Trying to get your beats to stand out in the saturated beats market can seem like a daunting task. But often all it takes is a little unique element or production technique to help give your beat the edge. In this inspirational guide, we share 10 easy and effective methods to help you add a touch of originality when making beats.

One Shot for the Win

Dropping a random one-shot sample sound at regular intervals is perhaps the easiest way to inject a bit of fun and character into a beat. A great example of this is the ‘Horse Neigh‘ sample in Cypress Hills, Insane in the membrane. There is a world of weird and wonderful short sample snippets out there. Don’t hold back! Why not try dragging something truly random onto your beat and see where it goes?

Play with Pitch

A great way of adding a dramatic shift to a beat or composition is to suddenly change it’s pitch. Most commonly a sample will be pitched down one octave. You can either pitch it down traditionally, in essence, halving the samples speed. Alternatively, you could use a pitch-shifting plugin or software to pitch-shift the sample. This way you would keep the sample’s original timing intact.

Getting Granular

Use granular synthesis to mash up your melodic samples. Feed the sample through a granular synth, and it will mangle the sample into micro chops, creating a glitched-out effect. You can select the coarseness of the grains to create different effects. You could even record real-time granular manipulation of the samples for a highly dynamic sound. For more on Granular synthesis check out this post

Random Drum Layering

Give your drums an added dimension of character and originality through sample layering. Applying interesting tones or textures to drum hits can sound fantastic. It can also give more scope to create a bigger sound when mixing your beat.

For example, a selection of different sporadically positioned Claps and finger-snaps can bring the dullest of snares to life and inject a live sound to your drums. Mechanical clicks, clunks and whirls can also make great drum layers. Think of the sounds of an old-fashioned typewriter for example. Even a basketball being bounced in a large arena can sound ace layered with a kick.

Get Textural

Adding texture and atmosphere to your beats can help to fill in the blanks and add spatial depth and character. A standard preserve of Lofi music it can be used to great effect on almost any type of beat. Rhythmic textures such as dry leaves being walked on can sound great. Long non-rhythmic sounds such as weather, nature, urban or industrial soundscapes can also be effective when used on the right beat. Experiment and see what textures you can add. In fact, why not get your mobile device out and record your own!

If you don’t feel inclined to create your own custom soundscapes fear not. We have hundreds covering every sonic area on RouteNote Create.

808 Alternatives

If you are making Trap type beats chances are you’re a big-time 808 botherer! You can’t get away from the fact that the Roland tr808 is a fundamental element of this genre but there are ways to be more original with your drum game.

Why not try creating your own custom 808-a-like snares by wildly pitching up alternative sampled snares? Cut the decay envelope of the pitched-up sample if it is too long. With a bit of persistence, I bet you get something that falls loosely in the snappy 808 snare territory. Also, a great yet underused alternative 808 drum sound is that of marching band drums. The snares are naturally very high in pitch and snappy while the big marching band bass drum closely resembles that of the 808 sub kick.

Switch Reverse it

A super simple method for adding variety and flair to a beat is to reverse sections. Experiment by isolating elements of the melodic sample and applying the ‘reverse sample’ command. Most DAWs and samplers have this option. Just remember you may also have to reverse or adjust any associated musical layers that accompany the reversed parts.

The Power of Speech

Spoken word samples can help drive the narrative of a beat or provide interesting dynamism to intros or drops. The spoken word sections can vary from just a short phrase of a few words to longer passages of speech. Intro’s and outro’s are traditionally great places for some spoken word. They can also make great accompaniments to a broken down part of a beat arrangement. Maybe dropped over a section where you have filtered-out the sample.

Added Effects

Why just keep a sample loop looping over and over when you have the power to switch it up through FX processing. Effects such as Distortion, phasers, flangers, filters, delays and reverbs can dramatically alter the sound of your sample loops. Add movement to your beats by introducing these fx sporadically throughout the composition. The sudden introduction of a dramatic effect such as distortion can provide a dynamic impact. Alternatively, the automated application of effects such as filters or phasers can help create smooth transitions and builds. Play around with effects and find your own creative applications to help give your loops more life!

Killer Intro

In the sea of alternative beat offerings, capturing someone’s interest immediately is crucial. Nothing quite beats an impactful intro for pricking a potential customer’s ear. For example a dramatic orchestral fanfare or a snippet of spoken word can set the scene for what’s to come. Some great examples of impactful intros are: Jump Around by House of Pain, Candy Shop by 50 Cent and Next Episode by Dr Dre.

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