| How To Make Beats On A Keyboard | | | | Latency is the amount of time the computer takes in |
| Making hip hop and rap beats is a very popular hobby, | | | | processing an external signal. This creates the very |
| with perseverance it can actually become a | | | | common problem of playing a note now and hearing |
| profession. The fact that most present day home | | | | the sound 2 seconds later. |
| computers have more than enough power to run a | | | | To record a live performance of any kind would be |
| decent music production set up makes it really easy to | | | | almost impossible this way. Also if you want to plug |
| get started. Here I'll review some of the equipment | | | | musical instruments or mics audio interfaces have the |
| needed to make your own rap beat. | | | | proper inputs. |
| A Music Production Software | | | | A Midi Controller |
| There are plenty of music software to choose from | | | | Playing a midi controller forces you to learn many |
| these days. Fruity Loops for example, let's you | | | | things: how to record enable tracks, how to set up a |
| download a fully working demo that comes with some | | | | metronome, how to quantize and with time even make |
| lessons, but you can't save anything until you pay. | | | | you decent keyboard player. |
| After doing some research I found an 'internet only' | | | | Midi used to be difficult to deal with but not anymore, |
| product named Sonic Pro. This package is pretty | | | | most of today midi controllers connect via USB and |
| impressive, for a mere $30.00 USD it offers a | | | | are automatically recognized by most popular music |
| sequencer, sounds, effects and instruments. | | | | software. Their price and size have gone down |
| What sets this program apart is that it includes a | | | | dramatically in recent years, midi controllers are |
| bunch of tutorial videos about how to make your own | | | | available now as low as $50.00 USD. |
| beats. The videos are not only for the included | | | | Monitors |
| software but also for more popular choices like Pro | | | | Small computer speakers can not reproduce very well |
| Tools and Logic. | | | | the entire audio frequency spectrum, so they hype up |
| An Audio Interface | | | | certain frequencies to make up for it. Problems are |
| Most computers come with a sound card included, | | | | bigger in the extremes, in particular low end which is a |
| where you plug the speakers. The problem of these is | | | | very important range for rap and hip hop beats. Low |
| that they are susceptible to a horrible amount of | | | | budget monitors would not take care of this |
| latency. | | | | completely, but they will definitely help. |