When you’re looking to get hold of make your own music software, there are just a few elements you can’t live without if you’re going to be making hip hop beats. Here is a quick guide to the different elements you should look out for before buying any software.

1) MIDI Drum Patterns/ Audio Loops

For a good beat you’re going to either need MIDI drum patterns or audio loops – they provide the foundation for what you’re doing, and you might even use both in the same song. Most make your own music software will come bundled with different audio loops that can be edited as you wish. Midi drum patterns can be a little more complicated than the audio loops but they can give you even more specific results.

2) Bassline

Every beat needs a bassline, and most software will include a variety in the style you need – but you can also use MIDI to create them if you want. You need a number of different settings to make sure you get the right kind of bassline for the type of music you’re making.

3) Samples

The origins of hip hop and rap both lie in the use of samples. These range from scratches on a record to piano chords or guitar riffs – whatever you want for your current beat. It’s important to get software that comes with good royalty free options for samples so that you can use them however you want to.

4) Orchestration

Lastly, you’ll want your software to have plenty of supporting orchestration to make the instruments all give the effect you’re after.

If you want to check out the make your own music software program I found that satisfies all this criteria for hip hop beats and others, check out Sonic Producer – it’s sold at a great price, too!