Having just passed its 25th anniversary, New Order’s Blue Monday cemented itself as an iconic part of music history for many reasons, most notably, it’s distinctive kick drum intro…
The original single peaked in the top ten in many countries worldwide and the single still currently stands as the best-selling 12 inch single of all time. Remixed and re-edited by many different bands, the track is still relevant today and is being played in clubs around the world for that pure hit of 80s nostalgia.
Beat making is a fun and fast process once you know the basics and on the BandLab platform, we have options for all levels of creators. Here’s a rundown as well as some hot tips for you to get your production game on and release your inner Dre…
Looper
If you just at the very start of your beat making journey, we’d recommend you try out the Looper. The Looper has sound packs all preloaded, each one has a set key and tempo and all you need to do to activate each sound is tap one of the buttons, or swipe the screen. This is perfect for anyone who needs a backing track to sing or rap over, or maybe some music for your latest holiday video. Just hit record and select different combinations of buttons to make music instantly, it really is that easy!
Loops
If you’re one of the types of people who knows what sounds good, but you don’t exactly have the music knowledge to play a part in, then we’d recommend you make some beats using loops from our vast library of free loop packs. The packs have been designed by genre by our in-house sound team so whatever the type of music you’re in to, we’ve got you covered.
Tip: Try slicing up loops and adding effects to make them truly your own.
Drum Machine
The drum machine is a super fun tool which enables creators to get a lot more hands-on with the individual sounds that make up your drum patterns. To get you started, we’ve pre-populated some drum patterns for you. We’d recommend using the drum machine if you have a basic to intermediate knowledge of beat making. The triggered samples are all on 16th notes so there’s no way to go out of time, but it takes a certain level of understanding to know which sounds go well together. At any level, this is extremely fun so we’d recommend playing around with it and seeing what you come up with.
Tip: set a base track using loops and then add individual elements on a drum machine track to personalise the patterns and add variations.
Recording
Famed for a recent vice film about the French producer, Jacques is an artist who takes sound from everyday objects and samples them in his music…
It just goes to show that, with a little creativity there is a whole sonic world out there just waiting to be in your next beat. Try taking your device out with you into the real world and record some sounds directly into BandLab.
Aside from sampling, there are thousands of MIDI sounds on BandLab too. Connect your MIDI device and pick from a number of Virtual Instruments, from synth bass to orchestral sounds. MIDI allows you to easily change the sounds and manipulate their tempo manually, even after you’re done recording the part in.
So what are you waiting for!? You have loads of free beat making tools right at your fingertips. Have fun with it, share your beats and don’t forget to use the hashtag #BandLab so we can hear your amazing creations.
