How My Different Musical Phases Influenced Me

If you have ever studied in college, you may be familiar with the feeling of not being able to find an interest that sticks with you. Not only do you spend a lot of time trying avenues that you end up not enjoying and just dropping, you are also not spending time working on and perfecting an avenue or skill set that will get you somewhere. It is frustrating being an undeclared major, and it can feel like you desperately need to find a direction that works for you.

Although it may not seem like it, but it is very possible that you end up being glad you tried many things. Not only do you now know what you like and don't like, but you also have acquired a certain amount of skill from each avenue. It may not be enough to make you an expert, but it could surely come in handy at some point in time in the future. Listening, playing, and composing or creating different kinds of music can have the same positive effect and results.

Different Phases for Different Genres

When growing up, I would hear lots of classical and folk music, as this is what my parents would put on in the living room. I was used to older, mostly instrumental music, and wasn't exposed to rock, country, pop, electronic, or rap music until much later. Although this music isn't what I listen to much nowadays, it definitely set the course of my musical preferences as I got older.

I started to listen to the radio at the end of elementary school, and that is when I first became fond of pop. I especially enjoyed melodic instrumentals with catchy melodies, as I was used to melodic classical and folk music. I later got into online electronic dance music such as Monstercat in middle school, and I once again preferred the kinds that were melody-based. This transferred all the way into my interests in rap, and as a producer, I naturally enjoy creating instrumentals. Although I have listened to many different genres and have had different phases of interests, all of the different phases influenced each other in some way and shaped my interests today.

Why I Started Making Beats

As a bored college freshman in my dorm, I decided that it was time to try to make music. I had entertained the idea of making EDM music in the past, but had never committed to it. I decided to buy a copy of FL Studio and to try to make something. This was around the time I started getting more into rap, and I wanted to try to make a beat sometime. It wasn't going to be something I would do regularly, like EDM song production, but I wanted to try to make one or two rap beats for fun. I ended up enjoying the process much more than I anticipated and I found myself becoming much better at it than at making EDM.

My interest in beat making pushed my interest in rap even farther, which then encouraged me to make more beats. My previous musical interests quite literally got me to make beats and started my passion in a butterfly effect type of way.

Broad Understanding of Music Helps Create a Broad Variety of Kinds of Beats

It may seem obvious, but having experience with different kinds of music helps make different kinds of beats. If you take a little bit from everything you have experienced or learned, your skill set widens, and even if what you are currently doing isn't directly related to all of those skill sets, you can always find a way to apply some aspects of them to what you are doing. Even if it doesn't make a monumental difference right away, there will definitely be a lasting impact, even if you cannot tell.

In conclusion, taking inspiration from different aspects of life and applying them to one avenue or passion can be very beneficial to working on that passion. Not everything you do will have a lasting purpose and it may sometimes seem like you are wasting time. However, there is always something to learn and there will be positive benefits to applying what you have learned or done to what you are doing or pursuing now, even if it doesn't seem like it at first.

To learn about different kinds of music and to widen your scope of understanding, visit this website.

Hit-Boy Nominated for 2022 Grammys and Weighs in on His Thoughts as a Producer

 

With the music portion of the Grammys occurring on April 3rd, 2022, the nominees are out, and producer Hit-Boy is on the list. He is nominated for album of the year and producer of the year and has won several Grammys in the past. In an interview with The Associated Press, Hit-Boy details what he thinks about the Grammys as a whole and weighs in on his nomination and previous awards.

Keep up with the 2022 Grammys on their website.

The Meaning of Winning a Grammy

Hit-Boy was asked if he thinks that a Grammy is meaningful. He explained that to him, it is a token and a reminder of the work that he has done and the things he has accomplished. It is also a reminder that he has worked with some of the best artists and contributed to the music world meaningfully as he won Grammys by working with those artists.

Hit-Boy demonstrated that as a top producer, he was motivated by the progress to keep pushing forward, reminding everyone that progress and success mean always moving forward.

Hit-Boy Speaks on Sacrifices

When he was asked how he manages to stay at the top, Hit-Boy explained the sacrifices that he makes to keep going. He said, "I dedicate my life to this. I sacrifice family time. I sacrifice personal time to add value to what others are doing." He stated that even at the top, there are plenty obstacles. As an example, he mentioned that issues such as bad publishing deals can wear a producer out, so they must truly love what they do and spend their lives on the craft.

This response serves as a great reminder that to become better at something that most other people, you must really want what you are working towards and must love it enough to spend most of your time on it.

If you would like to read the entire interview with Hit-Boy, visit this page.

A Lesson on Motivation

Winning a Grammy is obviously a massive, career-defining achievement. Many work every day of their lives and still don't make it. The ones that do, however, are the ones that try to improve every day. This means that they must keep going and stay motivated even when they don't immediately reach goals or see success. The producers that made it had long stretches of their careers that they weren't immediately rewarded for. The reason those producers are at the top today is because they always kept going anyway.

Do You Have All of the Essential Drum Kits for 2022?

When making beats, you want to be sure that you are using the best sounds. Use this checklist to find some new sounds to level up your productions.

KBeaZy Kits

KBeaZy, a producer who has credits with Iann Dior, 24kGoldn, Juice WRLD, and many other rappers, has a good selection of drum kits available on his BeatStars page. Here are a few of the ones I recommend:

1.) Fyed Up Vol. 1

2.) Trap Galaxy Vol. 2

3.) Trap Galaxy Vol. 1

4.) Artillery Drum Kit

5.) Hi Tech Drum Kit

With this selection of popular, enhanced sounds and original sounds, you will have a great collection of drums off the bat.

WavSupply Kits

WavSupply is a drum kit web store that was created by famed producer collective Internet Money and houses their kits. If you are looking for drums used in songs produced by Nick Mira, DT, and other popular producers in Internet Money, you should consider these suggestions:

1.) Stigma Vol. 1 (DT)

2.) Diesel Drum Kit (Nick Mira)

3.) Mira Touch Vol. 2 (Nick Mira)

4.) Magma Drum Kit (Nick Mira)

5.) Stigma Vol. 3 (DT)

This is a great collection of kits that houses some rare sounds from famous songs produced by Internet Money producers.

Reddit Kits (r/drumkits)

The r/drumkits directory on Reddit is a great place to look for free drum kits. Here you can find the "Shows the Screen" by user lunch77, who compiled sounds used by certain producers that were seen in their live streams and videos. Here are a few of the essentials:

1.) Everyone in 808 Mafia Shows the Screen

2.) Metro Boomin Shows the Screen

3.) Pi'erre Bourne Shows the Screen

4.) Wheezy Shows the Screen

5.) RonnyJ Shows the Screen

These free kits are sure to give you a plenty array of good, industry sounds!

 

Top 3 Pro Producers to Follow

A great way to get better at making beats is by watching other producers. As a beginner, watching tutorials and curated guides will only get you so far in the learning process. While this is an essential part of improving, watching the practices in action in a natural setting can be just as useful. Many producers have been creating YouTube and Twitch channels to document their process of making beats. This content can be viewed as inspiration or to learn directly from this process. There are many great producers that have a public online presence and put out content on a consistent basis. Here are three pro producers to follow in 2022.

Nick Mira

Top producer Nick Mira has been a great teacher to many aspiring producers. He has many great beat tutorials on the Internet Money YouTube channel and currently streams frequently on his Twitch channel. He will sometimes stream himself for hours making all kinds of different beats using different techniques and methods. Watching him make beats from start to finish is not only inspirational but could also serve as a good way to pick up some new ideas!

KBeaZy

Although he isn't very active on it any more, KBeaZy's YouTube channel is a treasure trove of content for music producers. He uploaded not only beat production videos, but also industry insider tips and other material that could be useful to any producer. If you want to see how he went from a bedroom producer to an industry professional, check out KBeaZy's content.

DT

DT, formerly known as Sidepce, is commonly credited for being the person to jumpstart Juice WRLD's career, as he was the first major producer to discover him on SoundCloud. DT has plenty of good content on the Internet Money YouTube channel and also streams once in a while. During his streams, he usually reviews songs and beats submitted by viewers, giving them feedback.

Most Popular Beat Genres for 2022

Music is constantly evolving, and so are the kinds of beats that appear in rap songs. This is due to a shift in what does well with the audience and as musicians innovate and come up with new styles and ideas, the world is able to observe new waves and trends with music. There are a number of beat genres that have become increasingly popular in 2022.

Rage / Hyperpop Beats

If you have listened to Trippie Redd's "Trip at Knight" album or the recent projects by Yeat, you would recognize these electronic beats with aggressive synths. These beats can be thought of as a bit of a crossover between rap and EDM. "Miss the Rage" by Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti is likely the first songs that pops up into most people's heads when they think of rage beats. The beat in this song was actually made from a melody loop found in a sample pack intended for EDM music, showing how much inspiration is taken from electronic dance music.

If you are interested in learning how to produce these kinds of beats, listen to "Trip at Knight" or almost anything by SoFaygo or Yeat.

Guitar Beats

"Mood" by 24kGoldn and Iann Dior spent many weeks on the Billboards Hot 100 as the #1 song in the world. This song featured an upbeat, catchy guitar melody, and it is clear that this is a type of beat that does will in this era of music. Guitar and melodic songs are showing up more and more on the radio and many are following the trend to cash out. This is also where loop makers shine, as many of them have guitar-playing skills and are able to make their own guitar melody loops.

If you're interested in seriously making beats for this genre, it may pay to buy an electric guitar that is compatible with a digital audio workstation. However, this is not completely necessary, as there are plenty of guitar loops out there, and you can also make guitar melodies using digital plugins (although this method is less preferred as it can be difficult to make a guitar sound realistic by clicking in notes, it can still be done).

Dark / Aggressive Beats

Although this style has been prevalent for years, it lives on in 2022 with artists such as 21 Savage and Lil Durk. This style of beats often has instruments in minor chords with hard, loud drums. It seems like this type of beats isn't going anywhere anytime soon as it clearly still draws in a loyal audience.

Listen to some of the recent projects by the aforementioned artists for inspiration for this genre.

Trying out making different genres of beats is exciting, but remember to not get carried away, as the simple beats are the kinds of beats that tend to make it.

3 Must-Have Effects Plugins for Beat Producers

Making unique beats is a whole lot easier when you have good effects plugins at your disposal. They can help spice up your drums, add variation to your melodies, and even give you new ideas that you would have never thought of without being able to turn a few effect knobs. Here are three must-have effects plugins for any beat producer.

Half-Time

Although it is similar to and has overall fewer functions than Gross Beat, the paid stock FL Studio plugin, Half-Time allows for more streamlined and easy to use effects. Half-Time allows the user to slow down melodies by different looping speeds with useful settings that can change the smoothness and frequency of the affected sound. Playing around with this plugin can lead to some unique sounding melodies.

For only $12, this plugin is quite the steal. Learn more about it by clicking here.

RC-20 Retro Color

If you are looking to make your melodies sound more like they were recorded with actual instruments, you may want to acquire a vinyl effects plugin. RC-20 Retro Color allows you to apply a large variety of vinyl effects, such as crackling, wobble, and distortion, among others. It also comes with presets that have different themes so that you can instantly apply an array of effects onto your sounds (which can also be tweaked to your liking).

RC-20 Retro Color is currently $99.95 - to learn more about it, click here.

Valhalla Vintage Verb

Valhalla Vintage Verb is a reverb plugin that allows for stronger, more deep reverb effects. Although FL Studio and most other DAWs come with their own stock reverb plugins, they are more limited in their functionality. Valhalla Vintage Verb allows for much greater customization and comes with many tweakable presets that are designed specifically for different feels. This plugin is also great for melodies made from one-shot sounds as it makes them sound less dry.

For $50, you could have a whole different world of reverb effects at your fingertips. Learn more by clicking here.

3 808 Mistakes to Avoid in FL Studio

Properly using 808s is a struggle for many newer producers, and it takes a while for many of them to learn how to get better at using them. This guide aims to eliminate some common mistakes that cause 808s in producers' beats sound subpar.

808 is Out of Tune

Since most sounds are tuned to C, they usually don't need adjusting. However, 808 samples are sometimes tuned to a different note. Sometimes, the difference is so subtle that some producers don't even notice. A good way to check is to place the 808 onto the root note of the melody, and pitch it up a few octaves to be able to hear it better. Since the 808 is the bass, it becomes harder to notice that it is out of tune when it is placed on the lower octave where 808s are usually placed.

If the 808 sounds out of tune, right click it, and click on "Edit in audio editor," then right click the sample that is now open in Edison, hover over "Regions" and select "Detect pitch regions." This will display the note that the sample is tuned to. Now, go back to the sample window, and click the wrench icon at the top left, and select the note that was detected in Edison on the piano roll. The 808 should now be tuned to C.

For more screenshots of the process, check out this page.

808 Sounds Drowned Out

Another common struggle for newer producer is getting their 808s to stand out in the mix. Since the 808 is supposed to be at a very low frequency, it can often get buried beneath the the other sounds. Although we don't want it to overpower the other sounds in the beat, the 808 should have a good presence in the mix. The issue often comes down to not cutting enough low frequency out of the melody or just outright making the 808 too quiet.

To EQ the melody, add a visual EQ tool to the mixer track where the melody is (Fruity Parametric EQ 2 works well). Right click Band 1, click "Order," and click "Steep 8." Drag the band to the right until the lower frequency is cut out enough for the 808 to have room.

Another way to make the 808 louder is by boosting the frequencies on the actual 808 sample. Click on the 808 sample, find the "legacy effects" tab in the settings, and play around with the EQ and Boost knobs. This will make the frequencies of the 808 stand out more. Don't overdo it though, because then the 808 will be too distorted.

Use both of these techniques to make the 808 stand out and cut through the mix properly.

For more detailed information regarding frequency editing, check out the official Fruity Parametric EQ description page.

Low Quality 808 Samples

Often times, sound quality comes down to sound selection. If you are using a low quality 808 sample, no amount of effects will make it sound good. Make sure that you are using good sound samples in your beats. A good way to make sure you are using good sounds is to look at what sound kits top producers use. Follow your favorite producers and see what sounds they use. A good place to find kits is on Reddit, at r/DrumKits. Check out the "Shares the Screen" kits, created by Lunch77, which compile sounds that are used by specific producers.