Question about MPC (boom bap style beats)

I'm new at making any type of music all together but it's dope. I've tried to make music using a DAWS (i was using fl studios) but it felt too mechanical and stiff for me. A friend of mine was messing around on this mpc app and that was alot more fun even though that shit was on the iphone lol. I ended up watching videos on people using the mpc and it got me real interested

The question is though, would i be able to use an mpc to make boom bap style beats (like premier or jdilla) using solely just the mpc? without any other equipment other than a laptop to upload the music onto?

yes.. sort of.


you turn the mpc on and it is empty.. it has no built in sounds. You get samples or record your own from records and CDs or the laptop etc... and you cut them up in the mpc to make the beat.


fl studio is also very great to make boom bap, you just gotta learn your way around the program. I think if you gave up so quick on FL, maybe you shouldn't drop a few hundred dollars on an mpc.. that seems like a risk.

mr_debauch wrote:yes.. sort of.


you turn the mpc on and it is empty.. it has no built in sounds. You get samples or record your own from records and CDs or the laptop etc... and you cut them up in the mpc to make the beat.


fl studio is also very great to make boom bap, you just gotta learn your way around the program. I think if you gave up so quick on FL, maybe you shouldn't drop a few hundred dollars on an mpc.. that seems like a risk.

i guess it came off as i stopped trying to learn fl studio lol i'm still trying to learn that ofcourse. I know the money for an mpc isn't going to come for awhile - but i was trying to get some insight on how it worked in case i decided to look into it further. thanks for the quick reply btw bro

yes you can def do that, in the meantime, keep learning FL, as you can apply the same concepts to the mpc, ie, learn how to chop a sample using the slicer, lay drums under it, play some bass under that, ect ect.

boom bap is pretty easy music to make, it just takes skill/talent to make it sound "good" you have to find the right sample and flip that shit to make it hip hop.

try to make something on fl, and keep watching beat making tutorials on youtube, youll always learn new stuff, after awhile youll start to get the hang of it and youll develop a formula for this shit and it will become easier and easier.

when i started making beats, i wish i had known this

most verses are 16 bars and most chorus are 8 bars, i lke to structure a lot of my songs like this, or similar

8 bar intro/ 16 verse/ 8 hook/16 verse/8 hook/16 verse/8 hook/ 8 outro

dont get stuck in that exact formula as you can always make change ups, sometimes i do this:
8 intro/ 16 verse/8 hook/16/8/16/4 bridge/16/8 hook/8 ou

sometimes people put the hook before the verses too

8 intro/8 hook/16 verse/8 hook/16 verse/8 hook/16 verse/8hook/8 out

and a lot of times one of the verses has a breakdown, study some music to find out what that is. its pretty much a variation of the instruments on one part of the verse (usually the beginning has less stuff and builds up) so the song doesnt get boring for the listener.

take your favorite boom bap hip hop song and count the bars in it, and write them down, this helped me find out new directions to take songs if your stuck in the same old arrangement you do all the time. make it a habit to do this lots and you will really start to see how songs are made, it gives you a good insight to the producers vision.

good luck man.