Well i use the FL Studio 5. It usually takes me about 20 minutes. I think my fastest was 15 minutes and my longest was an hour. But thats before you do the tweaking.


REAL NIGGAS ONLY (c) J Dilla

http://www.myspace.com/bigboy_aka_the_truth1on1

It takes me about 15 minutes on average to put together most of the track. I never really finish a track. I could infinitely tweak a beat but I try to leave it be after a week.

I think my quickest is about 20mins and the longest is something like 2weeks, but that was when i first started out.

I think that's only cuz I don't know how to play the keyboard, or my guitar. Drums I do quick as fuck though. I do some drum loops on FL 6 when I wake up in the morning, lol.

that just doesnt seem right

it takes hours and hours for me to finish a beat. then again, i am a composing cat so i have to come up with new riffs, counter melodies, etc... plus the shaping of those sounds, creating effects chains, etc.... so i suppose thats where the extra time for me comes in

but 15 minutes, hell it takes me longer then that to get the right drum kit going

i spend at least that much time creating bass tones. i sepdn more then that-by far-creating guitar sounds.

Cuz I have to do what "sounds" right.

If I'm composing from scratch on keys...this could be a 1-2 hour process.

If I'm sampling and complimenting with keys...usually takes and hour or two to find the sample I want...and that's after an hour or so of listening to different music unless I already KNOW what I want to sample. Then finding drum kits and the right pattern...then complimenting with keys and sequencing...3-5 hours tops.

Also, I've been known to finish one of these type of songs...but only as a skeleton to what I wanna do. I might lose inspiration after playing with it for 5 hours and I'll say fuck it and come back to it a week later and realize how good (or bad) it sounded and completely WORK the track for a few more hours until it's finished.

I wholeheartedly believe God is jealous of how much time music creation gets of my life.

I can make a basic beat in 15 minutes... If I'm choppin samples, that could be another 15...

Beats have taken me 2-3 weeks to finish...

and of course the beat isnt finished until its mixed down, with any change-ups added per artist request/feel of the track, vocals are added (if applicable) and the engineer gets his or her hands on it. And that could be years after the beat is started.

I guess on average, from when I sit down to start a beat to when I feel comfortable stopping for the day, is about 1-3 hours. But 3/4 of that time could just be tweaking.

The process of chopping the sample and adding drums doesn't take long. But finding the right sample can take forever. Also, I like to tweak sounds and effects alot once I'll done. I'll just leave the project open and tweak and rearrange it through the span of a week sometimes.
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-Me

<----What OKP is listening to this week.

got a grip of beats that took days, even WEEKS, of coming back and checking where new ideas can fit in, etc.


I'm not a fan of high-speed prolificity, though, cuz it's guaranteed that later I'll hear a dozen ways I can improve a joint even if I say I'm done with it that same session.

Stage One: Searching for samples and importing and truncating the basic parts, finding a tempo. Much slower now since I sold my sampler. Usually about 1/2 hour.

Stage Two: Working on the main the main elements of the song, chopping and programing the drums, looping or chopping samples, layering other elements, making a distinct chorus, intro, outro and possibly a bridge or variation. This basic beat takes about 30 min-1 hour. It's usually about 4 to 20 bars.

Stage Three: The initial mixing mostly working on the drums. Making a bassline that matches the key of the samples. Adding a missing element, possible adding some scratches, getting rid of any problem elements and a lot of listening. Usually about another 1 to 3 hours. I usually do Stages 1-3 all in one sitting without getting up. Damn I gotta piss!!!

Stage Four: Listening to the song for about 3,400 hours over the next couple days/weeks/years, and carefully tweaking the levels, and making subtle changes if it's good, or 1 or more drastic makeovers if the song refuses to be dope for some reason. (usually bad samples or bad execution that I'm attached to for some reason.)

Stage Five: I guess I used to skip most of the last two steps and just record vocals and do the final mix, but lately I've just been stopping at Stage 3, and focusing on what the vocals could be or moving on to something else. I gotta start finishing some tracks soon. Adding effects, perfecting the mix, adding any last minute elements. Give me a plaque.

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www.MySpace.com/HerbOneTheSkeletonKey
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And sometimes it goes longer if I need to get the sound just right. Sometimes it's much much shorter if everything just works out perfectly.

you never know how long you gon take... hell sometimes i'll be doin one and not know how long i been workin on it...

if the inspiration (aka "the force") is strong, i can fly thru it... not no damn 15 mins tho (i think some folks be lyin or atleast exaggeratin a lil)... 30 mins i think was the quickest i got the full idea out then came the fine tuning...

on average these days, cause i want a specific sound and ain't satisfied until i've emulated as close as possible to what i hear internally, it takes days...

but long as it bangs, who give a shit if you made it in 10 mins or 10 days...

over and out
du

I take my time to perfect my musical sound scapes

I say anything more than an hour is too long. People waste time coming up with original drums and creating bass lines. There are millions of drum kits out there that can be easily used to make a beat. People don't care how long it took to make a song or how much work or money was spent on the creation process. A LONG process is usually the WRONG process. Beats are best when made quickly and easily, but you have to be good, like myself, to pull that off.

It depends. If I find the right loop to chop and already am vibing with it, maybe an hour. But if i'm going to put some keys on it and add scratches and make a vocal hook, it may take days. No matter what, I don't rush. When a beat is finished, you'll know it.

it really doesnt matter how long it takes to make a beat. like most of y'all stated as long as it comes out right. It doesnt make you better or worse than anyone else. I was just wondering if making a beat in 15 minutes was normal. Hell, Dilla made some of his in 10 minutes. 9th took 15 minutes to make 'Threat' with FL on his laptop.


REAL NIGGAS ONLY (c) J Dilla

http://www.myspace.com/bigboy_aka_the_truth1on1

>9th took 15 minutes to
>make 'Threat' with FL on his laptop.

i gotta get that shit hittin' right

Time Management isn't a commodity when dealing with creativity.

All these microwave set it and forget it cats are cheating themselves.

lol but on the real, my beats don't have a strong compositional element usually, so the actual sequencing goes by pretty quick. It's the chopping that takes forever, and I'm pretty anal with it. I also spend a lot of time listening to the original before i'll even touch it. So including chopping, maybe 4 hours. Otherwise, maybe an hour and a half or 2 hrs.

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