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I used to be your average music consumer, and never fully understood music production, I didn't even know what reverb was (I think this is still true with 90% consumers out there).

Now I have been producing for around 3 years, I have a much deeper understanding of music. I have studied everything from scales to chord progressions, and a lot of 'digital' theory aswell...

Now when I look at a lot of hip-hop stuff, I can't believe just how simple the beat is, but I enjoyed it at that time nonetheless. However I feel now as a producer I am looking at beats in terms of complexity also, like the way sounds come in and out and the way the beat progresses...If a beat is too simple then I find it hard to respect...but simplicity can also contain hidden genius below the surface...

just want to know your opinions on creating music for consumers (dancebility) vs other producers (to impress technically)...

quite a good question, but for me its easy, make music for consumers beacuse all producers are consumers too...

if the song is good everyone will appreciate it

true but its easier to impress consumers than other producers, like you could have the same loop over and over with a few dropouts/breakdowns here and there and they would be none the wiser..a producer however would notice the lack of variation

Personally I think its increased my listener experience. Even simple hiphop beats.. The fact that they can take a true minimal amount of sounds and turn it into something what gets your head nodding..

Then you got the mind blowing shit what makes you think. "How,why,when,who, why am I here, who is Burial, why is the sky blue"

Maybe you're expecting to much out of music? Instead of listening to it for what it is, you're trying to seek inspiration from it or criticize it, you need to learn when to take the Producer ears off and put Consumer ears back on

music is not about 'impressing' certain people at all

sometimes less is more!!

jhemstone wrote:but simplicity can also contain hidden genius below the surface...

This, imo.

A lot of the time there's some sort of x-factor in the construction of a beat - the mixing of the elements, the structure, the vibe, whatever - that you can't really pin down and say what's been done or why it's hard to do, but which distinguishes a simple but great beat from a lazy shit one.

http://www.bleep.com/?bleep=WAP228DF

listen to last track - dance floor stalker.

simple ass beat. groovy as hell.

most times, the simple things are the best, it's all in the production and the swing.

whatever works

i do find also that since i started producin music sounds diferent,i end up analyzing everything i hear-the only times i can truly vibe now is if im at a rave....or in a k-hole

i dont think it matters how simple or complex a track is,its how its put together and the actual sound quality....
peace

i cannot stress this enough!!!!


firstly Hip Hop beats sound easy but are generally one of the most painsteakingly hard things to get right!

and secondly the idea of second guessing yourself when you are making music about how it feels when you do it is absolute bullshit, and something to get out of before you even start making music. If you are thinking "this is too easy" maybe that's a good thing? I know when I am writing a song for example on my guitar, sometimes I will just sit and write 4 sections in 10 minutes all of which I think are brilliant, whereas other times I will sit and stress and try really hard and come up with nothing.

this is not to say don't push yourself, but if something sounds good it sounds good.

my 2c would be to heavily accent the 'easy' beat then add some stuff for the 'heads after maybe. whatever works.

Even though these beats sound easy or simple they are oftne not. The skill tends to lie in other areas such as making the drums punch real hard, or seeing the biger picture.

If it was easy we'd all be like Timbaland getting paid thousands for a "simple" track

I used to do over complicated high hat patterns, agonising over them, but 1/8ths with a little swing works better. Think of all the songs you like that have fuck all going on, 4 drum sounds, bass and a lead?

when i make hip hop beats i create the beat with all the bells and whistles....... leave it a day.... and then strip it back down to a more simplistic and catchy version of the beat i created the day before - more often than not it works

more times if u throw an acapella over the 'complex' version it sounds awful, but over the 'simple' version it works better

Twisted - Dutty Dubz wrote:sometimes less is more!!

My man. That was going to be my reply. Not just sometimes though but more often than not imo.

A simple beat can often make it easy to find a groove.

jhemstone wrote:I used to be your average music consumer, and never fully understood music production, I didn't even know what reverb was (I think this is still true with 90% consumers out there).

Now I have been producing for around 3 years, I have a much deeper understanding of music. I have studied everything from scales to chord progressions, and a lot of 'digital' theory aswell...

Now when I look at a lot of hip-hop stuff, I can't believe just how simple the beat is, but I enjoyed it at that time nonetheless. However I feel now as a producer I am looking at beats in terms of complexity also, like the way sounds come in and out and the way the beat progresses...If a beat is too simple then I find it hard to respect...but simplicity can also contain hidden genius below the surface...

just want to know your opinions on creating music for consumers (dancebility) vs other producers (to impress technically)...

i've found that the better i've got at production, the more i can find to be impressed by in a beat. it's not just the complexity - as someone says, it's just as impressive to hear a tune where there's only 2 or 3 simple elements, but that keep your interest for the whole tune nonetheless (in fact i would prefer that to a super technical editfest every time!).

or, more technically, tunes that are so loud you have to turn the channel down on your mixer, yet they don't sound compressed to buggery (like most current DnB does, for example. US hiphop at the moment is amazing for this)

heaps of my all-time favorite tracks are relatively simple...

the other day I was listening to an interview with Troy Allen (drummer for Fela Kuti, co-inventor of the afrobeat sound). about the development of afrobeat, he told the story that when they were starting out, someone said to him 'you want to be successful and make money from music? you just use the kiss method - 'keep it simple stupid'. after taking this idea to heart, the bands new material was breakthrough and became hugely successful.

I have a tendency to make things over-complicated when I produce, but I'm aware of the problem, and trying to simplify my tracks these days.

Joe C wrote:i cannot stress this enough!!!!


firstly Hip Hop beats sound easy but are generally one of the most painsteakingly hard things to get right!

and secondly the idea of second guessing yourself when you are making music about how it feels when you do it is absolute bullshit, and something to get out of before you even start making music. If you are thinking "this is too easy" maybe that's a good thing? I know when I am writing a song for example on my guitar, sometimes I will just sit and write 4 sections in 10 minutes all of which I think are brilliant, whereas other times I will sit and stress and try really hard and come up with nothing.

this is not to say don't push yourself, but if something sounds good it sounds good.

this. hip-hop is not simple. and many times a good track is made from what you leave out as much as what you put in.

Also I never think about a target audiance, making a track is a personal pleasure, I do it because I enjoy creating sound, If others like it then that is a bonus, If they think its crap then that their bag (tho they are obviousley thick as shit and have no taste. )