One of the things that separates advanced beat makers from beginning ones is the musical arrangement. Many beginning beat makers first start out with a track that sounds good but they just loop it continuously. However, looping the same part over and over again is uninspiring for any artist and is boring for the listener. The key to taking your track to the next level is to have a good arrangement. Making a a good arrangement is our topic for today and to start, we'll start out by discussing a few ideas for diversifying your track so that you have an interesting arrangement.
Add/Drop Sounds: If you have a beat with 20 great sounding tracks, realize that you don't need to bring them in all at once. Let the listener anticipate the beat. Have you ever been listening to a track and have been anticipating for the drums or the bass to come in? A good beat maker uses that anticipation to his advantage. So, when making your arrangement, have 6 or so tracks playing in the verse, a few more tracks brought in leading up into the chorus, and then finally you can bring them all in during the chorus.
Change Hi-Hat Sub-Divisions: In earlier articles, we discussed how making the hi-hats go from 8th to 16th notes, or whatever variety you choose can alter the perception of time and speed. As a result, changing the subdivisions can add/remove energy from your track. Keep this in mind when building your arrangement. Use that energy from the hi-hats to power your choruses and make them really hit hard and them remove that energy by slowing down the hi-hats for your next verse.
Adding/Dropping the Groove: The Groove functions similar to the hi-hats in that it brings energy and movement to a track. Without the groove, a track often has no sense of movement (which can sometimes be a desirable effect). Thus, one trick is to leave the groove out during the intro and the first verse and then bring it in during the chorus. You can also pair up the groove with the changing hi-hat subdivisions for added effect. One example of this is the song "Motivation" by Kelly Rowland and Lil Wayne. During the chorus, an 8th note string part comes in and the leaves as the song transitions to the next verse. experiment with adding/dropping the groove in your track.
Changing the Rhythm: You can also change the rhythm of the song from one part to another, or alternatively, keep the rhythm the same but change the drum sounds used from one part of the arrangement to the next. An example of changing the rhythm of the track would be "One Mic" by Nas, where the beginning drum section is more chilled out and then proceeds to get "more hyped" up with a classic hip-hop beat as it progresses into the chorus.
There are a variety of techniques that can be used to spice up your arrangement, so experiment with a bunch of them and watch how your tracks instantly become more polished.
Add/Drop Sounds: If you have a beat with 20 great sounding tracks, realize that you don't need to bring them in all at once. Let the listener anticipate the beat. Have you ever been listening to a track and have been anticipating for the drums or the bass to come in? A good beat maker uses that anticipation to his advantage. So, when making your arrangement, have 6 or so tracks playing in the verse, a few more tracks brought in leading up into the chorus, and then finally you can bring them all in during the chorus.
Change Hi-Hat Sub-Divisions: In earlier articles, we discussed how making the hi-hats go from 8th to 16th notes, or whatever variety you choose can alter the perception of time and speed. As a result, changing the subdivisions can add/remove energy from your track. Keep this in mind when building your arrangement. Use that energy from the hi-hats to power your choruses and make them really hit hard and them remove that energy by slowing down the hi-hats for your next verse.
Adding/Dropping the Groove: The Groove functions similar to the hi-hats in that it brings energy and movement to a track. Without the groove, a track often has no sense of movement (which can sometimes be a desirable effect). Thus, one trick is to leave the groove out during the intro and the first verse and then bring it in during the chorus. You can also pair up the groove with the changing hi-hat subdivisions for added effect. One example of this is the song "Motivation" by Kelly Rowland and Lil Wayne. During the chorus, an 8th note string part comes in and the leaves as the song transitions to the next verse. experiment with adding/dropping the groove in your track.
Changing the Rhythm: You can also change the rhythm of the song from one part to another, or alternatively, keep the rhythm the same but change the drum sounds used from one part of the arrangement to the next. An example of changing the rhythm of the track would be "One Mic" by Nas, where the beginning drum section is more chilled out and then proceeds to get "more hyped" up with a classic hip-hop beat as it progresses into the chorus.
There are a variety of techniques that can be used to spice up your arrangement, so experiment with a bunch of them and watch how your tracks instantly become more polished.
About the Author:
Frank Lubsey is a part of the Jam Sonic music production squad and composes beats for hip-hop artists, jingles for companies, and music for tv/film. Visit his site for hip-hop beats for sale and to purchase beats.