http://soundcloud.com/amarpawar/piano-beat-sample

Here's a sample of a beat I'm working on. I want to know how I can get this track to sound better, punchier, with correct levels and professional?

Thanks!

You are asking too many questions to which there is many, many answers.

First off, you might want to start by making a beat that has a definite tonal centre. I.e - make something that has a key. You're bassline sounds terrible because it does not follow this rule. Also there are times when your piano sounds awful because the note playing is not in the right scale and sounds atonal when compared to the previous note.

To sound more professional you need to become more professional. There isn't any one quick fix. I'd suggest looking up youtube videos explaining compression, eq'ing, and hip-hop production. Listen to some of the work by the industries greatest producers like Dre, Swizz, Premiere, RZA and Storch.

I'll have to look in to that bassline, thanks. If I think I know what you're referring to I purposely made the piano sound like that.

Besides the actual playing, what do you think of the production?

First thing first I think you need to learn some basic theory. The beat is really simple with only 4 elements so your sound selection and the way you are using those sounds have to improve for track to stand up with competition. As previous stated your bassline and piano line don't complement each other and the piano sounds lack life in movement.

So I say, start with better sound selection and basic music theory. The rest will follow.

The drums also sound very bland, they sound like a garageband preset.

Get some drum pads, learn to use you fingers to drum, and practice to some favorite songs.

Sounds like you're just starting, and if you are, you WON'T sound pro. If there was a way to sound pro really quickly and easily, then it wouldn't be "pro" anymore. If everyone was good, the best would be better.

A lot of us here (myself included) have been making music for years and it still sounds weak, so my answer to you is take some advice, and more importantly, keep making more tracks. Every time you make a new track ask yourself "what did I like about my last track? What did I not like?"

I know basic music theory, but I haven't really been focusing on it moreso than my ears. lol Oh well I'll try to apply more theory to my music, though I might have to refresh my memory from theory I learned years ago.

Would you please be able to explain to me your advice such as your thoughts about my beat having 4 elements, and the piano sounds lacking life in movement. What do you mean by those things?



What do you mean by sounding very bland? Do you mean velocity dynamics?

Also I don't think I can afford a drum pad right now, though I'm thinking about buying a midi controller with some pads someday or maybe the Maschine.[/quote]

Your sound selection sucks and your beat is out of key. Fix those and you will stand a better chance of making good hip hop. You need great sounding drums preferably punchy ones out the gate. Spend less time on your melody it was trying to do too much hip hop is a groove genre.

I like that your demo is short. Makes it more likely that I'll press play. Anyway, my advice:

1. Make more music.
2. Listen to more music.
3. Learn all the theory (musical, technical, psychological, business, etc).

-Kim.

man you destroyed my song haha. I don't have a lot of money right now so I'm using free and low cost stuff to make music.

What do you mean by my melody trying to do too much? Do you mean I should create a simple melody that's repetitive to create a lasting groove rather than switching the melody up?

btw thank you to you all for listening and providing me feedback and advice.

Also I uploaded an new version of the sample with a bass line in key (C Maj)
Last edited by 3ptguitarist on Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:16 pm; edited 1 time in total

The piano chords are so stiff! Use shuffle in MIDI to loosen them up, a lot of hip hop is very shuffle-centric.

I quantized them and made all of them the same velocity. What do you mean by shuffle?

Read your DAW manual about how to quantize with shuffle.

A midi controller with pads is what I implied, definitely a hip-hop way of working.


Boom. There you go, straight quantization makes drums lifeless.

Well at the moment I don't have the money to buy such equipment, all I have is an M-audio Keystation 49e.

Are drum pads necessary?

Hey 3PG,

I worked some with Salaam Remi, Amy Winehouse's last producer, and he didn't use lot of swing in his beats, but he DID leave his velocities alone to leave some life in his programmed stuff. He'd fix anything that went TOO far out, but otherwise, the vibe as played was best. And it was GOOD, especially as the track built up.

Another good trick I learned from watching him work was he quantized in high percentages, but never 100%. That left just a little movement in the beat that sounds less robotic and stiff. Kick and snare were higher percentages, but hats, toms and cymbals were left pretty loose.

As Kim mentioned earlier, keep at it, I know your toolkit just got better with Sonik Synth 2!

And if you haven't chosen your free eSoundz libs yet, Hip Hop Instruments has some great, modern-sounding kits, synth basses and my favorite piano out of the whole IK/SR collection "Clean Piano". And anybody who missed the $29 Sonik Synth 2 sale at IK/eSoundz.com, it's still ON! HURRY!


KVR/eSoundz: Xenobt