This is a matter of opinion but...

[Gboy]

What up everyone--

I have been working on some beats that I actually like, (or don' hate... haha). Now I know this is a matter of opinion, but I was just wondering if you could tell me how you know if you are done with a beat. I listen to it and I feel it could go either way. Also, if it isn't done how do you know what to "color" the songs with?

Thanks,

Peace

 

[Cold Truth]

well, as for me a track will never be "finished" until the vocals get laid over them... thats when you really see what fits, what doesnt, and it kind of shows you where you might have too much of one thing and not enough of another. plus certain things might enhance a particular line, or maybe you want to alter a melody in a certain placeto compliment a singer.... all in all, i think it really just comes down to the final overall product and not the beat itself.

 

[Knock Out]

Listen through your beat and see if any parts sounds too repetative. When you reach parts like these, try adding in little stuff like cymbals or toms.

 

[light]

try playin it on lots of different stereos.. big systems little radio style systems car systems all that stuff.. it should sound good on all these. I also like to put a beat down for a few days or whatever and come back and listen to it. that helps for me. listing to somthing for too long, while breaking the beat down to the nitty gritty will alwayz make me lose touch with the beat as a whole. its a hard concept to discribe, but try leaving it alone for a bit and when you come back you'll be supprised at what you can pic up.

ive left beats for months, forgetting about them and when i go thru my material ill listen and be like "all this needs is _____ to make it complete"

anywayz you get the idea.. good luck

 

[dacalion]

I go with what I feel, if it feels uncompleted then I add to it and if it feels completed, I burn it on disc. All of the ideas that you cats wrote before me are good. Just go with what you're feeling.

--dac

 

[MadScientist]

The beat is complete once the vocals are laid over the track. After that, the song is arranged and you add the finishing touches. But all these beats that have been posted on here aren't even close to being done in my opinion. Just becuase you have it broke down into 16 bar format with a 8 bar chorus/hook doesn't mean that its done. The beats need to fit perfectly around the vocalist like a glove. You can almost never achive this without the vocals. You never know what will make for the best break down untill you have somethig to work with.

 

[bigdmakintrax]

I feel you but look Mad Scientist most of the time cats that buy beats usually want them multitracked....so then they can form the breakdowns and mutes......good mc's can work with a one track that is mixed down and structured for ad libs and hooks, but usually people want to customize the track and make it hot if you are not actually working directly with them......

 

[dacalion]

TRUE DAT BIG...I was working with some cats from NYC and that was exactly what they wanted. It went down like this...I let them pick a beat that they were feeling and then they wrote the lyrics. After coming back, we tuned both the lyrics and the beat to each other. Some MC's prefer to have the beat first and then write to it and some like to have the beat written for the lyrics. Some can do it both ways. I perfer that they have an idea of what they want before they come to me but at the same time its good to have beats ready for choosing whatever direction thats needed.

--dac

 

[Cold Truth]

hmmm.......... looks like evryone has great input on this thread!!! i guess the moral here is that ............. when it is finished, you will know!!! there are many variables to what it takes for a track to be finished.... so, you dont get an answer!!! ironically, that was the answer... imagine that....

 

[Equality 7-2521]

A beat is never going to be perfect so its all to do with how critical you are of your own beat. I usually cant help analysing the fuck out of my beats but the more you progress with a beat, the less you can do with it.

If i have spent time on it and cant find a way to make it better...i leave it.