Newbie

[TelePaul]

Hey guys, a friend of mine at school wants to try lay down some rap tracks. Thing is, I'm used to folk and rock and have no idea about the creative approach. Lets assume he has lyrics, what I need to know is:

How do I come up with a beat?

I have alot of VST instruments, drum loops and soft synths that I can use, but what about a melody? Is it mostly Bass?

 

[BillyBo]

it can really be whatever you feel sounds good, from a symphony sound to straight drum and bass, to horns or an old jazzy sound. be creative, give it a tight beat, a few drum breaks, and you should have a good beat.

i mean, folk has a lot of acoustic guitars, and it would be nice to add an original guitar lick, sample, or just play out the whole song w/ the drum loop to give it a live feel. then you have your bass guitar. you can add a bass line to the whole track, or just accent the bass on certain beats. like i said, be creative. rap beats arent really much different than rock beats, they just (usually) have a 16 bar (4 count) verse, and an 8 or 16 bar hook (chorus, refrain). you can put a bridge in there, an intro, outro, drum breaks, melody breaks. anything you want.

oh yeah, make sure the artist getting the beat likes it too

 

[bknot1]

some people find it easier to do the beat then find the artist to write to the track..

but like BB said its not hard at all..just use your mind and what ever you come up with see if it work for the song..

hell im workin on a Drom and Stare..Hi-Hat beat will one extra instrument..so something simple..for some that has skills to turn something simple into something worth listening to what they have to say...LOL

 

[TelePaul]

thanks guys you've been real helpful!