Software for beat making is available in both stand alone and online versions. Beat making software can allow you to lay down multiple tracks, move things around, change instruments and tempo, and even provide a means to overlay vocals on top of the instrumental beats created.
Beat makers typically are computer versions of synthesizers and mixers where there are a number of instrument sounds available typically in a one beat format. The user chooses the instrument they want to include and they have a choice of where to insert it in the track. The mixer then adds all the choices together so they play as a single track. Adding vocals to the track will give a rap or hip hop flare to the beat track.
Most often, a drum or percussion track is laid down first to establish the beat. It can be a regular beat or an off beat or any combination of the two. More percussion can be added now or later to further define the beat. Adding other instruments gives the beat track a little more personality and good beat making software will have a selection of instruments and notes to choose from. The number of combination’s of percussion and instrumental beats is astronomical and experimenting will yield some slick formulas for making original beat tracks.
The software for beat making is typically very resource heavy, meaning that it takes a lot of computer power to run properly. The more beats and tracks, the more drain on the computer processor and memory. A unique way around this limitation is the online versions of beat makers. By logging in online, a user has full access to the software which is hosted on a powerful server and will never suffer any glitches from a lack of processor speed or memory allocation which can happen on most home computers.