MAKE BEATS FOR RAP

I use whatever I want, however I want. Unless I am specifically making a beat of a certain genre.

The best way to get a feel for a style is to listen to some music from it. Ignore everything but the beat and use their rhythms as a starting point. You will find most artists that work in certain genres have similar sounding beats. Just don't rip anyone off, look for inspiration.

The rhythm section of your songs drives the music. There is a reason songs like 'Another one bites the dust' and 'The wall' are almost universally liked. They use simple; yet compelling, percussion and bass. In other words, a great beat.

Lets use Rap / Hip-Hop as an example to start with. I always start with the Kick Drum. I use One or Two kicks, then arrange them in a pattern. In my case, its most often a staggered one-hit,space, one-hit, space, two-hits. After I lay down the kicks I cut their volume low and Duplicate it/them.

I use my EQ to cut everything but the bass on the duplicate, and raise it by 2-5 Db. This gives you that nice deep hit on your sub-woofer.

After I have my Deep Kicks, I either Make a percussion loop, or use one I have bought. I Play the Deep Kick and find a loop I like that fits. I also use Bass Loops. I like to use Rock style Bass Loops, but that's part of what makes my style. Just remember that the bass needs to compliment, not define the beat.
The role of the Bass depends strongly on the style of Hip-Hop / Rap you are making.

In West coast style the Bass is often layered on top of the beat, almost classically inspired, with a cello feel. More a part of the melody than the beat, with the Drums providing the drive. East Coast is more influenced by Battle Beats, so the Bass falls into its traditional role of being part of the rhythm section.

Tempo is also important. Faster beats are fine for some styles of music, and just wont work for others.

Since Rock music is a fluid style of music, trying to tell you there's any short cut to making good rock beats would be a heinous lie.

Similarly Pop music is far too diverse to nail down either.

BUT...here are some general ideas you can use.

1. Decide what style of song you want to make. Aggressive? Something people can dance to? Love Song? Power Ballad? A mix of those?

Figure out what you want to do before you start.

2. Don't try and force it. If you are in a crappy mood, don't try to make a peaceful song. Make a song that says "I want to punch someone".

3. In complete contradiction to number one, I usually just sit down and let my mood carry me through making a song. That's the nature of making music, everyone has their own way of doing it.

Let your feelings compel the rhythms from you. Passion can often carry you through making a song better than thinking about it. The best songs come when you're not deciding anything. The problem is that most people cant do that on command.

When you need to think a song through, do it. When you are feeling the flames of your emotions, don't think, feel!