lyrics? What if you have a
rapper who just flows on top of your beat? How do we include
those ohrwurms to the song? We still want catchy, musical ideas,
so we need to look elsewhere.
Instead of vocal hooks, we can incorporate short, instrumental
melodic fragments that we’ll call instrumental hooks. These have
the same function of vocal hooks in that they are catchy melodies
designed to stick in your ear, but the difference is they are meant
to be woven into and throughout your track, and don’t have lyrics
associated with them. The function is the same, just the delivery
is different than vocal hooks.
Take a listen to “Get Ur Freak On” by Missy Elliott. This song
features s simple, six note melody performed on a tumbi,11 a onestringed guitar-like folk instrument from the Indian region of
Punjab.12 Although repetitive, it certainly is catchy.
11
Check out this video for an authentic tumbi being played.
12
“500 Greatest Songs of All Time, 466: Missy Elliott, ‘Get Ur Freak on.” Rolling Stone (online). <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407>
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
“Rolling in the Deep”
Adele
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Chapter 4: The Hook
“Get Ur Freak On” by Missy Elliott instrumental hook
Note how the melody changes by one note on the and of 2 in
measure 4. It’s a small detail, but it makes a difference by adding
just a slight aspect of tension to the melodic contour.
Let’s look at another. We’ve heard the instrumental hook before
used in “Real Girl” by Mutya Buena. Do you remember what song
it’s from?
“Real Girl” by Mutya Buena instrumental hook
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
One primary difference you’ll notice with instrumental hooks
versus vocal hooks is how short instrumental hooks can be. This is
because most instrumental hooks are repeated through the song
and the shorted the hook, the easier it can be to implement. Let’s
look at an incredibly short, yet catchy instrumental hook:
“Yeah” by Usher, Instrumental Hook
This two measure hook only contains 3 different notes: G, D, and
Eb. It’s played using a pretty generic trance strings synth patch,
but what is it that makes the instrumental hook form “Yeah” by
Usher so darn catchy?
First, it’s extremely singable and
memorable. The beauty is in its simplicity. Secondly, while
generic sounding, the trance strings patch does stand out in the
overall mix. Thirdly, by creating a melody with a simple contour,
there is an overarching feeling of tension and release that is a
standard melodic device. By going up to the Eb then resolving back
again, we have a sense (albeit it a short sense) of having gone
somewhere and returned, melodically.
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Chapter 4: The Hook
a way that regardless of what chord it is over, it still sounds like it’s
in the same key. That doesn’t mean every note of your hook has
to be a chord tone with every possible chord.
Again, we’ll talk about melodic contour a little bit later.
It should be noted that obviously it’s not just the instrumental hook
that made this a platinum single for Usher. There are a lot of other
things happening in this track (Usher, LiL’ Jon, Ludacris help a lot!),
but hopefully you can see that it doesn’t take a long, meandering
melody to make an instrumental hook work.
The whistled instrumental hook used in Maroon 5’s “Moves Like
Jagger” works throughout the entire song. Don’t believe me? Try
whistling it through the whole song and you’ll discover it for
yourself.
“Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5, Instrumental Hook
Here’s another great instrumental hook. The flute hook from
Beastie Boys’ “Sure Shot” is from a jazz tune called “Howling for
Judy” by flautist, Jeremy Steig. The lick is a simple melody built
around an Eb blues scale.
“Sure Shot” by The Beastie Boys, Instrumental Hook
This is another good example of a short, repetitive hook that is
extremely memorable.
This type of hook is very reminiscent of the bass riffs we
discussed in the previous chapter.
Some songs contain both a vocal hook and an instrumental hook
that are both equally as catchy and often overlap with each other.
Take a listen to “So What” by P!nk. The main vocal hook is the
chorus, but check out the instrumental hook that leads off the
track. She then turns that hook into the verse melody.
Keep in mind that your instrumental hook need to work with all the
chords in your track. It’s important that you craft your hook in
such
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MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Chapter 4: The Hook
“So What” by P!nk, Instrumental Hook (Verse Melody)
In today’s electronic music, many artists blur the line between
vocal and instrumental sounds. Some artists use the voice as an
instrumental texture and not as a means to deliver lyrics. The
wobble bass found in dubstep sometimes utilizes a processed
vocalization to create its signature sound. In these cases, the
voice is being treated like an instrument - a means to create
musical notes and timbre, not deliver words. Listen to the vocal
treatment in “Untrust Us” by Crystal Castles. While you can
clearly tell these are vocalizations, they are no real lyrics.
Take a listen to the instrumental hooks in these other songs. Try
not to focus on the vocal hook, but rather the instrumental melody.
“Viva La Vida”
Cold Play
“Fantasy”
Mariah Carey
“SexyBack”
Justin Timberlake
“Promiscuous”
Nelly Furtado
“Toxic”
Britney Spears
“Extreme Ways”
Moby
“Forever”
Chris Brown
“Eple”
Röyksopp
“Low”
Flo Rida
“Call Me Maybe”
Carly Rae Jepsen
“SOS”
Rihanna
“Collide”
Leona Lewis
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Principles of Writing Hooks
Now that we’ve talked about what the different types of hooks are,
and how they function in music, let’s now look at how we can
create our own. Since our primary focus here in this text is beat
making, we’re going to focus on instrumental hooks and the
melodic concepts for putting them together; however, these
melodic writing principles apply whether you’re writing a 4 beat
instrumental hook, or a sprawling vocal melody for a power
ballad... or symphony!
We’re going to break down melodic writing into a few specific
components. All of these elements go into creating a good hook
for your song. The elements are: Range, Motion, Contour,
Phrasing, and Note Choice. Some of these components
you’re likely to have encountered before in your studies here.
Range
When we talk about the range of a melody, we’re talking about
how low and how high the melody goes in pitch. A single note
melody isn’t often all that great (although there are exceptions),
so we want our hook to move around a bit.
Let’s take a closer look at the instrumental (whistled) hook
from “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5. What’s the lowest
note? The
highest?
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Chapter 4: The Hook
“Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5
Motion
We’ve talked about motion before when talking about bass lines.
when we discussed linear and non-linear lines. Similarly, melodic
motion is dealing with whether or not your melody is moving by
steps or leaps. A good melody will have a healthy mix of motion
by steps and motion by leaps, but in general, melodies have utilize
more stepwise motion than leaps.
Let’s take a look at the instrumental hook from the 80’s classic hit,
“Take on Me” by a-ha. What kind of motion can you identify?
After examining this melody, we can see this
hook has a range of B below middle C (B3,
according to ASA pitch designations13) to B in
the treble clef (B4). We’d call this a one
octave range. In general, hooks tend to have
ranges of one octave or less since hooks with greater ranges can
be a more difficult to sing along to, and remember, we’re wanting
to create singable hooks!
“Take on Me” by a-ha
Look at some of the other hooks outlined in this chapter. What are
their ranges? Notice a pattern? Coincidence?!?
“Sure Shot” by The Beastie Boys, Instrumental Hook
The melody in the opening measure is moving by leaps after the
initial repeated note and it is simply outlining the Bm triad. The E
at the end of the measure is a melodic note that is anticipating the
next chord!
13
Many different DAWs use a different pitch designations for us in their piano rolls. For example, Logic Pro and ProTools have different designations for middle C.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 4: The Hook
Contour
If we were to string all this motion together into one continuous
line, we would begin to get a larger, clearer picture of the over all
contour of our melody. It would look like this:
The last notes of the second measure are stepwise that lead to the
B on the and of 4 before resolving to the A chord tone in the 3rd
measure.
A quick leaping motion returns after the repeated A notes before
the hook finishes of in stepwise motion.
Climbing up or descending down an arpeggio of a chord in your
progression is a great way to travel up and down a melody.
However, we do have to be careful about overdoing leaps in our
melody since too many and it becomes hard to sing and therefore
hard to remember.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
When writing our hooks, we want to ensure that our melodies
have some shape and contour to them. That means we need to
find smooth ways to get from our lowest notes to our highest
notes, creating a feeling of climax and anticipation.
In our “Take on Me” melody, we can see the highest note is B5,
and it’s no surprise that our highest melodic note is right at the
halfway point of our hook. Many hooks’ most important, climactic
moments occur around the halfway point of the melody.
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Chapter 4: The Hook
Phrasing
As we’re developing our hooks and experimenting with melody,
keep in mind that your melody, regardless of how short or simple it
is, is telling a little story. We want to phrase our hooks such that
the melody has a beginning and an end, and they tell their own
tale. Remember, though, that our instrumental hooks are pretty
short, so we don’t have long to tell our melodic story, but we can
still do it!
Let’s Look at “Whistle” by Flo Rida. It’s a catchy, two bar
instrumental (whistle) hook that is very easy to remember.
“Whistle” by Flo Rida, Instrumental (Whistled) Hook
Each measure has a similar rhythm to it
but the contour and shape are a little
different. Let’s call these individual, mini
musical ideas, motifs. This song’s motif
is displayed to the right. Notice how
there are no pitches indicated? That’s because when we think ok
motifs, we boil the idea to its simplest form. This hook is made up
one motif that is repeated twice with the motif contour going from
high to low in the first measure then from low to high in the
second measure.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
By using repeating the motif, but with different contours, we
create a phrasing that has a beginning and an end. Yes, it’s just 2
measures but just changing the contour direction really does tell its
own tale.
Note Choice
As with the other parts of our beat, note choice is very important.
We need melodies that make good use of chord tones, but also
incorporate non-chord tones (NCTs) in strategic places. Generally
speaking, we want to use chord tones on strong beats (down
beats) and use NCTs as a means to travel to and from these chord
tones. There are a laundry list of different types of NCTs that we
won’t delve in to here, but let’s at least look at some NCT usage
from our listening.
Let’s get back to “Take on Me.” by a-ha. We’re going to look at
the melody and take each note and ask ourselves is the note part
of the chord being used int he measure or not. If a melody note is
part of the chord for the measure, then it’s considered a chord
tone. If any melody note is not part of the chord for that measure,
it’s an NCT.
Just remember, that the chord is holding out for the whole
measure and you have to think of the melody notes as they relate
to the chord that’s being held out.
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Chapter 4: The Hook
The first chord in the hook is a Bm (B-D-F#). Are there any notes
that are not part of that chord? The E is an NCT. Hint: this NCT is
anticipating the upcoming chord change! *wink wink*
Let’s look at the next measure. The E major chord is E-G#-B. Any
NCTs? Yep, that A is not part of the chord and therefore it’s a nonchord tone that is passing to another chord tone.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
The third bar has an A major chord in the progression, A-C#-E.
Scan the melodic line, any NCTs? Indeed, that D is not part of the
A major chord and is an NCT.
The last bar of the hook has a D major chord, D-F#-A. And you can
bet we have some several NCTs here with all those E’s.
You should be willing to use NCTs in your own melodies, but notice
how the first note of each measure is a chord tone, and how most
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Chapter 4: The Hook
of the NCTs are in weak beats in the measure (not on downbeats,
or on beats 1 or 3)? Like with using leaps, be careful not to use so
many that you run the risk of making your hook hard to sing back.
Too many NCTs and your melody won’t jive with your chord
progression.
Guidelines for Instrumental Hooks
Here are some quick guidelines to help you write some good,
instrumental hooks. Keep in mind, these are just guidelines, and
not hard and fast rules. If your beat works by bending some of
these ideas, then good on you!
1. Keep your hook short, simple, and repeatable.
2. Make sure your hook is singable. Can you sing back your
hook?
3. Don’t create a hook greater than one octave.
4. Don’t overdo the leaps in your melody.
5. Use NCTs, but don’t overdo it. Keep NCTs to week parts of
the measure.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 4: The Hook
Food for Thought: Hook Questions
Now that we’ve examined what aspects make up the hook in beat making, take a listen through the tracks from this chapter’s listening
playlist and ask yourself these questions:
1. Can you play along with some of the hooks? Do you notice many leaps or are the
melodies primarily step-wise?
2. When songs have both a vocal hook and an instrumental hook, how do the two
hooks interact with each other?
3. Can you sing along with these hooks? What is it is the most memorable aspect of
some of these hooks?
4. Which do you think is more effective, sampled hooks or original hooks? Why?
5. Do any of the hooks have a range greater than an octave?
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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Chapter 5: Ear Candy
Chapter 5: “Ear Candy”
Listening List - http://spoti.fi/Mu8RlF
We’ve spent this entire book talking about the fundamental
components of beat making. The groove, progression, bass line,
and hook are all vital to making your beat work, but there is one
last element we need to explore that will help get your beat from
good to great! What separates the men from the boys (or women
from the girls)? What separates the Youtube wannabes from the
producers making a living at this? What is it that will get your song
to the next level and make it really pop?? Two words: ear candy.
Ear candy is all about the details. It’s all those little added touches
that help elevate you beats to the next level, but it takes time and
practice to really perfect the use of ear candy. Most often, young
producers put in too much candy, and the listener just comes away
with a stomach ache. Too little and it’s not enough, too much and
it can ruin your jam.
Production Effects
Production Effects are effects and processes we can add to an
existing sound source (like and audio track, or midi track) and
should be one of the first and easiest things you can do to your
beat to help lift it out of your laptop and into headphones
everywhere. Most notably, these effects include these mixer and
plug-in fx: compression, delay, distortion, filtering, modulation,
panning and imaging, pitch changing, and reverb.
Production Effects - Compression
Compression is the process of reducing the loud portions of a
sound, thus increasing the quieter portions, and has been around
for quite a long time in audio signal processing.14 There are a lot of
technical aspects to how compression works that we won’t
discuss here, but simply put: compression squashes and flattens
the sound wave of an audio source.
To help get our brains around what Ear Candy is, we’re going to
discuss them in four separate categories: Production Effects,
Percussion, Orchestrations, and Other “Confections”.
Special Note: to delve into the specific techniques for each of these
elements would be beyond the scope of this text. This chapter is
intended to expose you to the various Ear Candy concepts and give
you an understanding of each principle. You will delve much deeper
into the technical aspects of these components later in
your degree.
14
Here is an interesting video that outlines how compression can be used to a detrimental level: http://youtu.be/3Gmex_4hreQ.
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This squashing can be tricky to hear if you’re not used to listening
for it, but check out “Pon de Replay” by Rihanna. Notice how flat
the the opening groove sounds (in terms of the loud and softer
sounds)? This drum groove has been compressed to allow every
sound of the pattern to be equally heard.
Using compression to allow sounds to be better heard is more of a
mixing/mastering technique, but in today’s popular dance music,
compression is being used creatively in to allow certain sounds to
“duck” out of the mix and then allowing other sounds to cut
through. This process is called “side-chaining” - a technique of
taking one sound signal to trigger compression applied to another
sound. In EDM (Electronic Dance Music), composers often take
the kick sound and allow it to tell the compressor when to
compress a synth sound.15 This creates new rhythms that lock in
perfectly with the groove, and is also a great way to allow for a
more aggressive sounding mix, without peaking out everything on
your board.
“Titanium”
David Guetta
“Some Chords”
Deadmau5
“Party All NIght (Sleep All Day)”
Sean Kingston
“Sweat” - Snoop
Dogg, David Guetta
Production Effects - Delay
Delay is a production effect that simply repeats a sound source. It
is a fairly straight-forward effect that can add a lot to your song. It
can create dense rhythmic patterns with very little input, it can add
emphasis to a certain vocal line, or it can add depth to a mix. Delay
is one of those things that is easy to drop in but difficult to master.
There are many different parameters that can be manipulated with
delay such as how fast the repeated sound is (rate), how much of
the original sound we hear (dryness), or the number of times the
sound is repeated (wetness).
Confused? Take a listen to “Hold It Against Me” by Britney Spears.
Hear how the synth sound is only heard on the up beats, opposite
of the kick drum? The producer didn’t play the synth part on the
offbeats, but rather played a sustained sound and let the kick drum
trigger compression that made the synth sound pulse in and out of
the mix. Slick, and insanely popular in EDM.
Check out these other songs for their use of compression:
15
Check out the the delay added to the opening keyboard part of
Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”. The original performance of this part
is composed of one attacked note and is then repeated at a 16th
note delay. Seems easy enough! There’s also delay added to
Check out this tutorial on side-chaining in Logic Pro: http://youtu.be/79kxHsdREz0.
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Perry’s vocal on the word “awake” at the top of the song. Can you
hear the “wake-wake-wake-wake” repeat? She did not actually
sing this, it’s a simple delay effect.
“Fireflies” by Owl City is another good example of incorporating
delay to create a denser rhythmic sound.
We’ve mentioned dubstep in this book already, and it is certainly
no stranger to the use of distortion. By adding distortion to heavy
synth lines, dubstep artists create sharp, cutting bass lines that
sound huge without destroying .
Check out Bassnectar’s
“Timestretch” which features heavily distorted synth bass after
the bitcrushed intro.
Check out the use of delay in these other tracks. They vary from
vocal delays that repeat certain words to instrumental delays that
created a thicker sound.
“3 Kings”
Rick Ross
“Baby Boy”
Sean Paul
“Walk Alone”
The Roots
“Day ‘N’ Nite”
Kid Cudi
Distortion
Distortion is the effect of taking a sound and changing the form of
the signal through overdrive, bitcrushing, or other amplification. It’s
the process of creating intentionally distorted or destroyed sounds.
When applied lightly, distortion can make vocals pop out. Kanye
West frequently applies distortion to his vocals to make them
come out of the mix. Check out “Heartless” (especially at 2:30)
which incorporates light distortion as well as autotuning.
Simple overdrive, like that found in a guitar amp, adds fuzz to a
sound source. Check out the female vocals on “Like a G6” by Far
East Movement. An overdrive type of distortion has been added to
this to create the saw-like, buzzy vocal effect.
Here are some further examples of different types of distortion in
songs:
“Blind Faith”
Chase & Status
“Airplanes”
B.o.B.
“Cherry Wine”
Nas
“Fat Controller”
Squarepusher
Bitcrushing is the process of intentionally created a low-fi, digitally
processed sound. To hear what this sounds like, check out the
instrumental hook in “Bounce” by Calvin Harris.
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Filtering
The production effect of filtering is the process of blocking certain
frequencies or allowing certain frequencies to be heard in a sound.
Image, if you will, dumping boiling spaghetti into a colander. The
water is allowed to pass through the strainer but the noodles stay
behind. This is the same idea behind filtering. We want to block
or allow certain frequencies in the spectrum from passing through
to a final output. Whether you know it or now, you’re very familiar
with the technique of filtering. Every turned up the bass in your
car stereo? Turned down the treble? Well, you were filtering!
EQing is essentially filtering that is applied to an overall sound.
As a production effect, filtering is often used in a moving fashion or
is synced up to the tempo of a song. These filter “sweeps” can
create pretty great effects, as is heard in the opening bars of
“Around the World” by Daft Punk. This track starts off with a LPF
that allows only the low frequencies to cut through. The track’s
filter then sweeps around 0:18 and allows more of the high sounds
to be heard. The same effect is heard in the opening of “Eenie
Meenie” by Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber.
“Harder to Breathe”
Maroon 5
“Poker Face”
Lady Gaga
“Climax”
Usher
“If You See(k) Amy”
Britney Spears
Production Effects - Modulation
Modulation, as it applies to music production, is the process of
altering one or more aspect of a waveform: frequency (pitch),
amplitude (volume), phase
(timing). Some of the most
common types of modulation
effects are chorus, flanger,
and tremolo.
A “high pass” filter (HP or HPF) is a filter that blocks low
frequencies but allows high ones to be heard, whereas a “low
pass” filter (LP or LPF) does the opposite: it blocks high
frequencies and only allows the low ones to pass through.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
Chorus is an effect where
two identical sounds are
played simultaneously with
one of them being “detuned”
a certain amount. This is used
a great deal on vocals and acoustic instruments (and even clean
electric guitar). Check out the chorus guitar in the verses of
Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
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Often times, vocals that sound like they have chorus added to
them are, in fact, vocal lines that have been doubled by the artist
and panned in the mix. When overlapped on top of itself, the
identical timbre of the artist’s voice creates the chorus-type sound.
Check out the chorus guitar in the verses of Nirvana’s “Smells Like
Teen Spirit”. Listen to the vocal hook in “Hypnotize” by The
Notorious B.I.G. that incorporates the doubled vocal effect.
Panning and Imaging
Panning as an effect is the deliberate placement of elements in a
stereo sound field to create a sense of space and depth to a
recording, and producers have been taking advantage of the left
and right sound stage for a long time.
Flanging, is the process of taking two of the identical sounds and
playing them nearly simultaneously - essentially creating a “microdelay.” This is also an effect very similar in sound to phasing, in
which a filter is applied to a sound and introduces new shapes into
the waveform. When these shapes are swept, this creates a
phased effect. Check out “Montreal” by Autechre to hear this
effect in action. Hear the sweeping, up and down overtones right
at the top of this track? These effects are also very prominent in
guitar performances.
Tremolo is the modulation effect of having a sound pulsate in and
out of the sound field. A mono tremolo pulsates from “on and off”
while a stereo tremolo pulsates from left to right in the panning
spectrum. These are features common to vibraphone and electric
pianos. To hear this, listen to the stereo tremolo in electric piano
on “A Peace of Light” by The Roots.
“Jeremy”
Pearl Jam
“Weekends!!!!”
Skrillex
“E8 Boogie”
Squarepusher
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
“Mr. Wendal”
Arrested Development
Take a listen to the panning used in “Mr. Wrong” by Mary J. Blige.
You may need to use headphones to get the best results. Hear
how the synth drops move from left to right and back? Lady Gaga
uses stereo field effects in the synth part in “Paparazzi”.
Imaging is the process of creating a more directional sound field in
a recording. As surround sound becomes more and more
prominent in audio recording (as it has been in film for years), the
practice of imaging is growing. However, you can still create many
interesting imaging effects using simply the left and right channels.
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Another very cool imaging effect is the use of the binaural stereo
field.16 A binaural audio effect is one that sets out to create a 3D
audio image by simulating a sound field as experienced by the
human ears. Whether binaural recording is viable in pop music is
still up in the air, but there’s no denying that you can get some very
interesting stereo effects using binaural panning.17 Check out
binaural recording techniques in use on Lou Reed’s “Street
Hassle”.
Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and, most notably, T-Pain have embraced
autotuning as a defining characteristic of their sound. It has its
critics, but when used wisely, it can be a very cool effect. It’s just
a little overdone at this point.
Listen to the use of panning and stereo imaging in these songs,
and be sure to listen in headphones for the best effect.
“One” - Swedish
House Mafia
“Weekends!!!!”
Skrillex
“The Truth”
India.Arie
“Hypnotize”
The Notorious B.I.G.
Pitch Changing (Autotune/Vocoding)
Pitch Changing is the process of altering the pitch of any given
sound source after that sound source has been performed. The
two most common examples of pitch changing effects in music
production are autotuning and vocoding.
Truth is, autotuning has been around for quite a while (1997 to be
specific). Initially a DAW plug-in, autotuning was meant to be
imperceptible by the audience as a means to gently nudge a
vocalist’s flaws in perfect pitch. It was the first commercial hit to
feature autotuning, It was Cher’s, “Believe” from 1998, that
opened up autotuning to producers as a production effect. Since
then, pop music has had an infatuation with the autotuning effect
that reached a fever pitch in the mid to late 2000’s. Artists like
Even older than autotuning is the use of vocoders. A vocoder
differs from autotune in the way it processes its source. In
autotuning, the sound is pitch “quantized” and forced to a specific
frequency range that corresponds with a predetermined scale or
key signature; however, with vocoding, the vocal input is put
through filters which are then used to trigger synth sounds. The
end result is a synthesized, robotic effect that can sound similar to
autotuning.
16
Check out this amazing video for a demonstration on binaural recording: http://youtu.be/IUDTlvagjJA. Be sure to grab your headphones.
17
Here is a helpful video showing binaural panning in Logic Pro: http://youtu.be/kl0hPGDD01w.
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You owe it to yourself to listen to “Hide and Seek” by Imogen
Heap. This song (whose hook is featured in Jason Derulo’s
“Whatcha Say”) is a veritable treatise on modern use of vocoding
effect. In the song, Heap layers vocoded synth chords under her
own vocal lines creating a mesmerizing digital/acoustic hybrid
sound.
effects used in music production, all with their own character:
rooms, halls, plates, and springs.
You can also check out Kanye West’s usage of vocoding (as
opposed to autotuning) in “Stronger”, and Snoop Dogg’s vocoding
in “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?”.
Imogen Heap, however, was not the first or most notable artist to
feature vocoding effects. Funk artists like Earth, Wind & Fire and
Herbie Hancock have both had great success using the digital
process.
Here are some more tracks that feature pitch correction in their
productions.
“California Love”
2Pac
“Boom Boom Pow”
“I Thought It Was
The Black Eyed Peas You” - Herbie Hancock
“Turn all the Lights On”
T-Pain
Reverb
Last, but not least, is the most ubiquitous production effect used in
all of music production - whether it’s pop, hip-hop, classical, folk,
rock... whatever! Reverb.
Reverb (short for “reverberation)” is an effect that adds ambient,
decaying sound to a sound source, and these echoes and sound
decays are mixed in with the original sound source. There a various
types of surfaces and spaces used to create the different
reverb
Room and hall reverbs are just that: reverberation added as if your
sound was being created in a small room, concert hall, bright
chamber, jazz club, cathedral, etc. The reverberation of a sound
created in these various physical or virtual spaces is sampled and
are applied (using some complex math) to your original sound.
Plate reverb is based on a technique where vibrations are sent
towards a sheet of metal and a pickup translates those vibrations
into reverb. And If you’ve ever owned an amp with reverb and
heard a loud “boinging” sound when you went to move it, then
you’ve heard spring reverb. In a spring reverb, vibrations are sent
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Chapter 5: Ear Candy
through a coiled spring and a pickup translates those signals into
reverb.
Because we’re so used to hearing sounds as they exists in natural
spaces, reverb is added, on some level, to mostly all productions
we hear. In fact, it’s somewhat rare for music to produced with no
reverb at all. A dry sound (lack of reverb), especially on a vocal part,
can sound very close or intimate, but it also leaves the vocalist very
exposed. Because vocal parts (especially lead vocal parts) are often
recorded in small spaces using close miking, there is no natural
reverb being recorded in with the original track; therefore, you can
hear every slight nuance (good or bad) in a vocalist’s performance.
Do keep in mind that this mostly applies to sung vocals. Rap vocals
are often quite drier than melodic vocals. Listen to the lack of
reverb on Eminem’s vocals on “My Name Is”.
In the end, reverb just helps your parts sit in your mix better. You
should use it... but not too much (unless you’re going for that thiswas-tracked-in-a-subway-tunnel effect!).
These last few sections will seem simple in comparison to the
plethora of options available to you using effects. However, these
are just as important and can require more musical preparation on
your part as a producer.
Percussion
Percussion is any other percussion sound or part that is not part of
your formal groove. These take the form of percussion sounds like
shakers, tambourine, congas, etc. Often, it’s these percussion
parts that give your groove real momentum.
Percussion parts can get pretty intricate. Let’s look at the drums
and percussion for “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” by Michael
Jackson starting at 0:17. The drums are playing a pretty
straightforward groove that locks in with the bass guitar part.
“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” by Michael Jackson, Drums and Percussion
Listen to the large amount of reverb added to the snare back beat
in Ne-Yo’s “Lazy Love”. “Somebody That I Used To Know” by
Gotye also applies heavy reverb throughout the entire mix.
Here are some other songs that utilize reverb effectively:
“Climax”
Usher
“Who’s Laughing Now”
Jessie J
“The Time (Dirty Bit)”
The Black Eyed Peas
“Try Sleeping With a
Broken Heart” - Alicia Keys
But there are other percussion parts being added that give the
groove forward motion. There is a glass bottle sound we can hear
(panned left)...
As you can see, there is a lot of ear candy you can add after you’ve
got your sounds in; however, it doesn’t end there. There are lot
more sweets we can add to your beat.
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...and a cowbell part (panned right).
Together, these three parts look like this:
Some could argue that the tambourine is functioning as the hat in
this track. Listen at 2:40 when the drums are are the most
exposed. Do you hear a hat part? What do you think?
Percussion can also add accents and emphasis in your beat. Listen
to the crash cymbal hits and and triangle rolls in “Yeah!” by Usher.
These hits and punches aren’t really part of the groove, but they
add a lot to the beat. In your beat, accents can be anything like
cymbals, triangles, toms, wind-chimes, gongs, woodblocks, or
even added hand claps.
We can also add percussion in lieu of a groove. Listen to the
conga and tambourine parts in the opening hook of “Forget You”
by Cee-Lo Green. When the groove comes in on verse 1, the
congas and tambourine give way for a 16th note shaker part.
Check out the percussion additions in these songs:
For a simpler example, listen to the sloshy, lazy tambourine part in
Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape”. Listen to how that part
interacts with the drum groove.
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
“Addicted To You”
Shakira
“Hey Ya!”
Outkast
“The Truth”
India.Arie
“Feelin’ Single”
R. Kelly
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Orchestrations18
A lot of beats add musical elements that don’t specifically belong
to the progression, bass line, or hook. These elements are what
we’re going to call “orchestrations” and are an additional musical
motif on any pitched instrument (not just on orchestra
instruments). Often, orchestrations provide support to or embellish
the hook/progression. These additional parts are sprinkled in
throughout a song and give musical depth to the overall harmonic
texture.
The instrumentation common to orchestrations in beats include
strings, horns, piano, guitar, choir, and synths (pads, leads, etc.).
Check out the additional musical elements in “Ghetto Gospel” by
2Pac. What elements do you hear in addition to the groove,
progression, bass, and hook? Strings, choir, piano. These are all
very traditional orchestral instruments and can be very effective in
your orchestrations.
Not since the days of 70’s TV theme songs have we enjoyed such
unashamed arrangements!
You’ve probably noticed that often the line between progression
and orchestrations can be a little blurry, and that’s ok. Good
orchestrations should feel seamless with your track.
Dance music makes use of orchestrations in their tracks. In the
form of string or synth stabs, these rhythmic orchestrations
provide one of the driving forces to their tracks. Check out the
lead synths lines in “Chasing Summers” by Tiësto. They’re not
specifically outlining the progression (they certainly work within the
progression), but they’re not quite hooks either. We’re going to
call them orchestrations.
“Chasing Summers” by Tiësto, Lead Synth Line
Now, listen to the additional guitar and horn parts added to TLC’s
“Waterfalls”. The electric piano is providing the progression, and
the funky guitar is providing movement in and around the chords.
The two parts work together very well. Hear how the horns come
in and provide musical accents? Silky smooth.
Rick Ross’ 2012 album, God Forgives, I Don’t, is packed with
orchestration elements. Specifically, the track, “Maybach Music
IV”, has lush string and horn parts with screaming lead guitar lines.
18
Please don’t confuse this term with orchestration as it pertains to writing music for an orchestra or the arrangement/adaptation of a musical score (as in classical or film music). We’re using the term here to refer
to the additional accompanying musical elements we’re adding to our beats (like horns, or strings).
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Explore orchestrations in these other song. Be sure to listen
specifically for the musical elements that aren’t the progression,
hook, or bass line.
“Got 2 Luv U” by “I’m Like a Bird”
Sean Paul
Nelly Furtado
“I Try”
Macy Gray
“Don’t Matter”
Akon
“Love On Top”
Beyoncé
Other “Confections”
There is some other ear candy that doesn’t neatly fit into any of the
previous categories, but are widely used and should be mentioned.
These are the other, sweet confections you can use in your beats.
Vocalizations and Vocal Samples
What do we do with all those vocal inserts that aren’t part of the
main vocals of a song? The vocalizations and vocal samples that
aren’t part of the verses or choruses (as sung by the artists) are
another kind of ear candy.
One of the most recognizable vocal samples is the one used in “It
Takes Two” by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock. Other than the hook
sample, the the other infectious sample is the James Brown
scream and “yeah!” that appears throughout. Both the hook and
vocal insert are taken from “Think (About It)” by Lyn Collins
(around 1:22).19 James
Listen to the background vocalizations in “S.O.S.” by Rhianna.
These aren’t the formal background vocals (BGVs), but are the
“ohhhh” shouts. They occur at the beginning of the track and then
under the lyric “this time please someone come and rescue me.”
19
These are also similar to the crowd sounds in “O.M.G.” by Usher
(the ambient crowd sounds eventually turn into the hook later in
the song).
In hip-hop, it’s very common to feature vocal samples inserted.
into the beat. “Hey”, “woo-hah,” “uhhh,” and “ehhh” are often
liberally sprinkled throughout mixes. Often, when two artists
collaborate, it’s also common for the other artist to insert vocal
punches throughout the song until his/her part comes in. Check
out “Baby” by Justin Beiber that features rapper, Ludacris’ “yo..
uh-huh” throughout the track before his rap breakdown.
Sometimes the vocal sample isn’t all that distinguishable. In this
case, it’s providing a unique texture in the mix and should be
listened to almost as an instrument (similar to what we discussed
earlier). This can be heard in Jay-Z’s “Thank You”.
Here are some other songs that make creative use of vocalizations
and vocal samples.
“Insane in the Brain”
Cypress Hill
“Jump Around”
House of Pain
“Low”
Flo Rida
“Put It Down”
Brandy
Scratching and Turntablism
DJs and rap have walked hand-in-hand since the genesis of hiphop. Because before samplers, DJs were the ones spinning the
beats for rappers, DJs were adding in their own, unique voice in.
Check out “Lost Ones” by Lauryn Hill to hear a typical DJ scratch
used in beats.
Turns out, this is one of the most sampled records of all time! Don’t believe me? Check out this link.
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DJ effects aren’t just found in hip-hop. It’s not unusual to hear vinyl
scratching in everything from “Mmmbop” by Hanson to “Mambo
No.5” by Lou Bega. This practice was pretty widespread in the
90’s, but thankfully, this it’s falling out of practice to add “urban
flavor” to general pop music.
And then there are those dedicated to elevating DJing into its own
art form. While not always used as merely ear candy, turntablism is
a very unique sound as DJs find extreme ways to manipulate vinyl.
To hear what real turntablism sounds like, check out “Scratch
Battle” by Rob Swift and DJ Spooky.
Yours truly created a track that incorporated samples of urban city
life. Entitled “Commute,” the piece intends to create a sound
scape that takes the listener on a virtual commute through a busy
city on one rainy day.
Many songs also feature sweeps and other electronic effects to
help create builds and transitions in their songs. Check out “Ridin’
Dirty” by Chamillionaire and listen for all the cymbal-like sweeping
effects.
So look around your world. Are there sounds you can lift from
everyday life that you can use in your beats?
Also check out:
“Skanky Panky”
Kid Koala
“Intergalactic”
Beastie Boys
“The Garden”
Cut Chemist
“The Count Down Part 2”
The X-Ecutioners
Samples and Sound Effects
We’ve talked a great deal about the use of samples, but up to now,
those samples have been either sampled hooks, vocal lines, or
instrumental parts; however, you can also include sampled sound
effects into your beats. Check out the sound effects used in “The
Watcher” by Dr Dre and listen for sound effects like a zipper, and a
gunshot. These sounds are all used to underscore the lyrics.
Reverse
One final bit if ear candy we’ll talk about is a reverse technique
where certain sounds and samples will be reversed in a mix.
These can range from reversed vocal sections like in Missy Elliott’s
“Work It”, reversed grooves like that found in “Paul Revere” by
Beastie Boys, or reversed on shots (like cymbals) like those found
in “Ghetto Religion” by Wyclef Jean and “Crew love” by Drake.
Similarly, you can incorporate a non-vocal sample into your beat
similar to the way it’s used in “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé. Hear
the high pitched sound repeated throughout the whole song?
That’s By the way, just what is that sound anyway? Is it a cuica
drum? Is it super mario?
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Guidelines for Ear Candy
Here are some quick guidelines to help you in using ear candy.
Keep in mind, these are just guidelines, and not hard and fast rules.
If your beat works by bending some of these ideas, then go for it!
1. Too much candy will spoil your appetite for the rest of the
song. Keep it to a minimum and leave your audience wanting
more.
2. Don’t be afraid to try new things. You’d be surprised how
many genius production ideas come out of experimenting.
3. Layering effects can create new and interesting sounds, but it
can add to the overall volume of the mix. Keep an eye on
your dBs.
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Food for Thought: Ear Candy Questions
Now that we’ve examined what aspects make up ear candy in beat making, take a listen through the tracks from this chapter’s listening
playlist and ask yourself these questions:
1. Do you think a certain type of candy goes better with a certain style or genre?
Why do you think this?
2. What are some of the ways producers combine different ear candy techniques in
the songs from the listening list?
3. Is there one type of ear candy you’ve always wanted to learn but just haven’t yet?
What’s stopping you from learning how to use it?
4. What’s the one type of ear candy you just can’t stand? What would you do if a
client insisted on incorporating it in their project?
5. Pick one of your favorite songs and try to create the ear candy effects you hear.
Now that you’ve done the reading, can you tell what’s going on in the mix of the
track?
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In Conclusion
In Conclusion
Creating beats isn’t exactly a science nor is it blind luck. It’s an art. It takes a mixture of music theory, engineering technique, musical
intuition, and big ears to create beats that not only please you, but also can sell and allow you to make a living.
If I can leave you with one lasting thought, it would be this: be educatedly fearless in your beat making!
Take in all the music theory you can. Learn scales and chord progression. I know it seems like eating your vegetables, but it’s good for you! I
promise, your music will get better as your understanding of music theory grows. These are just more tools to help you build a better house.
Likewise, learn the software (legally obtained, of course.. stealing is stealing) and the hardware it takes to make good jams. Watch as many
videos as you can on how to use your DAW, and soak up as much technical tutorials as you can find. Go to the library and check out as many
Logic Pro (or Pro Tools, Reason, Ableton Live) books as they’ll let you take out of the building.
Next, you don’t have to play an instrument to create good beats, but it goes a long way. If you can create the music you’re hearing in your
head yourself, and get them into your DAW quickly and efficiently, then you’ve got an advantage over other producers. I’d be shocked to
learn if many of the world’s top producers didn’t play an instrument at some level.
You must learn to listen, listen, listen, LISTEN! (Did I mention listening?) You have to become well versed in all styles and genres of music if
you want to make a living at this. You never know when a client will walk in and want you to produce their next country/R&B hit. Don’t be an
elitist or a snob when it comes to music. There’s too much amazing music out there for you to be myopically navel-gazing.
And finally, be fearless. Experiment. Be confident. Try new things and don’t be afraid to fail. According to urban legend, Edison tried 2000
different combinations before finally creating the lightbulb. When asked about failing so many times he said, “I didn’t fail. I found 2000 ways
how not to make a light bulb.” Whether this actually happened or not is irrelevant, because the lesson holds true. Trying something that
doesn’t work is just as helpful, and as much of the learning process as the eventual success is.
Good luck, and happy beat making See you on the Billboard charts!
- Dave Kropf
MPR-130, Music Composition Programming - Beat Making
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