ViolaGhost Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I come from a classical background and have very little experience in making beats. I know what beats sound good to me, but I have no idea about what makes a "good" beat. I know I like hearing syncopations, but too much rhythmic complexity throws me off and distracts me from the music - but that's just what I like. Are there some general principles as to what makes a good beat?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eriksimon Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Are there some general principles as to what makes a good beat?? Just one: what your body does or wants to do when you hear it. Something must be moving (or wanting to move), almost as if from a separate conciousness. If that doesn't happen, it's not good. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eriksimon Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I know what beats sound good to me, but I have no idea about what makes a "good" beat. Rethink that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev. Juda Sleaze Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Beats haven't really moved on since funk breaks got big. Listen to a bunch of them and you'll have most beats used in electronic music since the 80s. Do a search for where famous beats, like Fatboy Slim or Massive Attack came from too. For breaks or squarepusher type stuff, just speed them up to double or quadruple speed. It's all rather formulaic really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lookatthisguy Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arandel Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 There's a very good book which covers this topic "Composition for computer musicians" The basic idea is that every beat has three main elements: 1. kick - main beat element 2. snare - secondary element which acts as "backbeat" and balances kick 3. ride - "glue" element which links everything together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Moth Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyreww Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 I come from a classical background and have very little experience in making beats. I know what beats sound good to me, but I have no idea about what makes a "good" beat. I know I like hearing syncopations, but too much rhythmic complexity throws me off and distracts me from the music - but that's just what I like. Are there some general principles as to what makes a good beat?? Why don't you try this: - Audition a selection of Drum Loops in Logic and see which ones you like. You'll then be able to see which genres you like / understand the drum pattern etc. - I downloaded a collection of midi loops from this website a while back: http://www.fivepinpress.com/drum_patterns.html These are good for understanding beats associated with different genres. I think that you'll get a lot off different answers to "what makes a good beat?" as people have different tastes in music and music genres tend to have their own beats associated with them.... Andy Edit: http://www.groovemonkee.com/en/free-midi Check this one out - 600 free midi files to download/audition - split by genre - pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH76 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I have often seen people struggling NOT to move to bouncy or "jacky" sounding beats. Good strong kick, not too bassy and with a bit of mid range to it. And some doubles here and there. Short sharp hand claps or snare. Crisp hi hats, running hats, open hats and lots of off beat. Maybe some bongo's etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I don't think you can define it, nor can you expect a generic answer outside of the context of style. What makes for a great beat varies from style to style. In dance music, sometimes even the very sound of a four-on-the-floor kick can make or break whether or not that heard-a-million-times pattern grooves or not. So there it's not even so much the beat as the sound in the context of a certain genre. I think you have to listen to a wide variety of music and react to it. Only then will you know what a good beat is, and/or what kinds of beats move you. So if you want a definition of what makes a good beat, here it is: If a rhythm makes you move involuntarily without having to put any thought into at all, that's a good beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julianbassk Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 I'll just throw out some random things that I've observed. 1) Beats, especially in hip-hop music have come to mean something else from just drums. The term can apply to all the instrumentation. So a hip-hop beat can be the percussion, bass, soul sample, whatevs. This kindof beat is a whole different animal so I'll just address the rhythmic kind. 2) A good beat depends on the genre of music. Find your genre that you like and there will generally be very specific guidelines for what the beat is. For example, dubstep is generally 140 bpm but is played in halftime so it often sounds half that spead. The beat is often swung (use he swing knob on ultrabeat). Techno, punk, house, dandb, stuttercore...everything has a tempo range and a trademark style. 3) once you learn the rules for the kindof beat that you're making, break them. Combine genres 4)tone is very important. Use tones that are distinctive to your sound. I record my own but you could just combine and tweak presets into an original kit. You want to set yourself apart. 5) your main tools are repetition an variation. Repetition is very important for a beat. It grounds it and establishes the groove. Variation will make sure the listener pays attention and the tension builds. Add drum fills (never too often). Drop the beat for a dramatic silence before an epic moment. Add elements as the song goes along. For example, verses often have dry hi hat and choruses have ride cymbal. 6) Before you determine where the beat's going, determine where the song's going. The beat should service the song. This doesn't always mean that the beat should take backseat. In some music, the whole song is focus around the beat (percussion music for instance. dur). Just if you have ethereal female vocals, you don't want a pounding breakbeat. Actually...that sounds kind cool. Nevermind ehhh other things too. I agree with Eriksimon. If it sounds good to you it's a good beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furrytoes Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I come from a classical background and have very little experience in making beats. I know what beats sound good to me, but I have no idea about what makes a "good" beat. Yeah, it's a good question really, although I think you need to state a style before it can be answered specfically enough to be useful. Some of the music I'm listening to at the moment, such as Dave Weckl Band (he's a drummer) could almost be said to not have a 'beat' as such. Since, to keep interest in this style (modern funk/fusion) you don't want a long predictable beat in the traditional sense. So a "good beat" in this style of music (which might be called a "good groove" I think) is so different from a "good beat" in modern dance music or 80's rock, that it's hardly worth talking about until you narrow it down. Do we assume your talking about modern dance/electronic music? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivermetimbers Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I come from a classical background and have very little experience in making beats. I know what beats sound good to me, but I have no idea about what makes a "good" beat. I know I like hearing syncopations, but too much rhythmic complexity throws me off and distracts me from the music - but that's just what I like. Are there some general principles as to what makes a good beat?? How to make good beets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH76 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 ^^ haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majik Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 (edited) I come from a classical background and have very little experience in making beats. I know what beats sound good to me, but I have no idea about what makes a "good" beat. I know I like hearing syncopations, but too much rhythmic complexity throws me off and distracts me from the music - but that's just what I like. Are there some general principles as to what makes a good beat?? Musically, a good beat keeps time; artistically, however, it opens you up to another question: What is YOUR concept of time? Edited June 12, 2011 by majik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivermetimbers Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 What is YOUR concept of time? Who? Me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rundfunk Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 what makes a good sandwich? personal preference. However there are some basic guidelines to follow. Bread / butter is usually a good place to start .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clintoncole Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 butter? ew. ;p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivermetimbers Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 what makes a good sandwich? personal preference. However there are some basic guidelines to follow. Bread / butter is usually a good place to start .. Butter side down ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdude9k Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 If your coming from a classical world, I would say it as simply as this. Classical music has accents on beats 1 and 3 (if your in 4/4) Rock or beat driven music has accidents on 2 and 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthpreset Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 what makes a good beat?? A Sly and Robbie sample. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolbox Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I what makes a good beat?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobsbarricades Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 i don't agree with any of the above responses. the purpose of a beat is to carry the pulse. The pulse is everything. After that comes sound. bad sound+good ryhthm(pulse)=bad beat bad rhythm(pulse)+anything=bad beat. Bad rhythm=bad music (different from arhythmic music or signatureless music). Good rhythm(pulse)+Good sound=good beat. style doesn't matter and things get more exciting when you mix (although a lot of genre nazi's will take you to the cleaners...) good luck, keep making stuff and posting it. Quantity before quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fzang Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3g-PKogC5c It's hard to explain what makes a good beat. A lot of difference sounds that all fit together somehow and make their own little melody I guess. Personally I love these kind of advanced trance beats. Even in a straight 4/4 beat you can fit in a little breakbeat of various claps, shakes, snares and varying velocities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobsbarricades Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 great track! I really enjoyed that. and you're right. Sometimes beats are simple but in electronic music I've noticed...not so much complex but having a wide range of samples playing helps make it real interesting. also being Richard D. James... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furrytoes Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Yeah, I was just commenting on a beat in the Listening Forum, and realized that maybe there are some fundamentals to beats. In this case, there were no hats, just a snare and kick. And they didn't flow from one to the next, nothing was interconnecting. There were just hits and spaces in between. So I think there must be an idea where the components ("hits") of a beat, must flow, lead from one to the next or flow somehow. Usually by position in the beat or also by attack/delay/gate etc. I think many aspects of sound can be used to influence the flow of the bits in a beat, which is why there's no hard rules. We never defined "beat", but I suppose once you have a beat, you're pretty much constrained to a range of styles, so maybe that's not so important after all. Basically a drum beat or percussive sounds involved. I'm sure we're not talking about Brahm's string quartets having a beat - maybe they do, but this wider definition wouldn't be very useful in this discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobsbarricades Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I think you've nailed more accurately what I was trying to say with 'layers' and extra parts. Sometimes a kik and snare in empty space is perfect, but most of the time there are little nuanes that make the beat flow. That take the pulse of it and turn it into a dance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Robin Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 what makes a good beat?? A Sly and Robbie sample. ....Now you're talking! Yolanda Charles has got da rhythm too 8) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9TEBiSgyvY&feature=related Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Moth Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 She my sis in law Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Robin Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 She my sis in law ....Nice one! I first spotted her playing in Robbie Williams band a few years ago and instantly recognised her talent. For me, her bass sound gave so much strength to what he was doing at the time (his best era in my opinion). His sound was noticeably weaker at the sessions she didn't play. I saw an interview with her recently and she also seems a really nice lady who lives for music. Anyway, so I can keep track of her music I have just sent her a Fwend Request on MySpace. Nathan East is another hot bass player. A relative of yours? There's only one answer to this thread's question and it's already been answered: A good beat is any rhythmic sound which moves you. I don't understand those people who aren't moved by music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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