BeatTips MusicStudy: Snoop Dogg and Pharrell - "Beautiful;" Well Constructed Arrangement

Non-Sampled Beat with Well-Thought Out Arrangement; Rhythm Track Flanked by Unique Percussion Scheme Serves up Warmth in Typically Cold Style

By AMIR SAID (SA'ID)

When The Neptunes (Pharrell and Chad) first burst on the scene with Noreaga's "Superthug" (1998), it was clear that they would soon be a production force to be reckoned with. Using the non-samples featured style as their base creative beatmaking approach, The Neptunes carved out a new sound; and in the process they created an alternative lane for other budding beatmakers to follow.

Unfortunately, far too many beatmakers moved into this lane with Neptune knock-off tracks rather than original interpretations of the sound that The Neptunes created. Indeed, within four years of Nore's "Superthug," the level of Neptune "biters" was so widespread that some began openly questioning the genius and contribution of The Neptunes themselves. Enter January, 2003. Snoop Dogg and Pharrell drop "Beautiful, one of the most well-arranged beats I've heard.

To understand how Pharrell might have come up with the guitar arrangement for "Beautiful," all you need do is listen to The RZA's work on Liquid Swords,' or perhaps even the beatwork of True Master—Pharrell no doubt studied them both during his prime developmental years. Although Pharrell doesn't use sampled sound-stabs to construct the core guitar-based groove of "Beautiful," his use of a shuffling, semi-closed hi-hat and tambourine—which spread throughout the composition like a multi-layered shaker—shades the otherwise brightness of the first generational (non-sampled, module/keyboard/live) guitar sound. And with the shine of the brightness dimmed by his creative use of percussion, Pharrell is able to work in organ bridge phrases that bookend every fourth bar. It should also be pointed out that these organ riffs, which are subtle and relaxed, are used more to sure up the rhythm and groove of the beat than they are to firm up the main melody—itself a secondary product to the rhythm in the "Beautiful" beat..

For the drumwork, Pharrell is intent on letting us know that this beat comes from the stratosphere of The Neptunes. Therefore, he uses their trademark stomp-kick as the most forceful percussive element in the track. Often in most beats, it's the snare that gets the top billing while the kick co-stars. But with "Beautiful," Pharrell reverses the roles, giving full priority to the appropriately placed stomp-kick while opting for a short-truncated snare that's barely more than a snap.

Far as the rhyme goes, lyricism takes a vacation...literally. But then "Beautiful" isn't the sort of song that you even want to hear a complex rhyme scheme on. The beatwork invites a straight-forward rhyme, and Snoop delivers something that's steady and not too hard to follow. And because of the strength of the chorus—sung surprisingly well by Pharrell—any ambitious rhyme structure and/or theme would only have distracted, not enhanced, the well thought out arrangement of the instrumental.

"Beautiful," perhaps more than any other song from either Pharrell or Chad, proved that although a beatmaster's style could be bit and copied, more seasoned beatmasters are able to rework their sound into something even more unique.

The music and videos below are presented here for the purpose of scholarship.

Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell - "Beautiful"

Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell - "Beautiful" (Official music video)

BeatTips MusicStudy: Sa'id - "Before We Started Fightin'"

Getting to the Rhythm, So I Can Get to the Rhyme

By AMIR SAID (SA'ID)

"As a beatmaker, rhythm is fundamental to any structure I compose. As a rapper, rhythm is vital!" —Sa'id

A couple of weeks before I made and recorded "Before We Started Fightin'," I had been experimenting with extended bar structures. That is to say, rather than doubling up 1-, 2-, and 4-bar schemes, I was exploring the use of 8- and 12-bar frameworks. Throughout this exploration, I learned a number of different things. I learned new ways to anchor my beats with lightly syncopated drum patterns; I learned more about blending separate sampled pieces into single cohesive riffs; I learned more about why certain changes work better at specific points within a sequence, depending, of course, on the number of bars in the sequence; and I learned how "double time" tempos of longer bar structures could be manipulated in ways that allowed me to avoid timing correct (quantizing).

So it was the "double time"/bar structure manipulation discovery that had the most impact on how I made "Before We Started Fightin'." As a rhymer, I like to push past the typical AB AB AB AB rhyme scheme, and come up with new rhyme paths. So as a beatmaker, my focus is always on capturing the sort of rhythms that will allow me to create the vocal syncopation that best matches the idea, topic, or subject matter that I'm rhymin' about. Moreover, I don't see my vocalization as something separate from the mix; instead, I like to view my rhymes as just another instrument in the mix. (I will be writing more about that in an upcoming article.)

So when I came up with the idea—a semi-autobiographical story about a guy who realizes (almost too late) that his girl has just double-crossed him—, I wanted a beat structure that was aggressive, but not overpowering. I wanted something that would rumble in the beginning, then taper off at the end of the sequence. I also wanted something that didn't easily fit into 4/4. After re-arranging what was initially a *12-bar* sample, I chopped off 3 bars (shaving the tail of the main sample), and started experimenting with a 9-bar sequence, adding a lone snare on "the one" (rather than a kick) with a piece of silence, right before the main sample starts. Then I added in a hi-hat that I played straight through, live, with no timing correct. After that, I color everything with random low-velocity kicks. I had also added another guitar sample, but it distracted me when I was writing my rhyme; so I stripped it from the beat, and added one more hi-hat, and I was done.

For the mix, I EQ'd the bass in a way that turned up the rumble that I wanted. In contrast, I peeled back the highs to temper the vinyl static and to allow my vocals to come through stronger without using any compression. I tucked the hi-hats and kicks in the mix, so that they blended more with the main sample.

The music below is presented here for the purpose of scholarship

Sa'id - "Before We Started Fightin'" (prod. by Sa'id)

Download Sa'id - "Before We Started Fightin''

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The BeatTips Manual by Sa'id.
"The most trusted source for information on beatmaking and hip hop/rap music education."

BeatTips MusicStudy: Traffic's "Glad" Taught Me How To Shuffle

Lessons From One Of Progressive Rock's Most Engaging Bands

By AMIR SAID (SA'ID)

Beatmaking, the chief compositional method of hip hop/rap music, allows for one to pull from a wide variety of musical forms (and sources) for instruction. For instance, progressive rock has always been a mainstay influence in my style and approach. And no other progressive rock band—other than Led Zeppelin of course—has had a direct hand in how I construct drum frameworks, and subsequently, my sense of time, more than the group Traffic.

Here, in their song "Glad," listen to the percussion hats that strike with suspenseful urgency on the quarter notes. And see if you can make out where the kick "hits" on the up-tempo sections of the overall arrangement. Then around the 5:00 mark, the arrangement dives into a slow, milky smooth bluesy-funk jam session that drummer Jim Capaldie laces delicately, with the sense and craftsmanship of a cat burglar. Indeed, there have been few songs that have shown me how to incorporate—and more importantly, account for—the "shuffle" element in music, while at the same time helped me improve my sense of timing.

The music and video below is presented here for the purpose of scholarship.

Traffic - "Glad" (from the John Barleycorn Must Die album)

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The BeatTips Manual by Sa'id.
"The most trusted source for information on beatmaking and hip hop/rap music education."

5th Seal Vlog #8

Brooklyn Beatsmith 5th Seal Drops His Latest Beat Vlog

By 5TH SEAL

5th Seal hit me with his latest beatmaking vlog. Like all of the visual gems he's been dropping, his latest opus carries footage of New York City (ca. mid 1980s). Seen by many (including me), New York is still the emotional center point—if not anything else—for hip hop/rap music. And as if to send a strong message about quality music, and hip hop/rap's ability to drop an abundance of it in one year, 5th Seal reminds us of the benchmark year 1988, wherein the likes of EPMD, Rakim, and Slick Rick all saw releases of their new albums.

But after the strong message of yesterday, Seal gets down to the sample and chop session we've become accustomed to. This time, the record is a James Brown ballad with wild horns, recontextualized and transformed into something right up 5th Seal's alley.

5th Seal Vlog #8

5th Seal Vlog #8 from 5th Seal on Vimeo.

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The BeatTips Manual by Sa'id.
"The most trusted source for information on beatmaking and hip hop/rap music education."

5th Seal Vlog #7

Brooklyn Beatsmith 5th Seal Drops His Latest Beat Vlog

For vlog #7, 5th Seal raids the infamous (and well-tread) dig spot A-1 Records in New York City (and runs into one of the greatest ever on the beats). As per his other installments, he offers a glimpse of the making of one of his beat gems. 5th Seal is a friend, so I'm happy that he's gaining a new level recognition.

The video below is presented here for the purpose of scholarship

5th Seal Vlog #7

5th Seal Vlog #7 from 5th Seal on Vimeo.

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The BeatTips Manual by Sa'id.
"The most trusted source for information on beatmaking and hip hop/rap music education."

Different Methods for Adding Bottom to Kick Drums

The BeatTips Community (TBC) Thread of the Day: How to EQ Kicks to Get the "Low" Sound?

By TBC and AMIR SAID (SA'ID)

Getting the kick drum to have that "right" amount of low-end isn't always easy. To be sure, it's a tricky thing to do, especially considering the risk of distortion that is always ever present, when the bottom level of the kick is boosted. Well, recently, DK, member of The BeatTips Community (TBC), raised this question:
"How to EQ kicks to get the "low" sound?"

Here are several notable replies:

From TBC member BrandoF42088:

"Have you played around with parallel compression(NY drum trick)? This can make for some really nice sounding drums that bang...
Parallel compression is where you take take two copies of a drum signal or all the drum signals (you can do it on just the kick or your can do it on the kick and the snare and the hat Its up to you.) You leave one the 2 of the signals just clean and open not compressed at all. Then you blend it with the other signal which you compress heavily and eq to bring out the lows. With the open signal the drums sound natural and the compressed eqed signal brings out the bump.
Edit/Delete Message."

From TBC member NCVerdict:

"Hardware compression is particularly useful if you are recording a real drummer because the volume levels fluctuate widely and you want to keep a good level for recording that doesn't clip the inputs. In beatmaking though, the volume of your drums are already programmed into your machine before you put it into your software so getting the correct volume is just a matter of setting the correct level on your soundcard or beat machine. I think that there are some bad sounding software compressors just like I think there are some bad sounding hardware compressors. If you're looking for a good (and relatively cheap) stereo hardware compressor, I got the FMR Audio RNC and I really like it. And if you're looking for a "'warm" sounding software compressor, my buddy has the one that came with his waves renaissance plug-in bundle and it sounds really good to me.

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Here's my reply:

Of course, one of the best ways to get your kick to have the low sound that you desire is to give it that sound before you actually enter the mixing phase. Although I can and do mix (and pre-mix) my own beats, my strength is in coming up with unique sounds before they even get tracked into my DAW.

I rarely ever have to do much at all with my kicks, (maybe a little pull up or down of the volume leveling, but very little to no EQ), once I've tracked them into my DAW. Reason why? I KNOW my sounds—especially my drum sounds—and especially my kicks. I've gone through several intricate steps to craft the no more than 10 (or so) kicks that I have and use. For instance, I've recorded kick hits through my analog mixing console straight to CD. I've also recorded kick hits to cassette tape, sampled them, than tracked them into Pro Tools, where I duplicate the hit and sample them again.

Because tweaking kicks in the mix can have a profound effect on what the overall final sonic impression of a beat (song) sounds like, I'm always focused on choosing the right kick for the right beat. For me, this saves time in the mix; moreover, it allows me to focus much more on the "color" of the non-drum sounds.

Now all the above being said, in those extremely rare times that I find that I need to do some additional EQ'ing of my kicks, it's never a question of getting a "low sound," it's a question of getting a "lower" sound. If I'm making a beat and I want a low (bottom-heavy) kick, I choose that kick sound from my small arsenal of kicks. Again, I know my sounds; it's not like I set out to find a *new* kick every time a make a beat. And in the case where I'm starting out with a low-sounding kick, (for me, it's usually my Kick 17), it just becomes a matter of boosting the bottom. So there's usually one of two things that I do.

(1) I just duplicate the kick, and "round out" the levels. For instance, I'll lower the volume on one of the kicks, leaving the other as is. And sometimes, I'll call up the 7-band EQ in Pro Tools, where I shave some of the highs off of the kick. But I never like to add much (if ANY) compression to my kicks. Being mindful that a mix engineer will most like have the beat, if and when it becomes a song, I'm only interested in representing my sound and leaving room for a more qualified mix engineer to tweak the compression. And in the case where I'm doing the final mix, I'm certainly not keen on compressing the kick UNTIL I have the vocals.

(2) I simply add a more truncated or pitched-down version of the kick I already have in the beat. Usually, until I have a rough mix of a beat, I still have the beat called up on my MPC. So if I need to add anything, I add it to the beat, NOT the Pro Tools session. After I'm satisfied with whatever additions I've made, I mute all the Pro Tools tracks, and I only record the additional sound.

*Click here, to read the full "How to EQ kicks to get the "low" sound?" TBC thread

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The BeatTips Manual by Sa'id.
"The most trusted source for information on beatmaking and hip hop/rap music education."

BeatTips MusicStudy: Talking Heads - "Once In A Lifetime;" Rhythms In Motion

Brian Eno's Rhythmic Genius—by way of Fela Kuti— Produces Talking Heads' Most Enigmatic Song

By AMIR SAID (SA'ID)

When I first heard the Talking Heads classic "Once In A Lifetime," I immediately knew that it would have a profound effect on me musically (and culturally). Although I'd had some minimal familiarity with African multiple rhythm styles, I hadn't yet gotten into Fela Kuti, the towering Nigerian figure and creator of afrobeat. So hearing "Once In A Lifetime" was like being smacked with five walls of rhythm, all at once. In fact, it wasn't until I went back and really studied "Once In A Lifetime," did I began to figure out how to incorporate the concept (and sensibility) of multiple rhythm structures into my style and sound of beatmaking.

Just the use of the tom tom drum alone was a musical shock to my system. But on "Once In A Lifetime," it doesn't stop there. There's the clapping, hiccuping and skipping snare drum. There's the cowbell and triangle, both moving independently in their own space, seemingly away from the base drum structure. There's the simple up/down 3-note, rippling bass line. There's the shuffling, not quite wah wah rhythm guitar. And then finally of course, there's Brian Eno's waterworld ambiance touch, streaming throughout the song like a music sync for flashback scenes in a science fiction movie.

Finally, I should add that as far as "gateway music" goes, "Once In A Lifetime" (as well as other Talking Heads songs) opened up a plethora of musical directions for me to explore. And the fact that Talking Heads leader David Byrne was one of the early supporters of hip hop/rap music truly confirms for me how similar musical influences most often rotate in the same circles.

The music and video below is presented here for the purpose of scholarship.

Talking Heads - "Once In A Lifetime"

"If I Can't" Gets Cue From Sampling

Hard Hitting No-Samples-Featured Beat by Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo Follows Sampling's Lead

By AMIR SAID (SA'ID)

"If I Can't" was one of the best songs off of 50 Cent's smash hit debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003). The song had a catchy hook, a danceable groove, and a decent—uniquely-styled—rhyme. But as much as I liked the song for its overall achievement, I like it even more today because of the lesson in beatmaking it offers.

"If I Can't," produced by Dr. Dre, co-produced by Mike Elizondo, is one of those rare hip hop/rap songs that gives a great window into the way in which certain beatmaking recipes work. More specifically, "If I Can't" demonstrates how the art of sampling has influenced the structural approaches to traditional live instrumentation.

For its core phrases, "If I Can't" uses a straight-forward two-bar alternating AB BA BA AB pattern played with bass piano keys (either from a real piano or a keyboard piano patch). It is this core phrase (structure) that drives the song; therefore, every other element in the beat works to enhance and showcase its impact and feel throughout the song. The next thing that should be pointed out is that the first of four phrases the make up the core phrases starts on the kick ("the one"); it does not come in on the snare ("the two"), and that's important to note.

Thing is, sample-based beatmakers typically chop down music phrases into smaller components that can be triggered by the pushing/playing of a single drum pad, key, and/or mouse click. Because of this, most sample-based beatmakers are often, in effect, "riff makers." That is to say, they (myself included) take various small, medium, and large-themed sound components and literally break (chop) them down into sliced variations that can then, and often are, be played as riffs. In some cases, these chops are broken down together and grouped into one main riff, and in other cases, they are merged together into a series of riffs. Thus, the core phrases in "If I Can't" is essentially a series of riffs (chops) that are played in a pattern (AB BA BA AB), structure, and nuance that owes more to the influence and programming of the art of sampling—and the new structures and forms that sampling has generated—than it does to traditional live instrumentation.

For example...

"If I Can't" - 50 Cent (produced by Dr. Dre, co-produced by Mike Elizondo)

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The BeatTips Manual by Sa'id.
"The most trusted source for information on beatmaking and hip hop/rap music education."

Why Vinyl Reissues Are a Good Thing

Vinyl Reissues Offer True Value in More Ways than One

This past Wednesday, I spent a brief part of the afternoon diggin’ through vinyl records at a shop over on St. Marks Place, down in the East Village. Although it was a scorching hot pre-summer New York City day, I never did take the opportunity to actually enter the store and get a blast of their air conditioning inside. Instead, I stayed outside in front of the store, diggin' through their “tease” crates of soul, latin funk, and jazz.

Sitting atop several long tables, these crates were loaded with a number of gems, many of which I already have, and a few I'd never been able to get my hand on in the past. Also, in there were two albums that stood out above all the others: Donny Hathaway's Everything Is Everything and Donny Hathaway.

Arguably Hathaway's greatest album and certainly one of my all-time favorites, Everything Is Everything is a masterful piece of soul music that stings your heart and tugs at your body. Self-dubbed as one of my personal "must-haves," I spent nearly five years (more than a decade ago) trying to land a copy of Everything Is Everything. Previously, I'd been able to hold on to several borrowed copies of this LP. Unfortunately, this was one of those albums that people always remembered to ask me to return.

When I obtained my own copy of Everything Is Everything (for $100!), I remember vowing to never lend it out to anyone. It was an original print, near mint copy with one of the cleanest covers (less-worn) I'd ever seen. And I wasn't about to risk losing this gem; it wasn't easy for me to get, and therefore, I maintained, I'd make sure that it would be difficult for me to ever let go. Well, after a couple of moves and a series of vinyl collection re-locations, my copies of Everything Is Everything and Donny Hathaway turned up missing.

It would take another couple of years before I was able to replace both albums. Moreover, it cost me $65 for another copy of Everything Is Everything, and $59 for another copy of Donny Hathaway, neither of which were anywhere near the condition of the one that I had before. So imagine the reverse sticker-shock I felt when I came across a sealed copy of Everything Is Everything and Donny Hathaway, sitting right there in an old milk crate, sandwiched between two sealed copies of Gil Scott-Heron's Pieces of a Man. All four records, $12 each! Goldmine! I thought. Then it hit me: These albums were reissues...

To some (particularly die-hard purist diggers/collectors), reissues might hold little to no appeal. And there are some sample-based beatmakers who will claim that using reissued vinyl is not quite the same thing as using the "real deal," that is to say, vinyl pressed on or near the recording's original release date. To be fair, that's not entirely untrue.

Part of the appeal of original print vinyl is its oldness—it's dusty, scratchy nature. Furthermore, there's the matter of the recording used for the reissue. Does the reissue contain the original master recording—with all of its mixed glory—, or does it use a remastered version? The particular sound that a reissued vinyl record possesses is important to me. I'm not interested in vinyl that carries a remastered version of the original work. But despite some minor misgivings of using reissued vinyl, I see reissued vinyl—and here, I'm specifically referring to "exact reproduction" reissued vinyl, not the re-mastered stuff—as a good (if not great) thing, for a number of reasons.

First, reissued vinyl gives beatmakers (new and old) the chance to have access to wonderful, era-defining recordings in the vinyl format. And although other audio formats (CD, MP3, .WAV) can indeed serve the purposes of sampling, there can be no denying that working with vinyl presents an entirely different feel and aesthetic.

Second, vinyl reissues (sometimes the only option if you're searching for a vinyl recording) offers beatmakers a lesson in sound quality and the audio nuance of recordings from more than 30 years ago—before the digital takeover. By being able to hear the differences in recordings, the tones, colors, and overall sonic impressions, you can extract a number of different musical ideas and sonic frameworks to apply to the sound design of your own beats.

Third, vinyl reissues, by virtue of their format, extend the connection between beatmakers and vinyl, and like sampling itself, they can help reconnect beatmakers to the DJing component of beatmaking. There are a growing number of beatmakers who are interested in working with vinyl, but because of the often difficult nature of obtaining vinyl (i.e., a sparse number of used vinyl records stores around the world), they are not able to get their hands on any. Vinyl reissues addresses this interest (demand) and makes a whole host of great recordings available in the vinyl format, both online and even at some stores that carry new CDs and other related merchandise.

Finally, vinyl reissues help decrease the vinyl record accessibility gap that exists today. No doubt vinyl reissues provide a means for many beatmakers to access vinyl records that they would not otherwise be able to. Moreover, most vinyl reissues are reasonably priced and available online. With increased accessibility comes the potential for scores of music makers to discover (or rediscover) quality music styles and sounds that have, unfortunately, been forgotten.

Bottom Line

Exact reproduction reissued vinyl is a win/win, and I expect even more recordings to be reissued on vinyl. And although the journey of getting *new* vinyl has long been an arduous one (more so now because the availability of used vinyl records is thin), the emergence of reissues of classic works (especially from a number of the most formidable recording artists of soul, funk, and jazz) is making this journey for beat diggers much more agreeable.

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The BeatTips Manual by Sa'id.
"The most trusted source for information on beatmaking and hip hop/rap music education."

BeatTips Tutorial: Modifying the ADSR Sound Envelope Pattern

Changing the ADSR Settings to Get the Most Out of Your Sounds

By AMIR SAID (SA'ID)

After you’ve chosen your samples/sounds and chopped them (established their start and end points, etc.), there is another series of modifications that you can perform to enhance and customize the character of your samples/sounds: Tweaking the ADSR sound envelope pattern. But to effectively modify the sound envelope pattern of a sample/sound and, subsequently, unleash even more flavor from your samples/sounds, it’s important to understand just what sound envelope refers to.

Every sound (dynamic tone) has three components: attack, sustain, and decay. Taken together these three components (parts or dimensions) are known as the sound envelope. (I should also point out that I like to extend the definition of sound envelope to mean: the entire span—from start to go—of a sound.) With regards to synthesis techniques—synthesizers/samplers—there is a fourth component, release; taken together these four components are known as the ADSR envelope. When you modify or remove any one or a combination of these ADSR components, the sound’s properties change, rendering an array of different effects. Thus, it’s important to understand what each component within the ASDR envelope represents, if you’re to modify them in ways that best serve your beats’ arrangements.

Attack Defined
Refers to the time/distance between a sound initiated—first struck or pressed, via a pad strike or a key pressed, etc.—and when it reaches it peak, the highest level/intensity of a sound. A sound’s attack can be fast or slow. This means that the closer the attack of a sound is to its peak, the faster its attack. Conversely, the further away the attack of a sound is from its peak, the slower its attack. Further note that sounds with a fast attack reach their sustain level quickly; while sounds with a slow attack take longer to reach their sustain level. For example, a sound like a kick or snare has a fast attack; while a sound like a multi-toned sample phrase has a slow attack. In fact, a sampled phrase without drum sounds (particularly kicks and snares) at its start point has a slower attack than a sampled phrase that does have drum sounds at its start point. As such, sampled phrases without drums at their start points often tolerate adjustments of the attack value very well, often producing interesting results, depending, of course, on the sound of the sample and the overall scope of the beat that you’re working on.

Decay Defined
Decay (or “decay time”) refers to the time it takes for a sound to fall from its attack level to its sustained level. “Rate of decay” describes how gradual a sound decays.

Sustain Defined
Sustain refers to the span of a sound that’s audible just after or nearest a sound’s peak (the highest level of a sound). In other words, sustain is what I like to call the “plateau level” of a sound; it’s the level where a sound assumes and maintains its steadiest level or main intensity. Although the sustain actually represents a slight drop off in level from the peak of a sound, it is the “meatiest” (steadiest, most sustained) part of a sound. So for instance, think of a 2-bar sample. The sustain is the level that is reached and maintained the longest during the duration of the sample.

Release Defined
Release refers to the time it takes for the sustain level of a sound to diminish to silence. In other words, it’s the rate at which a sound fades to silence after it’s played.

Modifying the ADSR Envelope

Modification of the ADSR settings not only affect the tone quality of a sound, it also affects how sounds “sit” with each other within a beat’s arrangement. This is an important point to consider with any sound, but when it comes to sample arrangements, it’s even more critical. Why? Because the more instruments/sounds within a sample, the more dynamic tones it will contain. And the more dynamic tones that exist, the more potential for customization/stylization.

Modifying the Attack
Because my style and sound calls for a lot of blending and rupturing of samples/sounds, attack is the most critical ADSR setting that I use. Hence, whenever I modify the ADSR settings on my Akai MPC 4000 or Akai S950, I always begin with the attack, using a method I call “pinching the attack”. “Pinching the attack” of the sample is the process of setting the attack value so that the very front end of the sample is “ruptured” or “cut” into a beat’s arrangement. Because I use the common technique of assigning multiple sampled phrases to various drum pads, I prefer to have more stylistic control over the ways in which the samples I use sound and move within and throughout an arrangement. By “pinching the attack,” I can make samples/sounds “spring”, “rupture”, or “fade” into my beats’ arrangements. For me this is important, because I like to protect the spaces of the samples/sounds that I use. By that I mean, I make arrangements wherein the harsh parts do not drown out or slam the subtle and smooth parts.

Something to Keep in Mind
In addition to the definition of attack that I offered above, I also think of attack in the sense that it controls the value of “fade” at the beginning of a sound. Therefore, the higher the attack value (up from 0), the less presence (force, impact) that the head (front part) of a sound makes.

Effective Uses for “Pinching the Attack”

“Pinching the Attack” is a great method to use when the start point/front end of a sample has a harsh beginning, like a kick drum beneath the non-drum sounds. In a case like this (which is common, because you can’t remove kicks from a sample that contains them), an increase of the attack value can affect the sample in a way that allows it to represent its tonal essence, without having it’s kick slamming with your own kicks and snares.

Now, some might say, ‘Why not just chop (truncate) more of the head of the sample?’ Well, I could do that (whenever suitable, I do). But if I were to simply to chop further into the start point, removing the part of the sample that has the kick in it, I lose part of the character of the sample’s beginning. “Pinching the Attack” allows me to retain the character of the sample (or as much as substantially possible), while “neutralizing” the disrupting kick. Modifying the attack level to the needed value (it’s different for each beat) allows me to hear exactly how much of the unwanted dynamic (in this case, the kick in the sample), fits with my beat’s design.

“Pinching the Attack” is also a great method to use when you want to create the effect of multiple samples/sounds spliced together. Remember, I also think of attack in the sense that it controls the value of “fade” at the beginning of a sound. Therefore, the higher the attack value (up from 0), the less presence (force, impact) that the head (front part) of a sound makes. Just as this understanding allows me to slam sounds together or rupture and cut them into an arrangement, it also allows me to create spliced effects as well.

Modifying the Sustain

Modifying the sustain value allows you to affect how long you want the sustain—the main intensity of a sound—to carry on. Normally, I make very little adjustments to the sustain setting. In fact, I modify the sustain only when I want to do a quick fade of the tail (back end) of a sample/sound or when I want to fade the tail of one sample/sound out so that another sample/sound can be faded in or spliced.

Modifying the Decay

In conjunction with the sustain modification as described above, I often tweak the decay when I want a sample/sound to fade out of a beat’s arrangement.

Modifying the Release
I modify the release to help prevent a sample/sound with harsh tones (i.e. kicks, snares, peak points of bass parts, etc.) from slamming or distorting the drum pattern of the beat I’m composing. In other words, I always modify the release along with the sustain in ways that make the beat’s elements mesh together and sound smoother.

Special Note

All of the modifications that I’ve described in this tutorial are circumstantial ADSR modifications that I make of samples/sounds that are already part of an arrangement. Although these tweaks can be performed on stand-alone samples/sounds (that is to say, sounds that are not yet incorporated into an arrangement), keep in mind that those samples/sounds will not sound “the same” as is, in their default state. For instance, you can increase the attack on a kick drum within a drum pattern, so as to decrease is punch/impact within a particular beat. But chances are, that kick drum, as a stand-alone sound with the tweaked attack, will sound thin and not much like a kick at all. This is why it’s always important to know the default properties of your samples/sounds as well as the particular types of customizations—ADSR modifications—that work for your style and sound.

Furthermore, I should point out that I view the processes that I’ve described in this tutorial as an extension of the chopping process in beatmaking. (For a more comprehensive discussion on chopping, check out The BeatTips Manual, chapter 7.) Also, you should keep in mind that different sample/sound spans (scopes) work best with different ADSR modifications. For instance, sound-stabs, 1-bar, 2-bar, and 4-bar sampled phrases will undoubtedly require different ADSR tweaks, depending, of course, on the drum patterns being used and the style and feel of the beat you’re composing.

Tutorial Music Example

The music example that I’ve included in this tutorial is a beat that I made called “Soulful.”
For “Soulful,” I “pinched the attack” to make the sample spring and rupture. I set the attack at 11 (which is a lot), the decay at (0); the sustain at 75, and the release at 30. Note: at the 0:30 mark, I solo the primary samples so you can clearly hear how I’ve cut, ruptured, and faded them.

P.S., I left open the drum pattern that I made, so feel free to sample the kick, snare, and hi-hat—all custom drum sounds!

The music below is presented here for the purpose of scholarship

“Soulful” produced by Sa’id

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The BeatTips Manual by Sa'id.
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