Unfortunately you are right...
But most people that "make beats", are copy / pasting, while composing means truly writing your own harmony and melody, your own drums, everything.
I'm not judging copy paste people, but it's not the same thing to do.
Or did I not understood what "making beats" mean.
Anyway, it's off topic, so ...

 

Spoiler: For me it's

 

lounge is more lax for topic drift, right? haha .... I hope so. then again kinda on topic to clarify if gotnofriends meant after waking up is the best time to put some loop pack samples on top of each other. I feel like that is more just collaging, I feel like composing in my head means sitting there with a piano and transcribing a bunch of shit.... me using a quintet from Tokyo strings ensemble on reaper feels closer to making beats than composing even though the music is closer to classical than anything with a drum beat.

but my point is that everyone seems to have slightly different working definitions and I have come to conclude it's a much larger problem than we give it credit, like in the world. I think taking the time to clearly define what you/someone else means is ALWAYS on topic. NOT to go into politics, but that's just vaguely there is a great place to start looking at people saying the same words as one another but having vastly different understanding of those words.

 

For some reason, I have my best ideas in the shower or while on the can. I loose a lot of it but sometimes they stick.

 

Yes, the shower is another good place / moment.

 

I once wrote a song (for a special occasion, as we were playing in Hoboken, NJ, and the locals that we knew back then and hosting the gig in the 80's called themselves "Knobos") that I penned from A to Z, lyrics as well as chords while taking a dire emergency shit in a public toilet in Penn Station on a piece of cardboard that I grabbed from the top of a trash bin on the way in. I had a pen in my pocket. The song called "Knobos in Paradise" went over really well.

 

I would like to clarify something regarding Making beats and Composing:

If we take a avargelistner. One that isnt into making music, they just enjoyit - They will not carre what tittle you put on, if you call your self composer or beatmaker, or singnersongwriter or whatever titel you fancy.

the avargelistner will either listen to it and decide if they find it "good" or "not good" - they have no intrest in knowing HOW it was put together. they dont carre if you used a homegrown goat to make your snareskin, or if you used vengence samples like martin garixx.

in the end, its "just music" - the music starts where the lips can't express the emotion in words.

On topic: all mylife i was NOT a morning person.
but, the last 10 years has been different. playing and Crafting music in the morning has brought some of the best music i've been able to create.
one advanges of the early morning session is : nobody is disturbing you!
secondly, "you" get out of your owne way and the music just flows.

 

It's specific to failed musician to be elitist and miserable.

They go hand in hand with politician and lawyers on the scale of enormous ego for small rendering.

It is also known that people that don't fully grasp their subject tend to over complicate things so in the end it's really just a testament of their struggles while everybody else know that it's not rocket science.

 

For me, it happens when I'm in bed, in the bath, or taking a walk.
In the past, it sometimes happened while I was cycling.

 

So whenever you are very relaxed and feeling good, your 4 types of brain waves change: beta, alpha, theta and delta waves

Alpha Waves:

They cover a frequency range of 8 to 13 Hz. They occur when we close our eyes and become more relaxed, passive and unfocused. They produce a calm and comfortable feeling. Similar to after a long walk in the forest, an afternoon in the sauna or a relaxing holiday. When people are healthy and stress-free, they produce a lot of this alpha activity.

If this alpha activity is missing, it can be a first signal of worry, stress, brain damage and illness. In alpha we are very creative. Alpha is optimal for learning new information, facts or data. In other words, material that should be available in waking consciousness

 

the best productions i made was all late at night... anything from 12 AM to 5 in the morning

 

Beats are not music so no time is best to make one.

 

That's not the case for me. I'm always thinking about something. I'm always pondering something.
I like to think about things in my head, and try things out.
So maybe the act of "creating" suits my personality.
Musical inspiration is also a part of that.

 

Like that old saying goes:

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.

But that's by the by, to me personally the best time to do creative stuff like writing, crafting tunes, going apeshit with FX design etc. happens late, sometime after midnight, but before the sun comes up (easier in wintertime). The best time to mix is as early as possible when my ears are still well rested and fresh.

 

The best time to make beats is when I get paid an advance for the job.

 

Good point, but technology now makes the lines kind of blurry:

• If you're not a singer and use Suno to get a melody. You still make the lyrics and find the right chord sequence. Are you not composing? It'd be the same as asking a singer to contribute to your song creation.
• What if I can't play or record drums properly? If I grab a VI drum loop and arrange it, is it less valid than entering every single midi note?
• If you use Band In A Box to get a lead guitar solo, and then you re-arrange it to suit your track, isn't it the same when you hire a guitarist to give you a solo and then you re-arrange it to your needs?

How much copy-and-pasting or how much personal input makes the difference between composing or making beats?

 

Last edited: Feb 6, 2025

Just for your information the moderator @Olymon is no longer alive, he unfortunately died of cancer last year.

 

Yes, I know, but I bring his concern to the forefront because his issue still relevant. God bless his soul (even if you're not believers).

 

He was wise and God bless his soul!

On the subject of composing and copy & paste / samples

I would say that you either can do it or you can't. You can't learn everything either - some things are just a skill.
I think that nowadays fewer and fewer musicians can read music or even create complex songs.

It is a minority who learned to do this as teenagers. Anyone who has ever learned an instrument from scratch has a greater understanding of music anyway. Of course there are talented people who make really good music, but they are always very few. It's no use telling people that if they wanted to, they would want to learn it and work with it later.

I think a lot of people already have problems reading longer texts and concentrating on something for longer. When I then say buy a book... there is no response at all...! I think intelligence and cognitive abilities are continuing to decline, thanks to smartphones and the lack of education.

 

dude, foster ,wtf