DirtyThirdBeats - I First wanted to make beats when i saw the video to Kanye Wests “Through the wire” on BET in 2004. He quickly became my favorite artist.
Kanye was very inspiring to me when i first started. All i wanted to make was soul beats. I still love those type tracks but slowly have started branching out into other genres.
I have always listened to a very broad spectrum of music but have always loved hard. mean sounding music. Today i mostly listen and focus on making hard trap style beats similar to Zaytoven, Shawty Redd, Drumma boy. I like to mix unconventional sounds into trap beats like saxophones and guitars.
Over the years i have become, in my opinion very knowledgeable on the software side of producing and lately really enjoy problem solving and helping out others.
1. Sampling. How important is it in producing music?
Well, sampling is important, but not a necessity. It is good to try your hand at all types of styles when starting out, find out what you are good at and focus on that. In my opinion sampling is best suited for the more creative type people and composing is geared more towards the technical/musically inclined people. Creativity and musical skill are two totally separate aspects of music making in my opinion, but people can be great at both.
2. Where do you see new producers making mistakes?
One thing is see allot is new producers tarnishing there online reputation from the get go by acting a fool. Personal relationships are a big part of succeeding in the game and if artists think you will be difficult to work with, it is not hard for them to find somebody else. On the musical side of things, i hear allot of new producers using just low quality bad sounds. Searching for good sounds and being able to recognize good/bad sounds is important.
3. What software do you recommend for making beats? And why? And what do you use?
Everybodys work flow is different so i cant really recommend a certain software. When it comes down to it now days all the main software programs are capable of doing the same things, it just depends on how you feel comfortable working. I use FL Studio and i feel like it is limitless in what it can do and the interface is so intuitive that to me it is fun working in it. I can’t say the same for Cubase, which i have worked with allot and i absolutely hate, but some people love Cubase. It’s all about personal preference. I would recommend getting your hands on the demo versions of various programs and seeing which one you like the best.
4. To all those new aspiring producers reading this learning to produce music / make beats, what advice can you give them starting out?
Listen to more music, all types. Once you start making music, the way you listen to music will change. Go back and listen to all your favorite music and try to figure out how they did certain things, and what gives the song the overall feel, what are the key sounds or movement in it that makes the song classify as a certain genre? Choose a certain genre of music and try to make a song in that style. One of the hardest things to do when starting out in my opinion, is making a track that sticks strictly to one style/genre, but it will help you learn allot. Another thing i recommend is reading books and websites and watching online videos. One thing that helped me ALOT is the Youtube show called “Pensados Place” it has tons of great mixing and engineering tips, also the website FutureProducers.com
5. What are the 3 most important steps to making beats?
1. Learning your software/hardware. The more you know about your gear, the more freedom you have to get creative with it. Once you get completely comfortable within your work area, the more you can focus on just making the music.
2. Sound choice. You can have a very well constructed song but the actual sounds within the song is usually what draws the listener in and is what makes them love or hate the song.
3. Mixing. When you are starting out it’s important to know how sounds fit together and a good mix can really make your tracks stand out and catch peoples attention.
6. Very few producers make it to the top of there career as a world famous producer. What’s the difference, in your opinion, between a famous producer and one who can’t seem to it? What do the ones that make it do that the ones don’t ?
Networking and relationships is probably the most important thing for getting your tracks heard by the right people. There are so many aspiring producers out there that even if your music is truly great there is a good chance the right people will never hear it. Professionalism is another thing that separates the ones that make it and the ones that don’t. Knowing the business side of things is important if you want to take that next step.
7. Which do you prefer new producers start with when learning to make beats: Hardware or software? And Why?
I started out strictly making music with software. The first time i stepped in a studio full of hardware i felt like i almost had to start over with the learning process. Having musical knowledge, creativity, knowing the terms, etc. will help you very little when you are expected to hook up gear, deal with hardware interfaces, and get things up and running for the artist. I think it is important to get familiar with both worlds so you can take advantage of the most opportunities you have to work as a producer.
8. What makes a quality beat? What must it sound like? How do you know when your done?
I recommend comparing your tracks to classic songs that you love. When it comes down to it there is no rules to how it should sound but obviously you don’t want the listener to notice your track standing out negatively compared to other other tracks they have heard recently. Knowing when you’re done is actually a very hard thing for me. When i think a track is done i will reference it on different stereos/speakers and see if that tells me that it needs anything, then go back to mixing on my monitors.
9. Should I go to school to learn more about music?
I think an audio school can streamline the learning process and make it quicker, but i don’t think it is totally necessary. I have heard schooling makes it easier to learn on your own after the schooling because you will have learned all the terms and technical info already so you know what people are talking about when you are reading/talking/watching info on audio production. Sometimes when you are starting out, it is hard to soak up information from these things because you simply don’t know the technical terms they are talking about, so i think schooling can provide a good basis for that.
10. Any final thoughts or advice to aspiring producers?
Just have fun, if making music is not fun for you, a career as a producer will be hard. If you feel like you are having fun making music, it will never seem like work.
We would like to thank DirtyThirdBeats for taking the time to out for this interview.
DirtyThirdBeats@gmail.com
Twitter: @DirtyThirdBeats
Website: www.Soundclick.com/DirtyThirdBeats
