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Monday, November 9, 2009

Real Sounding Percussion Through Beat Making Programs

By Anthony Carter

There's a lot involved with being a solo music artist these days. To produce quality-sounding recordings, you have to be ambitious as much as frugal. Getting a music career off the ground can take a lot of money, and so you have to think about all the different ways you can save. Even with hip hop music, the effect of having someone literally behind a drum kit in the studio is unsurpassed. But there are many programs that are making great strides to simulate that sound. An essential to a full studio sound is percussion, and if you aim to save money you should consider these beat making programs.

But what exactly are beat making programs? Well it really is as simple as it sounds. Programs and software that has been specifically designed to allow people to make realistic and unique beats to accompany their music.

You will not have a hard time locating beat making programs. They are a dime a dozen and they range dramatically in terms of functionality and price. Generally, the less you can do the less the program costs and vice versa. I have compiled three of the more popular programs and have arranged them without order. They all stand equal to one another based on general public opinion, rating, and reviews.

Perhaps the growing favorite among hip hop producers and beat makers of all types is the software known as Fruity Loops. They have already made five updates to the software through new additions since the software was released early into the millennium. Fruity Loops is recommended most on its simplicity of use and extensive tutorial modes. This allows even the newest people to the software to start making quality beats fast. You can download a trial version of the software from: http://flstudio.image-line.com/documents/download.html, but purchasing the software for full functionality will generally run somewhere between fifty to one hundred dollars.

Another popular model of beat making software is part of the line put out from Sony software. It is compacted in with recording software known as Acid Pro. The most popular version of Acid Pro is 4. 0, although it has undergone a few upgrades since this version. The best thing about Acid Pro is that while you have a vast amount of options for beat making, you can also record on top of that. This is a plus for anyone trying to make quality rap beats, or just looking for good recording software that supplies drum accompaniment. The full version will cost you somewhere in the ballpark of $175. You can try a trial of the latest Acid Pro programming from here:http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/trials

The first two mentioned programs were exclusively for those running PCs. The only drawback to this is the increasing popularity of Mac computers. So I had to include software to make beats that can be used on a Mac, and this means Reason. This is the highest recommended recording software for Mac, and among the highest rated overall. It boasts an exhausting library of available sounds for beats including specific drums from specific kits and other odd sounds. Similar to Acid Pro, you can record on top of adding percussion which makes it a lot more diverse.

So now nothing should be stopping you.

So now you know. Making beats is as simple as a download. This means that with a little bit of work and dedication to what you are learning, you can be making some industry standard beats in no time at all. And that sure beats the money you could spend on a real live drummer in your studio.

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