If you’re wanting to produce beats but clueless about where to start, this course is for you! In a little over 90 minutes, you’ll be taught all the basics of beats production and acquire a bonus pack of drum samples to kick off your collection.

The course starts with lessons on the kinds of sounds or individual instruments that make up a beat, and some of the fundamentals when it comes to the theory side, covering all things tempo and timing. After the main principles of rhythm have been outlined, the subsequent modules go through each of the most popular methods for producing beats, from working with samples to playing various instruments.

The first process shows how beats can be made with simple placement of oneshots along the arrangement timeline, whatever music software you use, following basic guidelines of alternating kicks and snares. Loopcloud is then demonstrated as a way of simplifying the process further, with its built-in pattern presets for creating instant loops for you.

Once sampling techniques have been covered, the lessons turn to MIDI, looking at the differences and similarities to producing beats with a drum instrument, such as the factory devices that come with virtually all music software. Taking this a stage further, 3rd-party plugins are then incorporated, with Loopcloud Drum being an example of how their included kits and ability to sequence drums within the instrument provide instant options for creating beats.

By the end of the course, you can expect to have a decent understanding of the main ways of producing drums and can start to make more educated decisions about which direction to go in. You’ll also have a bonus pack of samples to put your newly-acquired knowledge to use!

Sample Mod - Creating Beats with Loopcloud

Course Breakdown

Module 1 - Introduction and Course Content
An outline of what’s covered in the course and explanation of some of the main approaches to creating beats.
2.35

Module 2 - What Sounds make a Beat?
A quick overview of the different drums that make up a beat, using Logic Pro’s Drum Designer and Loopcloud Drum.
3.20

Module 3 - Tempo, Timing and Rhythm
An explanation of the fundamentals of rhythm, covering song tempo, beats and bars, note lengths and concepts like full- and half- time beats.
8.12

Module 4 - Making Beats with Oneshot Samples on Audio Tracks
An example of constructing a beat from oneshot samples on audio tracks in music software, incorporating kick, snare, hat and additional percussion.
16.07

Module 5 - Using Loopcloud to Create Beats
A guide to using Loopcloud to create beats, where presets sequence oneshots automatically into loops that can be easily exported into your music software.
21.20

Module 6 - Working with (MIDI) Drum Instruments
A demonstration of how beats are created using MIDI instruments, in this case using Ableton Live Drum Racks, and how this compares to working with raw samples.
27.41

Module 7 - Using Loopcloud Drum to Make Beats
A look at beats production using 3rd-party plugins, with Loopcloud Drum as the example instrument, showing how built-in pattern programming provides instant beats.
18.16

Course Outro
1.56