How To Start Making Beats The Beginners Guide

The Best Beat Making Guide For Beginners

You have a desire to start making beats and I must let you know that it does take time, energy and effort in order to learn how to master this craft. I know how difficult and can be to get started and that is why I decided to create this guide in order to help you out. Having the right tools at the right time in your development is what you're going to need help with.

There are a couple of things that you need to know in order to get started. 
First you will the beat making software but there are so many out there knowing which one to choose is important. This will save you time and money. We will go more into this later
The next thing that you will need is a schedule in order to learn how to make the beats. You're going to have to do an inventory of your life and squeeze in time to learn how to make music. You're learning a new skill so you need to put the time in.

This guide will help you find the right tools that you need as a beginner to get started and please don't get discouraged it's not that difficult to learn.

It's Actually Kind Of Easy To Make Beats Now

When you think of your favorite music producer today they have spent thousands of dollars on their equipment. But the due to the fact that technology has advanced so much you can make the same quality level of music right from your home computer or laptop. There are even some beat making apps for ipads and smartphones they create quality sounds.

In today's world you can build a home studio and spend only a fraction of the cost as those big time producers. But you will have to spend some money in order to make it happen. So after you read this article you need to know what type of budget you want to get started with.

If there is anything that I can share with you in this guide that is you can do this. Don't make any excuses just get started and believe in yourself.

Let The Beat Making Guide Begin

Let's start with the basics and discuss software. You will need a beat making software and all that means is that you need a program that allow you to edit instruments and lay them out the way you want.

A very popular term you will hear in this field is a DAW which is short for Digital Audio Workstation. This is what all beat making softwares are called and it is the foundation for your home studio.

Since you probably are a beginner I decided to list a DAW's below that are user friendly to newbies.

The Best DAW's for Newbie Beat Makers

BTV Solo is perfect for the beginner that is not sure if they want to do this long term but would like to give a try. It's really user friendly and using it will help you understand the basics of making beats and laying down tracks.

What I like most about this program is that it is online based, which means you login 

Learn More About BTV Solo

​on their website and you don't have to download anything. It does lack other options that you will probably want to use in the future but it is a great place to get started.

Learn More About FL Studio

FL Studio is way more complex than BTV solo and you would have to download this software to your computer/laptop. But that means it comes with much more potential and powerful plugins that will help create beats.

FL Studio is one of the best DAW's ever made and many people are satisfied with the product including myself. If you know absolutely nothing about making music this will be 

​complicated at first but there are so many youtube video tutorials out there you won't have a problem figuring things out. But if you want to start off slow and learn the basics you should try BTV Solo first.

Those are the two that I recommend in this guide but there are a lot more out there but for beginners these are perfect. So if you decided that you want to just get your feet wet go with BTV Solo. Because the price is really low and you will get to learn the basics and later you can upgrade to something like FL Studio.

If you know the basics of making beats then go for FL Studio because there are no limitations, the sky's the limit. They have 3 different version beat making software but the price is as low as $99 and as high as $500. This option is for those that are serious about becoming a music producer.

You Are Going to Need The Right Equipment to Make Your Beats

Now that you know you are going to need software to make your beats with, you now will need some other tool too put everything together to make it all happen.

So if you are just starting out you only need some basic stuff and I am sure you have read other things on the web that said you need all the equipment in the world and that is simply not true. Let me share with you the only equipment that you will to get started and to make qualoity sounding beats

Find a Computer

Step number one for you is to find a computer and a really powerful one at that. But your pockets may not be able to support you buying right now a Macbook Pro but you do have some other options out there. I actually have written an article about the best computers for making beats that you can read here. So I am not going to go into too much detail on this post. 

These are the basic specs you want to look for in a computer or laptop when you are shopping around.

• Processor should be at least 2.5GHz- This determines how fast your computer will run and you want things to move smooth and fast while you creating your tracks.
• 8GB of RAM as a minimum- because this also contributes to speed and storage
• No less than a 500 gig hard drive- but as you make more music you will need more space, so be ready to upgrade your hard drive in the future but this will work for starters

If you don't know exactly what those things I mention above are for just know those are the minimum specs you should be looking for when shopping around.

Two Computers You Can Look At Now

You can buy the computer/laptop right off amazon but to help you get started below are two that you can research right now.

The Apple Macbook Pro

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The Apple Macbook Pro is all you need. Apple products work very well with musicians. I believe this laptop was designed for music makers.

​It is the most popular laptop used by music producers from those that are famous to the guy making beats in his bedroom. It's a little pricey but worth the money.

The Dell Inspiron

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This computer is not as powerful as the MAcbook Pro but it will get the job done and the price is just right for beginners.

What I noticed is that this particular computer has a 4 out of 5 star  ratings on Amazon. So take a look.

Conclusion On Computers

Don't over think this. Let your budget guide you on this one. If you have deeper pockets the MAcbook Pro is the way to go. If you are on a tight budget look at the Dell but either way just get started.

You Instruments To Make Your Beats

In the beginning of this post I informed you of two DAW software's that you can use in order to start making your beats and those were BTV Solo for complete newbies and FL Studio for those that know the basics. 

What's great about those programs is that they each come with over 100 sample sounds and other instruments you can use to get started.  As a matter of fact all DAW's come with instruments and samples that you can play with.

You Will Need To Upgrade Eventually
As your skills progress you will need and want more sounds that you can add to your software. Don't worry both BTV and FL Studio have upgrades that you can purchase that will give you more music to work with later in your career.

Studio Headphones (Optional but Good to Have)

This really is an optional piece of equipment you can add because you don't need studio headphones to make beats. Your normal commercial headphones for casual listening don't provide what is known as a flat sound. A flat sound is basically when you can hear every instrument and they don't change the sound. When you are making beats you want to hear each instrument exactly how it sounds.

​Beyerdynamic Dt 880 Pro Headphones

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The Beyerdynamic DT 880 are is a closed back headphones but they really are top of line. This is a flat and neutral sounding headphone.

​I mentioned earlier that You should use a flat sound. But if 

​you decide to record music in the future these can be used for that as well. So you can get more bang for your bucks with this pair.

Studio Monitors (Optional)

Before you download your beats and share them with the world you need to make sure that the sound is quality. This is why I recommend studio monitors and headphones. Like I said above you don't need these to get started but they will help you with the quality of your sound.

Yamaha HS5 Studio Monitors

What you need is a monitor that will give a flat sound so that you can hear all the music just the way it is without anything else added to it. It is priced well and it's a quality speaker.
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You can check amazon to get all the specs on this monitor and you will see when compared to other models you are getting a quality speaker for the price you will pay.

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Audio Interface

What is an audio interface? Basically it upgrades how your computer exports sound. Audio interfaces give you more control over the sounds your create by manipulating the frequency.
If you decide to purchase a studio monitor you will need to get an audio interface to go along with it for the reasons I mentioned above.

Steinberg UR22 2-Channel USB 2.0

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I was checking amazon and the Steinberg has a ton of positive reviews. Many people love this because it is great for live sounds. 
But the main reason why I added it to this beat making guide was because of the price on Amazon.

PreSonus AudioBox USB 2×2

The Audiobox is great for music producer and is perfect for newbies. I placed it on the list because the quality is so good for the price of the unit.
It can work with MAC and PC computers because it comes with a USB plugin

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Best Keyboards for Beat Making

A MIDI keyboard device is a basically a small piano with keys and buttons on it that you can manipulate the sounds with. It then will send those sounds directly to the DAW you are working with.

Should I buy a Keyboard?
Yes, if you decide to purchase the FL Studio software because you will need it.
No, if you decided to buy the BTV Solo because it is all online based. Remember, BTV solo can make some professional sounding music but it is limited compared to other DAW's. 

In this guide there is only one beat making keyboard that I recommend for newbies and that is the Akai MIDI Keyboard. Why? Because it is user friendly and the price is right. A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the 5 best keyboards for beat making that you can read here.

​Akai MPK Mini (MPII)

If you haven't noticed yet I am very price conscious because as a newbie I don't want you to spend too much money getting started.
This is actually a standard keyboard that almost all beginners start with. And it has the most sales on Amazon by a large margin.

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You're All Set

You are ready to get started and the next thing you need to do after you get your equipment is to create a schedule for you to practice everyday. If you are a total newbie it will take you about a month just to get use to playing with the knobs and understanding how to layout the tracks. 

In another 2-3 months you should be making full songs and tracks but this all depends on your level of dedication and how much time you practice. Good luck and once you get started, send me an email and let me know how your development process is going.