ELECTRONIC BEATS
If you want ‘real’ drums, then go pick up a copy of last month’s Computer Music, where we detail how to get the perfect acoustic drum kit sound in your computer and to recreate ‘proper’ beats in your DAW, with a healthy dose of recording, programming and mixing advice along the way. This time around, we’re talking electronic beats, those more machine-like rhythms that lie at the cornerstone of so many of today’s music genres.
Of course, any beat that lies on your hard drive can be described as ‘electronic’; once it gets there it’s made up of digital ones and zeros. But stop being pedantic; you know the score! We’re talking about those beats that provide the foundation to just about every genre and sub genre that you can think about that isn’t acoustic or ‘rock n roll’. Of course the main player is dance music, but it extends to mainstream pop, Afrobeat, K-pop, Latin pop and even the modern side of country.
In short then, where do you start? Well, we’re leaning towards dance music in this feature and the more machine-like beats of the many and varied genres within it. However many of the practices we describe – which apply to both individual beats and sampled loops – will apply to many a pop, R&B and world genre too. That’s because there are fundamental production approaches that you should apply to any electronic beat, whether that be a regimented house groove or more free-flowing loop.
We’ll explain various methods of beat production, including MIDI/sequencer programming, using samples, mixing beats and even creating your own synthetic beats with the Computer Music Plugin Suite – now that is proper electronic beat production! Once armed with the fundamentals and some top timing tips along the way, take these ideas, and make those beats your own!
Sound sources
Let’s start with your core ingredients.
