Beginning beatmakers typically start out by adding sounds randomly to their track. However, after awhile, they notice their tracks don't "gel" like the pros. This is because the sounds in the track don't have a purpose or role to play.
Here's an example. Two football teams play against each other. Team A has a bunch of guys who have no clear role to play while Team B is an actual team with a quarterback, blockers, and runners. Which team wins? Team B of course. It's the same with music. Random sounds will result in a song that's unfocused, lacks impact, and is sonically confusing. However, when each sound has a specific role to play, the composition sounds tight, well put together, and powerful.
What are these roles? We will explore each role a sound can play in upcoming articles. After learning and understanding the roles a sound can play, your beats for sale and tracks will immediately sound more professional, balanced, and impactful.
Drums: Kicks, snares, percussion etc. The tempo and rhythm of a song is set by the drums. Most modern music genres are partially defined by the drum patterns and beats used.
Pads: Long strings, electronic synth pads, and organs etc. Pads play a support role and help to establish the harmonic foundation of a song as well as filling in dead space. They are often long sustained chords.
Groove: Rhythm guitars, marcato strings, and techno plucks etc. The groove links the harmonic parts of a song (pads, leads) with the rhythmic parts (drums, percussion) so that they gel.
Bass: Bass guitar, sine wave, low strings etc. The bass is typically the anchor of a song that helps to glue the song together. It helps establish the harmonic foundation of a song but it can also help establish the rhythmic foundation of a song in many genres of music as well. It is an extremely versatile and important part. In jazz, the bass has a prominent role in establishing the rhythm of the song and is considered a part of the rhythm section. In many techno songs, the bass is an arpeggiated part that serves the same rhythmic purpose as in jazz. However, in other genres the bass may only be a drone sound that establishes the harmony.
Lead: Lead guitar, lead synth sounds, and samples etc. The part of the beat that gets stuck in your head or that is "catchy" is typically the lead. The lead is a part of the harmonic foundation of a song and are extremely important in electronic music. Leads are also prominent in other genres of music as well.
You may have noticed that each of the above roles assist in establishing a song's harmonic foundation, rhythmic foundation, or both. This is because music is essentially the combination of rhythm and harmony. Without rhythm, a song lacks movement or a "beat" (this can be desirable in certain instances such as ambient music). Likewise, a song without harmony sounds more raw, primal and less emotionally impactful compared to song's with harmonies.
These roles are found within every genre of modern music, but each genre of music places a different amount of emphasis on each role. Hip-hop is very drum focused while reggae is very bass focused.
Next time, we'll take a deeper dive into one of the most vital parts of modern music, the drums.
Here's an example. Two football teams play against each other. Team A has a bunch of guys who have no clear role to play while Team B is an actual team with a quarterback, blockers, and runners. Which team wins? Team B of course. It's the same with music. Random sounds will result in a song that's unfocused, lacks impact, and is sonically confusing. However, when each sound has a specific role to play, the composition sounds tight, well put together, and powerful.
What are these roles? We will explore each role a sound can play in upcoming articles. After learning and understanding the roles a sound can play, your beats for sale and tracks will immediately sound more professional, balanced, and impactful.
Drums: Kicks, snares, percussion etc. The tempo and rhythm of a song is set by the drums. Most modern music genres are partially defined by the drum patterns and beats used.
Pads: Long strings, electronic synth pads, and organs etc. Pads play a support role and help to establish the harmonic foundation of a song as well as filling in dead space. They are often long sustained chords.
Groove: Rhythm guitars, marcato strings, and techno plucks etc. The groove links the harmonic parts of a song (pads, leads) with the rhythmic parts (drums, percussion) so that they gel.
Bass: Bass guitar, sine wave, low strings etc. The bass is typically the anchor of a song that helps to glue the song together. It helps establish the harmonic foundation of a song but it can also help establish the rhythmic foundation of a song in many genres of music as well. It is an extremely versatile and important part. In jazz, the bass has a prominent role in establishing the rhythm of the song and is considered a part of the rhythm section. In many techno songs, the bass is an arpeggiated part that serves the same rhythmic purpose as in jazz. However, in other genres the bass may only be a drone sound that establishes the harmony.
Lead: Lead guitar, lead synth sounds, and samples etc. The part of the beat that gets stuck in your head or that is "catchy" is typically the lead. The lead is a part of the harmonic foundation of a song and are extremely important in electronic music. Leads are also prominent in other genres of music as well.
You may have noticed that each of the above roles assist in establishing a song's harmonic foundation, rhythmic foundation, or both. This is because music is essentially the combination of rhythm and harmony. Without rhythm, a song lacks movement or a "beat" (this can be desirable in certain instances such as ambient music). Likewise, a song without harmony sounds more raw, primal and less emotionally impactful compared to song's with harmonies.
These roles are found within every genre of modern music, but each genre of music places a different amount of emphasis on each role. Hip-hop is very drum focused while reggae is very bass focused.
Next time, we'll take a deeper dive into one of the most vital parts of modern music, the drums.
About the Author:
"The Architect" is one-third of the Jam Sonic music production team and has been producing for over 10 years. He currently composes music full-time in the form of beats for hip-hop artists, jingles for small businesses, and instrumentals for film/tv. Please visit his site to view hip-hop beats for sale as well as beatmaking videos and articles.