Need some insight

I've been working on a few beats these last couple of days and I'm a tad bit stuck on the direction I'd like to go with them. A lot of the beats I've been listening to lately (not here) are so "busy"....there is so much going on in them that it almost ruins the main fabric that they are placed on. I'm of the opinion that less is more. I like to get a nice bassline or melody with some horns or keys and work the kick, snare and hats in the mix. It's all pretty simple, but for me, I like it. My hang up is simple...without going too overboard with a bunch of other sounds how can I keep things sounding simple but yet add some more elements....for that matter, what type of elements would/could I add. This last beat I made has a nice piano melody, with a very simple string vibe laying low in the back ground...without hearing it mabey you guys could give me some feedback at the direction you may go with something like that. I know that in the end it's up to the person making the beat and what they like....but it's always nice to hear some feedback.

Later,

Season

do you. make your own style and not try to duplicate someone else styles. just play/make beats and listen to as much music as posible (any style). there are busy beats the sound great and some sound like too much. there is a song "give me the night" by the singer of the crusader where the beat is the simplest thing you ever hear but the most funkiness too. just do you.

if you listen to a lot of parliament and funkadelic you'll hear that the drums are often pretty simple...funky but pattern wise pretty straight forward..its the syncopation of all the other elements that provides the funk....

greg

Yeah, I know what you mean. My biggest roadblock is not so much the drum patteren, but the other stuff....right now, I"m stuck on keeping it simple, meaning a nice bass line or piano with some horns or strings in the background...after that I am wondering if I should add some more stuff or keep it as is....like I've said before...sometimes I think people get too carried away....mabey it's the basketball coach in me....in order to be good it's better to do a few things very good than a bunch of things average.

Season