structuring beat tapes (explicit and jacpot) as well as anyo

good luck

i just got j dilla-donuts in the mail. time for some studying

i say u just make beats and add them to your beat tape plain and simple..

keep em short

get creative

no big deal

no rules

mindcontrol wrote:i say u just make beats and add them to your beat tape plain and simple..

keep em short

get creative

no big deal

no rules

yeah for sure, i was workin on one yesterday without that much structure, it was pretty fun, sampling phrases from the singer and stuff, kinda different. i dont know if im happy with it yet, bout to go re-open the project and re work some stuff

I think the main concern is holding the listener's attention. Think in terms of having elements of the beat that come and go, serving in place of vocals as the attention grabber. Maybe sample quotes from movies, or a riff of some sort, or vinyl brake, or whatever you can think of. Bring them in and drop them out on 8 bar cycles. that's a somewhat natural breakpoint, especially from the listener's perspective. Developing a signature element that you reuse can help tie the album together.

in regards to your comment about making "instrumental music" as a full length album, I would check out the likes of Flying Lotus and Beats Antique. I feel like a beat for an MC is designed as background music, and what keeps it interesting over time is essentially the vocals, while beats designed for instrumentals only purposes often have one or more elements in addition to create a greater often more complex dynamic. Basically instead of following the constantly changing voice you're following something else.

Just slap them shyts together. If your beats are already recorded, use a program to place the music as needed and add track markers (mixtape style) or you can use Itunes if each beat will be separate.
There's really nothing to it, but to do it.

some shit comes together organic u just choose shit that fits together

Hey wus up bro sorry I missed this thread. As far as my beat tape went, All I did was make beats and have my boys throw a few verses down. Didn't actually put much thought into at all yo I just made beats. As for making sampled beats sound less boring add some talking over it or play some keys.

jpeg wrote:some **** comes together organic u just choose **** that fits together

i feel you on that.

allow me to introduce myself. you can call me d.

1.my beats tend to come together in an organic matter most of the time, & once i complete the thought i know if they're going towards a project or not.

2.i structure all my beats by feeling as the song i hear in my head when its looping.

3. most of my first beat tape was meant to be recorded to, but it ended up working out.

4. this is something that used to bug me out because it varied so much by beat, but i've been listening more in depth to my beats before tracking them out. once again by feeling i pick out what can stay or go in time with whatever groove i've set up.

i'm sure you've never heard my tape, but theres a link in my sig for both the beat tape & some newer stuff on soundcloud.

Peace, & hope i could help!

mp3 wrote:I think the main concern is holding the listener's attention. Think in terms of having elements of the beat that come and go, serving in place of vocals as the attention grabber. Maybe sample quotes from movies, or a riff of some sort, or vinyl brake, or whatever you can think of. Bring them in and drop them out on 8 bar cycles. that's a somewhat natural breakpoint, especially from the listener's perspective. Developing a signature element that you reuse can help tie the album together.

this seems to be good advice and is how i go about myshit, i hate those 8 minute track where it takes 24 bar before the drums drop in.

just get to the point rather shit be to short then too long

trying adding in different sounds in the later verses/chorus. or try adding vocal chops from movies/shows etc. to add something different to the beat. also use breakdowns/fills every so often to change the track up a bit.

on some of my stuff, i've added like a low pass filter on the last part of the chorus, right before the verse kicks in...sounds pretty cool. (listen to "Aston Martin Music"-Rick Ross, the part where Drake sings, the music in the back has a low pass on it)

or mute your drums and hat tracks for a couple of bars.

listen to your favorite beatmakers and see how they change the monotony

peace

I think you need to stop being so methodical and just make shit.