Obviously it is a wide genre of electronic music. However it does have the few defining characteristics. Fast, heavy, distorted and punk influenced pop, jazz, techno and rock sounds along with psychedelic music influences characterize the style. Obviously certain groups, and artists were influenced more strongly by some more than others.

Fat boy Slim, is more funky. The prodigy, are more punk. The chemical Brothers and the Crystal method are more techno.

Producing Big Beat is all about big sound. The drums should be distorted and loud. Vocals can have a punk edge, and also be distorted. Intense bass lines and synthesizer loops are also characteristic of the style.
Fast drops of elements, explosive addition or return of elements, wind and droning noises and extreme work in the stereo field are also common.

This is style of electronic-based music I first got into. The prodigy’s fat of the land album is still a favorite.

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Rhythm Guitar should be centered, but lower. The Rhythm Guitar should be treated as part of the Rhythm section and used to drive the song, it should not be louder than the lead guitar.

Bass should be panned off to the other side about 10%. It should be at a fairly low volume through the whole track. The bass should mix with the drums to create your rhythm section.

Drums should be panned in relation to where the drum being hit, is on the drum kit. Your kick drum should be centered. Snare drums should be panned 10 to 50% to either side depending on their location on the drum kit. Hi hat should be panned 70% or so, to the side it’s located on the drum kit. Symbols can be panned anywhere, as can other percussion. The idea is to give the impression of sitting in front of the drum kit while it’s being played.

Keyboards should be panned to the same side as the bass at about 30%. Depending on the style, determines the volume keyboards should be played. Obviously during keyboard solos; or parts that emphasize keyboards, they need to be louder.

Vocals should always be panned to the center. During verses, and the chorus the vocals should be the loudest element of the song. Additional vocal elements can be panned and set at a volume appropriate for the effect desired.

Standard rock music, and pop music arrangement is as follows( while variations are used for all songs, this is the basic structure used in most rock and pop music):

intro – hook – verse – chorus – verse – chorus – Solo – intro reprisal – chorus – finish

This arrangement, however is typically set aside for more story oriented songs.

For example ’stairway to heaven’.

This is an example of a ‘building song’.

In this arrangement the song starts low and slow, then builds to a grand finale that ends; typically, with a slow finish.

Bohemian Rhapsody, is also a good example of this kind of arrangement.

A jam song, generally has no set arrangement. Lyrics are frequently improvised, as are various elements of the song. Grateful Dead songs, particularly on their live albums exemplify this kind of free form arrangement.

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It is impossible to really nail down what space music is definitively. It uses influences from every where.

The only definite element is a contemplative nature, and the feeling of movement in time and space.

Unless you are very familiar with these concepts, and have a good ear for spatial music you will have a rough time creating space music.

This genre takes dedication to master.

The theme from Dr Who could be said to be an early example of Space Music.

Your effects will be very important to you, as will be your synth tools. Focus on creating the feeling of going someplace through nothingness. Once you have taught yourself to create that atmosphere, then the rest becomes much easier.

Once you have figured out how to create that feel of moving around in space, the rest is up to you.

I use whatever I want, however I want. Unless I am specifically making a beat of a certain genre.

The best way to get a feel for a style is to listen to some music from it. Ignore everything but the beat and use their rhythms as a starting point. You will find most artists that work in certain genres have similar sounding beats. Just don’t rip anyone off, look for inspiration.

The rhythm section of your songs drives the music. There is a reason songs like ‘Another one bites the dust’ and ‘The wall’ are almost universally liked.

They use simple; yet compelling, percussion and bass. In other words, a great beat.

Lets use Rap / Hip-Hop as an example.

I often use Hip-Hop software, but I also make my own.

I always start with the Kick Drum. I use One or Two kicks, then arrange them in a pattern. In my case, its most often a staggered one-hit,space, one-hit, space, two-hits.

After I lay down the kicks I cut their volume low and Duplicate it/them.

I use my EQ to cut everything but the bass on the duplicate, and raise it by 2-5 Db.

This gives you that nice deep hit on your sub-woofer.

After I have my Deep Kicks, I either Make a percussion loop, or use one I have bought. I Play the Deep Kick and find a loop I like that fits.

I also use Bass Loops. I like to use Rock style Bass Loops, but that’s part of what makes my style. Just remember that the bass should compliment, not define the beat.

The role of the Bass depends strongly on the style of Hip-Hop / Rap you are making.

In West coast style the Bass is often layered on top of the beat, almost classically inspired, with a cello feel. More a part of the melody than the beat, with the Drums providing the drive.

East Coast is more influenced by Battle Beats, so the Bass falls into its traditional role of being part of the rhythm section.

Tempo is also important. Since I use Acid Music Studio; and mostly Acidized loops, I can make a beat then adjust the speed (tempo / BPM) to fit what it is intended for.

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When you set yourself on making a Minimalist techno track, work your drums and bass first and arrange everything else around them. Don’t worry so much about not being repetitive, use pitch and processing to work the drums into something that you could dance to without anything else. Then you can go back through and add some other small elements to show off your style, and flair.

You actually want it to be repetitive. The idea is to get the listeners so zoned on the beat, they dont even care about the rest of the song. Keep the beat strong and heavy. It can be fast, slow, or anything you want. It just needs to be something that keeps them moving.

I personally find it to be an annoying style to make. Its not easy, the precision needed to make the drums, bass and hooks ride true is tiring. I just don’t like music that’s so repetitive.

However I will often work a track as a Minimalist song to start with, then work it to where I want it to go. I figure if its a decent sounding minimalist track, it’ll make a great foundation to base something else on.

Really if you make a good enough Minimalist song, you could base an entire album on it. NEVER WASTE A GREAT BEAT!

If you are working on your beat skills, I suggest working with some Minimalist techno tracks for awhile. Once you have down the art and science of making a good Minimalist song, you can make beats for anything.

As inspiration try listening to some tribal music. The drums are the drive, the other instruments (if there are any) are just there to add color. You are looking to make beats that dig into peoples minds and hearts and grab them, and don’t let go till the songs done. Master that and any dance style is yours for the making.

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When creating a DownTempo track in Acid Music Studio I recommend setting your Beats Per Minute (BPM) fairly low, around 90 to 70. Use slower, hypnotic “groove type” beats, and arrange nice instrumental pieces over it. You can use vocals and other soothing noise in the back ground to help fill out the track.
With DownBeat (same thing) its all about being nice and chilled.

However, there are also countless directions you can take downbeat-downtempo music. Never feel like it has to sound a certain way, it’s YOUR music!

Sounds simple, and the truth is that it is. It only gets hard when you make it hard.

The simplest arrangement is Intro-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-(A solo, for example)-chorus-Finish.

All it really is, is figuring out when instruments start, when the beat starts and when they stop. How often you use your chorus, how long you let a hook ride. If you don’t try to over think everything, the song will “tell you” how it should be arranged.

Style and song feel plays the biggest role in how you arrange a song. Softer songs generally start with a guitar or keyboard intro, then let the beat come in. More exciting songs often start with the bass, or full rhythm section, then add the rest. In your face tracks typically blast you with a loud intro using everything.

The truth is that their are no rules for arranging a song. I know people hate to hear that sort of thing, but its true. Listen to ten rappers and their producers will each have their own style of arranging songs. The same goes for all music. Part of what makes an artists or groups style is how they like to arrange songs.

Some don’t bother at all, or use arrangements loosely. Free style rappers, jam bands like the grateful dead and others, just do what they feel at the time.

Try starting with a Hi-Hat hitting on each beat. Then add your kick in a steady rhythm. Add a clap after every second Kick (kick–Kick–Clap–Kick–Kick–Clap). Then arrange some other percussion around that. Use different sounds in the same rhythms in a rotating pattern. For example use three toms for the first use of your rhythm, then do the same thing with two toms and a snare, then with three snares, then go back to the three toms.

That’s a simple way to assemble a Beat.

Try using a break. Use a single element of your rhythm to keep things going, but drop out the rest of the beat for a short time.

The possibilities are truly only limited by your imagination.

Make your own hip hop beats, without needing thousands of dollars in software and equipment.

First off what you plan to record determines a few things. As does your environment. If you have a studio that’s great, I’m interested in talking to people without a studio. Since we don’t have the benefit of sound booths, professional wiring, and all the other fancy equipment and Microphones Pro studios have, we must use a little ingenuity and imagination.

Lets start with isolating what you’re recording from the backing track. Now unless you have a savant singer, or instrument player, they will need to hear the rest of the track to get their cues. So how do you do it?
The easiest way is to play the track over headphones on a separate computer or player, then record with your main system. If you cant, try isolating the recording mic instead. If you really have no way of keeping the live sound from bleeding into what you’re recording, try your best to position the mic, where it wont pick up as much of the backing track.

I have found that using an amp, and a recording Microphone works best. If you don’t have a USB Mic that plugs into the computer, or an adapter for plugging a standard mic jack into a computer, I have never seen a computer that doesn’t have a plug for an online chatting mic. They don’t pick up sound as good as a real mic, but they get the job done when you can’t afford anything else.
You can use a mic to record directly into the computer if you don’t have an amp, but you lose whatever ambiance the room adds when you go purely digital.

For electric instruments, place your mic about a foot or two away from the amp, for instruments like woodwinds, and strings, set them up close to the recording mic or the amp, and play with where you put the mic till you hit a sweet spot. For recording vocals, you need to differ for the vocalist. Some like to hold onto the mic when they record. For clean singing the mic they sing into should be slightly higher than their chin.

As you can tell there are a lot of variables to deal with. The most important thing to do is try to get the purest recording you can, with what you have. Don’t waste time worrying over what you don’t have, and do your best with what you have on hand. With a little experimentation and trial and error, you can make even the worst equipment work for you.

Now if you didn’t understand any of that, A sound loop is a piece of audio. It can be a drum beat, a guitar riff, dripping water, tools being used and anything else you can imagine. You use them to make songs. Mainly electronica styles. Glitch is a style of electronica based on weird machine noises. Think video game in a blender.

If you’re more interested in instrument based music, this really isn’t a good article for you.

There are lots of ways to change loops. Altering pitch, using the equalization to change the focus of the sound, effects and more. The only limits on what can be achieved are the ones on your imagination. Take a Drum loop and put it through a distortion effect, try the settings, you never know what it’ll sound like!

Try running the same piece of sound through a bunch of different effects. Try combinations of effects.
I will only insist on one thing. Use a compression effect. Compressor software limits the level of volume a track can go past. Since some effects, and combinations of effects can produce ear splitting sounds, always use compression when experimenting with warping loops!

A fun trick I’ve used is to import a movie to my production software. I get rid of the video and run the audio through various effects till I get something I like. You end up with over an hour of bizarre and distorted sounds to play with. Best of all since the sounds maintain the ups and downs of a movie soundtrack; without sounding anything like one, what you get is always unique. It can be cool when a bit of sound drifts through, that you can tell is voices, but cant make any of it out.

The key to getting your own collection of unique and amazing sounds, is to play and experiment. there’s always a cool new effect someone has put up for free, always new things to explore.

There are loop libraries made by some very famous musicians, and a whole horde of producers.

Ok now you know what they are, you are asking what are they for.

Well…you can use them to make your own songs, with nothing but loops. You can also use them to add touches to songs you have recorded. Since using them to add “color” to songs is common in music production, im not going to focus on that. Im going to talk about producing loop based songs.

The pro’s of making music based on loops:

First is that you dont need to learn all the instruments or hire people to record with. You do need to learn how to make them into something people will listen to, in essence the computer and your software becomes your instrument.

Second is comparative cost. You can buy loop collections for as little as 10 dollars, all the way up to a couple hundred for the superior quality collections. That may seem expensive; especially since there is a tendancy to collect loops, but compared to the cost of hiring musicians, its far cheaper.

Third is that it gives you a whole world of sounds, styles and effects to work with, right on your computer.

Now the con’s

Mainly the problem with loops is they are repetative. All the tricks in the world wont make up for the fact, that you cant really improve with loops the way a real musician can. With a little laerning, and some tricks you can fake it pretty well, but it still removes the wonderful human element, and the chance for happy accidents during jam sessions.

It can also become difficult; even impossible, to get the sound you want. You might have an amazing drum track lined up, you found a bass loop that is killer, you even found an awesome rhythm guitar loop that works. You spent hours cutting, pasting and tweaking it to get a realistic rock sound, and arrangement. Only one things missing, and its the one thing loops cant do. Give you lead guitar that matches everything else perfectly.

The same can be said of any genre of music.

So making songs with just loops is fun, its cheaper, it makes a great hobby and its got a pretty smooth learning curve, but not having any skill with an instrument, or musicians to work with limits what you can do.

I still would recommend using loops as a way to learn music production. Then you can increase the scope of your knowledge over time to include instruments, recording other people, and all the other fun stuff producers do.

Note: Buying Loops involves a license to use them for YOUR purposes. A person can NOT pass on this License. DO NOT BUY USED LOOP COLLECTIONS! The same goes for the Production Software. Buying used means you DO NOT have a legal license to use either, and you can be sued for stealing if your music starts making sells.