In the past, aspiring music producers used to have to know people in the music industry, make a few mix tapes, save a few thousand dollars, and take a trip to the local studio to get any of their own beats recorded. This represented an enormous obstacle for those trying to get involved with making rap beats, and kept many beginners from getting their start. Even sooner than this, beginners would be required to buy expensive desktop rap beat making software that was impossible to understand and learn. Now, there are online rap beat makers that make it easier than ever to start making rap beats online. What should you look for in an online rap beat maker? The thing that seperates online rap beat makers from their desktop counterparts is ease of use. Desktop beat maker software is technically dense and has a lot of extraneous controls and features that most beginner producers will never use. Online rap beat makers cut out this "fluff" and give you only the features that you need (the good ones anyway). Be on the lookout for easy exporting to mp3 files (the sound format that you would burn onto a cd to show your friends your beats), a simply user interface, and a big preset sound library. The ability to export files to mp3 was important to me when I first started looking for an online rap beat maker. One program that I used in the past, which I won't name, made it very hard for me to save my rap beats as mp3s. See, it was very important for me to be able to do this because I burned a lot of mix CDs for car rides with my other beat making buddies.

We would 'show and tell' our beats so to speak. Before signing up for a rap beat making site, check to make sure they have mp3 exportability. I know sites like Sonic Producer have this included. Next, a simple user interface is key to finding a good online rap beat maker. The entire point of switching from desktop to online is about the user experience. You want to be able to make hip hop and rap beats, and it should NOT be a chore. A few clicks, drags, and taps and you should have a nice fat track layed out in front of you. If the online beat maker you are looking it does not seem easy to get started, then simply move on to the next one. As I said, also be sure to look for a nice big preset sound library. This goes hand in hand with the ease of use and the whole principle behind having an online rap beat maker in the first place. It is much easier to make your own hip hop beats and instrumentals if you have a lot of hits, drums, scratches, and loops to choose from. In the past, sites and programs would start you with nothing and expect beginners to know how to synthesize samples and loops. One website that has fit the bill perfectly for me is an online rap beat maker called Sonic Producer. I think you will find that not only is it one of the most affordable websites to become a member of, it is one of the easiest systems to start making rap beats online in no time at all. This site gets beginners started easier than any other system I have seen. Their customer support is unrivaled, and their online rap beat maker is top of the line. And yes, they have mp3 exportability. To learn more about this beat maker, check out Beat Makers Online.

Previously, up-and-coming hip hop beats producers would be required to know people in the industry, make a couple of mix tapes, save a few grand, and head off to the studio with their fingers crossed. This was an enormous obstacle for those trying to get their start making hip hop beats, and prevented many from ever making a single track. Not too long after this era, with the rise of computers, they would be required to get painfully overpriced hip hop beat making software that was hard to understand and impossible to learn. Now, online hip hop beat makers make it easier than ever for these people to get a foot in the door. So, what things should you look for in an online hip hop beat maker program? The ease of use of the system is what separates online beat makers from their desktop software friends. Desktop hip hop beat maker software is filled with controls and features that would never be used by beginners; the online hip hop beat makers cut out this unneeded fluff and started giving users only what they need to make sick hip hop tracks. Some common features to be on the lookout for: easily adjustable tempo, easy export to common files such as mp3, multiple tracks, and a preset instrument sound and beat library. Being able to export to mp3 was important to me when I first started looking for an online rap beat maker.

One program that I used in the past, which I won't name, made it very hard for me to save my rap beats as mp3s. See, it was very important for me to be able to do this because I tend to burn a lot of mix tape discs for long rides with my friends who also make hip hop beats. Before signing up for a hip hop beat making site, check to make sure they have mp3 exportability. I know sites like Sonic Producer have this included. Next, an uncluttered easy to use user interface is of utmost importance. The entire point of moving to making hip hop beats online is the ease of use of these sites. You must to be able to make beats with little effort: if you find yourself struggling you are probably using the wrong program. Don't confuse ease of use with poor quality however, programs like Sonic Producer are top of the line but cut down on the stuff that isn't needed. As I said, also be sure to look for a nice big preset sound library. This goes hand in hand with the ease of use and the whole principle behind having an online rap beat maker in the first place. It is much easier to make your own hip hop beats and instrumentals if you have a lot of hits, loops, drums, and instruments to choose from. In the past, sites and programs would start you with nothing and expect beginners to know how to synthesize samples and loops. One website that is perfect for beginners is an online rap beat maker called Sonic Producer. I believe you will find that not only is it one of the most affordable websites to become a member of, it is one of the easiest systems to start making rap beats online in no time at all. This site gets beginners started easier than any other system I have seen. Their customer service is unrivaled, and their online hip hop beat maker is top of the line. And yes, they have mp3 exportability. To learn more about this beat maker, check it out by following the previous link or any of the ones in the resource box below:

I've been involved in the music production industry for quite a number of years now. I started out when I was just a teenager who had a flair of creativity and a spark for music. Eventually hip hop beats became my primary focus. I knew that I wanted to start making hip hop beats. Since then, I have not looked back and things have been going very well for me. I recently began licensing beats to amateur and professional hip hop artists, just to give you an idea of where I am. Only two years ago I was in the position you're in now, looking to start making hip hop beats. I am a fast learning you could say.

Contrary to popular belief, you can start learning how to onmake hip hop beats online pretty quickly. It used to be that you needed to invest an enormous amount of time and money in order to produce hip hop beats: you would have to find a local studio, book a session, pay up to 00, and you never know if it is going to turn out good at all because how would you get experience first? With the invention of computers and desktop sequencing software, this eliminated the need for studios pretty quickly. The problem then became competition between software makers, essentially scaring off beginners to the art of digital music because they are all priced above 0.

This was a problem until the internet came along. Not right away though, because people had slow connections for a long time, but nowadays a beginner can get started for almost no cost. There are flash games online that let you play around and make a few beats, but most free versions of software don't let you save your beats.

One website that I like a lot when it comes to making your own hip hop and rap beats is called Sonic Producer. This website has a cost of membership of only , which is pretty phenomenal when it comes to beat making software. Most people who become members always say they think the software itself is worth ten times as much as the membership cost. I don't know about you, but I'm the type of person that needs the most bang for my buck, the most value for my dollar. A membership to Sonic Producer gives you exactly what you need if you're a beginner looking to start making hip hop beats during this economic downturn.

What if you decide making beats isn't for you? No problem, they'll give you your money back. But you have to understand that the membership cost covers: the beat software, a HUGE preset sound and beat library to get you making sick beats faster, and thousands of beat making lessons and other video tutorials that will teach you everything you need to know. I have seen beginners go from no experience to selling beats to artists within three months using this website, all thanks to the free instruction that comes with membership. Sonic Producer is an excellent option for beginners.

Another option you have is the flash game called Beaterator by Rockstar games. I have not used it myself, but I have heard good things about it from a prominent blog. They are making a PSP version that is being promoted by Timbaland so that sounds like it will be cool. According to the blog it has all the bells and whistles that high end programs have.

As you can see, there are many options for getting started making your own beats. If all else fails, you can download the free trial of FL studio, the only downside being you can't save. There is an option for everybody, so start making hip hop beats online today.

1. Simplicity
The program you use to your make beats online should be simple to use. If you have an idea for a song or a beat in your head, you should be able to at least get a sketch of the song programmed quickly and easily. An intuitive interface is important for this. If you have to click many boxes and hit "ok" buttons for every change you want to make things will go slowly and tediously and you'll really lose momentum and inspiration. Most beat patterns are programmed in to a timeline where each sound goes into a certain "slot". Putting beats in those slots should be as easy as clicking a box or pushing a button. It should be just as easy to change those beats once you've programmed them. 

2. Timing control
You should be able to adjust the timing. Most programs have a grid with the timeline going left to right and the sounds being triggered listed from top to bottom. This should be customizable. Can you make the pattern longer or shorter? Can you easily adjust the tempo speed to faster or slower? 

3. sequence
Songs have different parts and you will need the ability to string different patterns to each other in sequence to for a linear structure. This is something you should be able to control through the grid. 

4. Lots of sounds
You must also make sure the program has a large bank of sounds if you want to make beats online. Certain styles of songs call for certain sounds and you will need as many different sounds as possible to use. The program should have many different drum sets with multiple types of sounds for each drum. Twenty different snare sounds is a good start. Ten or twenty different bass kicks is also a good start. You will also want a lot of accompaniment. Horns, pianos, guitars, strings, crash hits, and other sound effects are all things you should have in a decent sized sound bank. 

5. Versatile Input Control
You should be able to control these sounds easily as well. Just like clicking boxes to put a beat in a certain spot, it should be possible to do the same with instrument sounds. Better yet, there should be a way to "play" out notes in an octave with keys like a piano has. If you have an external USB keyboard controller you can just play what you want to program on it, but if you don't have a controller you should just be able to "click" the note on the keys just like on a piano. There should also be pads for "hitting", just like on a physical drum machine. Maybe you'll want to tap out a drum sequence on the pads with your mouse clicks that is just too tedious to program in to slots. That's where the pads come in. 

6. Volume and Panning
Some sounds should be louder nd some should be softer in your patterns. The bass may be distorting or the hi hats may not be too quiet. You'll want to be able to increase the sounds with a mixer of some sort. The same goes for panning left and right for stereo effect. True separation is what makes stereo sound so interesting and you need to be able to change volume and pan parts for better isolation. 

7. Save it!
If you are going to make beats online, you are also going to want to share those beats online. You should be able to export or download your songs and beats into an mp3 or (other audio file) so you  can play them with another program. You must be able to save it on your hard drive for later use in case you choose to edit or play it for others on an mp3 player. There should be no loss of sound quality when exporting and downloading either.  

8. Affordability
The program should also be affordable and available. The whole point of needing to make beats online is to bypass the expensive musical and audio equipment that does the same thing as a good program. 

9. Support
Your beat making program should have good support. If this article doesn't make much sense to you then by all means make sure the program you use has lots of instruction, support, and tutorials to get you started and answer your questions. 

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