There are countless talents on our planet. Unrecognized geniuses, certainly much more than famous and well-known. A couple of decades ago, in order to convey your talent to a true connoisseur, in order to find your audience, you had to go through the regional committee "on the ford" and win the sympathy of some mercantile official lady. It was not difficult to prove oneself, but in order to be noticed and singled out among others at least with a “tick”, one had to try very hard. And now - voila! I wanted to paint a picture, there is nothing easier. Bought (and most often stole) Photoshop, and you are already a brush and paint guru. It's the same story with songs.
How beatmaker works
Almost everyone can write poetry, rhyme lines, but creating a melody is much more difficult, you need ear for music. Here it is not enough just to know the alphabet and understand what words can make up a beautiful “literary ladder” - the notes are “friendly” in a different way. And creating something musical composition need to work comprehensively. There are only three tasks for "freshly baked" singer-songwriters - to write words, create music and combine them into a single whole. Someone so amuses his pride, someone wants to leave a memory in family archive, and someone wants to show off their talent in a grateful circle of friends. Rap and R&B are quite popular musical directions modernity. The basis of this music is a beat built on the sounds of various percussion instruments. But with all its features, it goes well with a fast, active, invigorating club electronic music, and with motifs of classical lyrical works.
Only a specialist improviser, who is called a beatmaker, can create a unique minus, that is, a phonogram. He is a magician who turns "drum roll" into a beautiful piece of music. This process does not last long, if you know a few basic steps leading to the desired result. The first thing to do before creating a backing track is to determine its tempo and rhythm, which will serve as the basis for the entire track as a whole. There are conditional, unspoken divisions of genres according to the number of beats per minute. Lyrical rap songs, for example, are written at about eighty beats; dance, rhythmic club music - from one hundred twenty to two hundred. Determining the rhythm and speed helps the beatmaker understand which instruments are best to use, in which parts of the work and in what quantity to place them. The next step is not just to set the rhythm of the composition with a metronome, but to paint it on different rhythmic percussion instruments such as snare drum, kick drum, viola, hats and others. There are practically no rules here, only creative thinking and the beatmaker's personal attitude to music are included. When the drums are put on the tracks in the right order, and the necessary rhythm is created, you can start decorating the classic "swotting". Because of the measure, the main theme of the composition often begins, although there are only three options that cannot be avoided - the main melody begins before the beat, along with it and after it. When she enters the composition, the creator of the track decides. The main melody should not sound constantly. It may appear at the very beginning to enable the listener to catch the motive, then it must disappear for a while, leaving free space for the voice, if one is implied. If the voice does not sound in the composition, then you will have to play with the volume level of the main theme, not the beat. Most often, the beat remains at the same volume level. Arrangements are usually prescribed by the beatmaker after the first thirty or forty seconds of sound and do not last long. They appear through time, giving the listener the opportunity to relax.
When the main parts and parts of the composition are spelled out, the time comes for the most important stage - mixing. Now the beatmaker determines the sound levels of the instruments, selects any fragments of the track and splits the tracks by frequency. In other words, it frees up space in the track for voice or other additions. Next comes mastering, and knocking down all the components of the track into a single whole. The track is ready. You can put it on repeat and enjoy the exclusive sound!
White Punk (Daniil Bumagin)
Who: A Penza beatmaker who works with the Dead Dynasty Pharaoh group on an ongoing basis. Solo composes very slow and gloomy music, where there is almost no beat - but there are gloomy guitars and keyboard fog
What: Pharaoh "Wildly, for example", Pharaoh "Cold Siemens", Pharaoh "Idol", Boulevard Depo "Rare Mess", White Punk "Vampire"
How much is a beat: unknown
I listened to a lot of bands different directions in search of that music that can teach me something. I remember when I was nine years old I heard the track “Say it Right” by Nelly Furtado and Timbaland, and it was just something. Especially loved Michael Jackson. He is king. Until the age of 14, I listened to indie folk, Klaxons, Bon Iver, MGMT, Lyukke Lee. Then I started listening to Enter Shikari, Aphex Twin, The Prodigy. So I got to the classics: Kiss, Metallica, Burzum, Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Deftones, Misfits. Then my life turned into rap. I was about 15: Three Six Mafia, SpaceGhostPurrp, Raider Klan - I have a special love for them - ASAP Rocky.
Listening definitely helps in creativity. Recently I released the first track in Russian, called "Vampir", it sounds interesting.
I think that adequately and coolly I started to get it already under the pseudonym Phantom. During this time, I managed to work with the aforementioned Raider Klan, to be on the same team from Los Angeles with RVMIRXZ from G59. Back then I connected a lot and made music with the dudes who did the phonk. It was cool. At that time Gleb noticed me (Pharaoh. - Note. ed.) and invited to the "Dynasty" (Dead Dynasty. - Note. ed.).
Gleb and I are very easy to work with each other. I remember at the very beginning I wrote the music for the PayWall mixtape with Boulevard Depot. We made it in less than a week!
When creating tracks, there used to be more mechanics. Now making music is more like an acid trip and moments of insight. The beat on "Wildly, for example" was written in total darkness in 30 minutes. Within a few days, the text appeared. At that moment we understood that it would be a hit.
I communicate only with Dynasty. This is my family. The place where you will always be understood and supported, a place where you can discuss problems different nature. Well, this is a treasure trove talented musicians. I really hope that many of us deservedly achieve more in this life.
All my work with Dynasty and Gleb was only on a creative basis. There was no such thing as someone offering me money and asking me to write to order. Everything was from pure heart. The most important thing in music is the feeling.
It's easier to just steal. As, for example, did "Evening Urgant"
Ploty (Alexey Veprintsev)
Who: Resident of Rostov, responsible for the main bangers of Spades, a member of the MLK + association (another from there, May Wave$, recently began working with Booking Machine)
What: Peak "Patimaker", Peak "UE", May Wave $ "Smokey Tears", "Caspian Cargo" "Oscar", Eldzhey "Ultraviolet Lamp"
How much is: 1300 rubles for a premium track (that is, for the entire project on individual tracks, plus wav and mp3 files; there is also an “exclusive” when the beat is generally removed from sale)
At the age of 11, my grandmother bought me a CD. She thought it was with music, because it said "Hip-Hop eJay", but it turned out to be a program for writing simple beats. So I started making the first beats. Then I went to music school, but did not finish my studies for a year. I dressed like blacks in the clips, so when I returned after the musician, I was greatly beaten right near the house. I was treated for almost a year and didn’t go to the music school - and then I didn’t want to recover.
Ironically, the first track I posted on the Internet was recorded to the beat of Pica. I was then 13 years old. That is, at first I bought beats from Pika, and then I started writing to him.
His track with my beat "Demons of the Fog" was played on the A1 channel. I was 15 years old, and then I thought that, probably, I was rummaging around in music, since they were playing on TV.
There are no preparations for all occasions. And when I sit down for a beat, I often don’t know what it will result in.
My version of "Patimaker" was already the third in a row. Pika threw a demo under his beat and asked to do something fresher. I did one version first, and after a couple of days - another, which eventually entered the album. Before writing this beat, I meditated for half an hour. And in a state of energy balance and trance, a motive came to my mind, which I began to develop. I finished it in an hour.
Meditation helps not only in creativity. Meditation and mindfulness training have, in a way, saved my life.
You know, in Russia, in my opinion, people underestimate the work of beatmakers. Therefore, they do not often pay attention to who wrote the music. Accordingly, we get only splashes from the wave of hype, even if it is a very hit track. For the most part, Partymaker gave me a good portfolio to meet new cool musicians. Well, the demand for beats has grown.
In America, beatmakers earn tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars, for them $1000-5000 for an exclusive beat is a normal price, and their names are often in plain sight. In Russia, it is not such a scale, but you can earn money. It can be a couple of thousand, and a couple of hundred thousand a month - as in any business.
I work with my team and don't get into any other communities. I met Mae Waves two years ago, America and O.T. I've known for 10 years now. On January 1, 2017, we gathered at the studio, put demos and beats on each other, and the boys took me to the association. We perfectly understand each other both in music and in life, in domestic and personal matters. Most often, whoever writes something first is the first to write it down. We write tracks right away and record right away. Sometimes we do 3-4 demos a night. Sometimes, of course, we simply arrange couplets by ear - who is the first, who is the last.
In addition to beats for sale, I make various electronic tracks, just music and ready-made compositions. It's a great way to get your music out to people. Then you are no longer just a beatmaker, but an artist, DJ and musician - you can play your own music, tour and sell tracks in online services.
Empaldo Beats (Valentin Filatov)
Who: 22-year-old Moscow beatmaker, loving dance music, co-writer of one of the most quoted songs of the past year
What: LJ & Feduk "Rose Wine", LJ "Ripped Jeans", LJ & Krautz "Disconnect", Tony Routh & Talibal "Bloody Mary"
How much is: 2000 rubles for a premium track
Somehow he made one beat - and it started one after another, and so he became a beatmaker.
I tried to break through to the West, registered on the sites. But there are many beatmakers there. I decided to first show myself on the Russian market.
I immediately began to release tracks only for sale. The first big name I sold a beat to was Aljay. It's about the track. I met him on VKontakte, threw off the bits, and work began.
As for Rose Wine. I just made a track, posted it to the group, and Aljay wrote if it was free or not. I said, "Free." He took it. After Rosé Wine, people started asking about me, asking about me, and so on. As for the attribution in the YouTube video caption, this is confidential information.
It all depends on the beatmaker, on his taste. I have both ratchets and a strong Skrillex-style spread. I don't follow other beatmakers, only those I know personally. I encountered the theft of tracks, stopped some personalities.
Sometimes the track takes a day, and sometimes it takes 15 minutes. I don't have my own studio. To create a beat, I need a MIDI keyboard, a laptop and speakers, and a program. This is how many beatmakers work.
Do you have enough to live on and do you have to work somewhere else? As for the work, I prefer to remain silent. But I will say one thing, that everything is possible in life.
Sad Soul Productions (Arslan Beisekov)
Who: a multi-stop beatmaker who prefers lyrics and dancehall to thriller and house
What: MiyaGi & Endgame "I Got Love", ST1M & Black Bros. "Prayer", Artem Loik "Question-Answer", Homie "Mary"
How much is: 3000 rubles for a premium track
Yes, beatmakers almost always remain on the sidelines. And for this reason, many do not want to work in the CIS.
Personally, I'm now focused on the West, where beatmakers are valued on a par with artists. If you made a hit track, then you can consider that this is your ticket to career growth, into a luxurious life.
Have I collaborated with foreign artists? No, only with beatmakers. Namely with E-Motion-L Productions from Germany and with Life and Death Productions from Anno Domini Nation. For me, foreign artists are no better than Russian ones. Like them, we also have underachievers.
I started making music in 2011. And the love for music, one might say, from the cradle. Interest pushed me to beatmaking. I just knew, knew that it was really mine.
I have a friend, his brother wrote tracks at home. So I first saw that you can make music on a computer without knowing the instruments. I was surprised, and the interest became even greater.
For work, I have a PC, keyboard, monitor, mouse, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 sound card and regular Microlab M-219 speakers. Equipment does not play a special role, it can only make work faster and more convenient. It is important to be able to work with the mind and feel the sounds of vibration. I compose tracks quite easily: I sit, play, and if something works out, then it goes like clockwork. On average, it takes an hour and a half to write one bit.
I don't remember the first beat. I did and still do a lot that I forget the names of projects. My first beat was sold for 300 rubles when I was 15 years old. The business has been really profitable since 2015.
I heard the Endgame track "Crimson Dawn". This was the reason for getting to know him. In April 2016, I wrote to him via VKontakte. And with Azamat (Kudzaev, MiyaGi. - Note. ed.) we, one might say, did not even get to know each other. After the track "I Got Love" I wrote him: "Thank you for the track", after which I received a response - and that's it.
"I Got Love" I made on August 13, 2016. It was one in the morning, I was sitting at work on a new beat. First played main motive on the piano. Then diluted with other tools. At the end I added a percussion part, the 808th kick and mixed the beat. After the publication of the beat, he sent it to Soslan, to which he received the answer: “It will be a hit!” The guys kept their word.
It is quite possible to make money on beats. If you are a really good musician, then definitely yes. I won't name the numbers, but there is enough for clothes and food.
In the section on the question Who is Bitmaker? Who is BitMaker? What kind of work does it do? given by the author Romulink the best answer is Beatmaker (eng. Beatmaker from beat - rhythm and maker - manufacturer; that is, creating a beat, “beat-maker”) - in rap music, a person who creates musical accompaniment for MC. Beat is a simplified designation for the music to which rap artists recite their lyrics. The beatmaker performs the functions of a composer, arranger and record producer. Beat making is now an art in the rap and hip-hop genres.
Among the most famous beatmakers in the United States are Dr. Dre, Scott Storch, Just Blaze, Alсhemist, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Timbaland and will.i.am. Many of them are not limited to rap music, also producing tracks in the genres of modern rhythm and blues and pop music.
Among Russian beatmakers, we can mention such musicians as Marat (KRec), Beatmaker Beat (Def Joint), Pencil, Vlady (Casta), Nel (Marselle), Dead K. I. T. (Yu. G.), Alex Muscle ( South Squad), Slim (CENTR), Freedom Beatz (Universal Music), Enter Beatz (China Town), Swanky Jam (Swanky Style Productions), UREL (Maney Corp.), Dj Error (PlayBeat.).
see also
Write a review on the article "Beatmaker"
Links
An excerpt characterizing the Beatmaker
Weyrother, who was the full manager of the proposed battle, represented by his liveliness and haste a sharp contrast to the discontented and sleepy Kutuzov, who reluctantly played the role of chairman and head of the military council. Weyrother evidently felt himself at the head of a movement that was already unstoppable. He was like a harnessed horse running downhill with a cart. Whether he was driving or driven, he did not know; but he rushed at all possible speed, not having time to discuss what this movement would lead to. Weyrother that evening was twice for a personal inspection in the enemy's chain and twice with the sovereigns, Russian and Austrian, for a report and explanations, and in his office, where he dictated the German disposition. He, exhausted, has now come to Kutuzov.Here you listen to rap, and there the recitative goes to a certain clear rhythm. And it is impossible to guess what kind of tool it gives. Maybe it's drums? But no! This is a man who knows how to beat the main musical theme through their own lips, hands and sense of tact. How to call such a craftsman? This is a real beatmaker! And who is a virtuoso who combines the functions of a composer and arranger. He feels the music at a deep level and can play even a primitive recitative in an interesting way.
From the very beginning
Translation of the term from in English quite simple: the word has two roots (beat and maker), meaning the concepts of rhythm and manufacturer. That is, under the word "beat" hides "melody", and for "beatmaker" - the meaning varies from a pretentious composer to an amateur arranger. Rappers read out their lyrics to a simplified rhythm, which can and should then be diversified with music. Today, beat-making is a real art in the rap and hip-hop genres. Most often, the work of a professional beatmaker is structured in this way: he cuts out the part of the melody of a certain track that he likes, and then writes a rhythmic part of drums and basses for it.
Why might this be your vibe?
Now it’s clear who a beatmaker is, but are they needed? Maybe they are just a tribute to fashion? But in fact, these are mediocre people with an absence. Many professional composers at first seriously doubted the art of creating beats, but their opinion changed radically in just a couple of years. Let's try to remember and imagine the atmosphere of any nightclub. Music breaks the speakers, alcohol flows like a river, and you want to dance until the morning. The hosts of the evening appear on the stage. And it is they who can start the hall in such a way that no cocktail can do it. It is in their power to make the usual "slow" a source of positive and energy, to make the melancholic start dancing, to kill melancholy and "pump" the audience. If you like creating music, perfecting already created tracks, giving emotions without speaking a sound, then your field is a great disco. DJ-beatmaker in this case is your calling!
Who to follow?
It would be nice to know who is a top-class beatmaker? Are there people in our time who can be considered virtuosos? Whose example can be followed? In the US, this is, of course, Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and the legendary Timbaland. Of course, they are not limited to rap only, but over time they turn into show business sharks, producing tracks for their labels. In Russia, he has been making excellent beats for a long time Pencil, Basta and Noggano, presented by Vasily Vakulenko. It is impossible to ignore and specifically her frontman Vladislav Leshkevich. Beatmakers today have to get along with the computer, as it opens up an immense scope for work. There are many programs that can make life easier for a musician of this specificity. If there is no craving for a computer, then today it is unlikely that you will be able to become a genius in creating beats. We'll have to compose music the old fashioned way!
How do they come to this business?
Initially, beatmaking seems to be an ephemeral activity, more fun than work. This view quickly turns into a fiction. Even the first software for a beginner can scare away, since the possibilities seem endless, but for some reason it doesn’t work out to bring them to life. Many teenagers refuse to create beats already at the stage of acquaintance with basic programs. Others will learn who the beatmaker is in stages. Video tutorials, experienced tips and useful resources on the Web will come in handy. You can't throw it - it's not a bike, and you can just not "ride" again. Often the first serious works come out "from the pen" of a beatmaker only 4-5 years after the start of work. So there is nothing for the impatient in this area. You either have to be a talent and naturally do great things, or you have to work hard.
Professional growth
Over time, every beatmaker becomes different. A street dancer develops into a person with a certain amount of knowledge. Most often, writing beats goes by the wayside and the musician strives to become full-fledged artists. If you need to assemble a track, then he does it quickly, like a constructor. Good habits remain, such as choosing only high-quality equipment and addiction to the right music.
Musicians look at their colleagues differently, they can easily figure out who is plagiarizing. Beatmaking is still considered a bread and butter business, as it does not become obsolete, it is popular at concerts, in clubs or at promotions. In addition, the beatmaker gets used to doing everything perfectly. He knows how to turn any track into a candy, give it fire, remove boring boring pieces and make a real bomb that can tear the dance floor to shreds. There are many talented potential artists in Russia, and, even according to Western professionals, they still receive little attention and, accordingly, see no reason to try hard.
