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Hip Hop Artists Developing Open Source Beat Making Software

Posted by timothy on from the drumsticks-are-free dept.

First time accepted submitter caseyb89 writes "Beat making software is incredibly expensive, and the high price limits usage to those who can afford it. Two professors at UNC have a dream of allowing all artists access to beat making software, regardless of income level. They are rallying the community on a project to create open source beat making software. The two professors double as DJs and hip hop artists, and they recently spoke at Rio+Social."

31 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. Nice Idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But Hip Hop artists just pirate whatever software they need. The only real expense are decent microphones, mixers, preamps and speakers.

    full disclosure: I am a sound engineer living in NC who works with hiphop artists.

    1. Re:Nice Idea by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Funny

      I thought hip hop artists just ripped off other peoples beats?

      Honestly, they're the people, on the receiving end who most embody Marx's "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need", as they need beats, bass tracks, synth riffs, etc. But try to get them to pay for, or even credit the original artist, ah, that's where they become capitalists.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:Nice Idea by oldmac31310 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'll get off your lawn. Yours is a really narrow minded view. The fact is, both 'real' musicians and people who can't play at all benefit greatly from the myriad of music software and hardware that have come along in the past 20 years. Using your logic (no pun intended) we should remove technology from music completely and go back to only using our voices, clapping our hands and banging rock and sticks. Think about a piano for example. It is a technological marvel. Should we ban it just because it makes it too easy and the musician doesn't even have to pluck or strike the strings? I consider myself a real musician and I am very happy indeed to make use of whatever tools are available.

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
    3. Re:Nice Idea by logicassasin · · Score: 2

      I thought hip hop artists just ripped off other peoples beats?

      Honestly, they're the people, on the receiving end who most embody Marx's "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need", as they need beats, bass tracks, synth riffs, etc. But try to get them to pay for, or even credit the original artist, ah, that's where they become capitalists.

      methinks you haven't paid attention to the liner notes of hip hop albums since the 80's. Sample clearance has become a lucrative stream of income for many a washed-up musician with catalogs that do nothing for them at the moment. They get credited and get paid for the samples all the time though there are some that simply won't allow it (Prince comes to mind).

      --
      Fifty watts per channel, baby cakes.
    4. Re:Nice Idea by dgatwood · · Score: 2

      What you're missing is that electronic synthesis is an incremental advancement relative to other computer technology and to some extent relative to audio recording technology, but it is not an incremental advancement relative to other musical instrument technology. It is an entirely different way of producing sound that pretty much spontaneously appeared in the past century out of nowhere.

      For tens of thousands of years, musical instruments produced sounds because of a player striking something, plucking something, or blowing air over or through a tube (sometimes involving a reed or human lips simulating a reed) in some fashion. Each change was a small, incremental improvement in the way you do one of those things. The only thing that electronic synthesis has in common with previous musical instruments is that something vibrates (which is basically a fundamental requirement for creating sound).

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    5. Re:Nice Idea by TheoMurpse · · Score: 2

      Yeah, that no-talent hack Mozart had the audacity to write music for scores of instruments he didn't know how to play!

  2. Please Define by CanHasDIY · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "Beat making software."

    FWIW, Hydrogen is free.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    1. Re:Please Define by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Hydrogen is not a pro level piece of software. We tried it, and ended up hiring a drummer instead.

      The results are far superior, at least for our style of music.

    2. Re:Please Define by mjwx · · Score: 2

      You're missing the important element for selling hip hop - the arrogant thug-life frontman. Without that attitude, you aint gonna sell shit.

      Arrogant and Thuggish enough for you?. Just got to program it to say "bitch" instead of "sir" when a person walks by.

      Seriously though, we are going to see the emergence of "virtual pop stars" designed by committee to be appeal to as many people as possible appear in the next few years. Electronically produced music makes this goal a hell of a lot easier (a robotic arm that can play the guitar or piano as well as a human is probably a long way off).

      --
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    3. Re:Please Define by djlemma · · Score: 4, Informative

      They are mostly talking about Reason. It's a software simulator for a bunch of real-life studio hardware that musicians used to have to purchase and hook up and find places to put. So, instead of having to spend $50,000 to outfit a studio with keyboards, synths, patch bays, mixers, effects, compressors, cables, etc., you can simulate it all with Reason for something like $450. But to the people in TFS, this is too much money still, and they would like to make a free equivalent. It's noble, but as others have mentioned there are other options that do not have nearly so polished and authentic sounds and interfaces, but are much cheaper or free.

    4. Re:Please Define by X0563511 · · Score: 2

      The difference between good hip-hop or electronic music and the bad stuff, is how much care and skill went into it's creation.

      You can tell when something was made without any effort, or was automated. Unfortunately stupid teenagers seem to be deaf to the difference.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    5. Re:Please Define by Stickerboy · · Score: 2

      Seriously though, we are going to see the emergence of "virtual pop stars" designed by committee to be appeal to as many people as possible appear in the next few years. Electronically produced music makes this goal a hell of a lot easier (a robotic arm that can play the guitar or piano as well as a human is probably a long way off).

      We already have them. Every single aspect of Justin Bieber / Britney Spears / Beyonce's projection in public life has been fabricated, test marketed, and refined down to the microscopic level. Every non-controversy, image makeover, life-changing interview and comeback has been preprogrammed to push the maximum number of buttons to gather the most attention and make the most profit for the entertainment industry celebrity complex. Why develop a computer program to be a virtual pop star when you have living breathing human beings that are more than willing to sell every aspect of themselves already to be one?

      --
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    6. Re:Please Define by Megane · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'll accept that when the machines can throw up like a real human drummer.

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    7. Re:Please Define by boblaroc · · Score: 2

      At least you only need to punch the beat into the machine once...

  3. LMMS by MrSome · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is LMMS not good enough?

    IMO, that type of music is so generic anymore, I'm surprised some mathematician hasn't created an algorithm to generate hit songs on command.

    You know, something like (BPM / Key + Attractiveness of Prospective Performer) = $$$

    1. Re:LMMS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      IMO, that type of music is so generic anymore, I'm surprised some mathematician hasn't created an algorithm to generate hit songs on command.

      You know, something like (BPM / Key + Attractiveness of Prospective Performer) = $$$

      Yeah really, that Michaelangelo guy, all he did was move a brush over a surface. ANYONE CAN DO THAT!

      If it's that easy, why aren't you out there doing it? The answer is that, in all reality, it isn't easy. It's actually really fucking hard. If it's that easy, you should go ahead and try to make a career out of it with your spare time on the weekends. And please, keep a blog up to date with your efforts, so I can come back and mock you for failing at something that's so easy a computer should be able to do it.

  4. SoundTracker/NoiseTracker by CanEHdian · · Score: 2

    Didn't we make beats in NoiseTracker (remember Mahoney & Kaktus) on the Amiga back in the late 80s? So the sound sucks by today's standards, but the software was simple to use and free. Why would today's "beat making software" be so expensive?

    --
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  5. Why? by zmooc · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why the hell does this make slashdot?! So we have people with a dream and they are calling for others to help them... Why would anybody do that if they could just as easily help the guys behind great stuff like Ardour, LMMS, Rosegarden, Miep, Hydrogen and the many other applications that aim to do somewhat exactly what these people dream of?!

    Why don't these dreamy people join any of the existing projects?

    --
    0x or or snor perron?!
    1. Re:Why? by X0563511 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Because those programs you mention are tuned towards actual composition, not hip-hop "beats" creation.

      (translation: too complicated)

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  6. Re:HIP-HOP ?? SUX !! by AngryDeuce · · Score: 2

    Every genre has it's good and bad. Listen to modern country music and tell me you don't find it just as shit-tier as hip-hop and I'm calling you a liar. She think's my tractor's sexy! Yee-fucking-HAW!!!!

    Then of course there's The Bieb and Lady Gaga's garbage. And Guns 'n' Roses' and Van Halen's new garbage. And Metallica's garbage. And Skrillex's garbage...

    It goes on and on. Hip-hop doesn't have a monopoly on shitty music at all...

  7. Re:HIP-HOP ?? SUX !! by ackthpt · · Score: 2

    It's like disco all over again !! Only by people who can't play, can't keep a tune, and make farm -animal noises !! It truly SUX !!

    It's also for people who are extremely bad at poetry, but want to express themselves and get $$$ anyway.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  8. linuxsampler dropped the ball by akirapill · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The centerpiece of any hip hop studio is the sampler. There exists a very high quality open source sampler called linuxsampler but they are not included in any mainstream linux repos because of their bone-headed, legally invalid licence. So you have to build it from source, a painful process that I've never been able to do in under 2 hours. There is a lot of high quality foss studio software out there, but as long as developers keep dropping the ball like this we're going to see more reinventing of the wheel like this and not a lot of progress. An excellent foss program for beat-making I would recommend is qtractor, but it does not come with a sampler.

  9. Ridiculously expensive? I think not. by Yoozer · · Score: 2

    Good luck with yet another DAW. Thing is, this is nonsense - making music never has been cheaper, and the price is still dropping.

    $60 for Reaper and a slew of free as in beer plugins is not ridiculously expensive, and Reaper's anything but crippled.

    1. Re:Ridiculously expensive? I think not. by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      Good luck with yet another DAW

      Digital Audio Workstation. Solving the world energy crisis one unnecessary Google search at a time!

      --
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  10. You lost me at "Hip Hop Artist" by JudgeFurious · · Score: 3, Funny

    Isn't that like saying "Cheeseburger Physicist".

    --
    Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
  11. No, it is not. by logicassasin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've struggled with LMMS for years. I give a try quite often and the end result is torturous. It tries hard to be FL Studio, but "different" but lacks so much that making anything is just entirely too awkward. I've considered contributing to the project but simply don't have the time to invest in it.

    I stick with FL Studio and Cubase for my hip hop work (with ProTools M-Powered strictly to send out sessions to studios).

    --
    Fifty watts per channel, baby cakes.
    1. Re:No, it is not. by logicassasin · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's free... if you can afford Cubase/Pro Tools. Then yes... use those. But this guy doesn't want to pay... so why would something like LMMS not be good enough to teach someone to make a beat? We're not talking about producing a track for Dr. Diddy, or Jay Snoop.

      Why does it seem like, when it comes to software, people don't apply the "beggars can't be choosers" mentality?

      "I don't want to pay for it."

      "Ok, here you go. I did this in my spare time!"

      "That's not what I wanted... this sucks. Spend more of your free time and make it better."

      " ... ?"

      If's not about whether or not it's "free", it's about whether it's functional or not. Your argument is a typical cop-out whenever the functionality of a FOSS app is called into question. If you've made the decision to write something like this and release it for the world to see, then you need to be prepared to address issues people have with the software. Yes, we could always go out and buy another piece of software instead of using that which you wrote for free, but we're giving your stuff a shot to look for that alternative so being receptive to criticism is part of the process. If the authors didn't want anyone to speak ill of their software, they should have kept it to themselves. Part of the open source process is people contributing to it's usability by giving input like "Hey, maybe you could make plugin selection a bit more obvious to the end user, it's a pain to deal with right now". We all may not have coding skills, but our input on workflow is just as valid.

      I've tried Rosegarden under Linux and it works pretty well but several key VST plugins I use simply don't work. Were it not for that, I'd recommend it all day long.

      FWIW, FL Studio's basic package costs only $49, with a more functional version at $99. While I understand that some people believe that they can't afford $99, if you're really serious about music you will save for it. Same for Cubase: Steinberg offers an entry level version of Cubase for $99 that's rather well featured for the price (serious music can be made with the "Elements" package). EnergyXT is not only cheap (€59), but also cross platform, working on Windows, MacOS, AND Linux!

      For the musician on a budget, there are options. FOSS is one of them if you can find an application you like. LMMS is just not that package for me.

      --
      Fifty watts per channel, baby cakes.
  12. It ain't all bad by Trentus · · Score: 2

    A lot of the comments have been hating on hip-hop, and well, I can't say I blame them. Most of the stuff you hear is just the same old shit. Some boring harmony over a lifeless beat and some lyrics that are so dishonest that it's almost offensive. But then you get some people who take hip-hop and turn it into something wonderful.

    There are/were quite a few jazz guys who are taking the chill groove of hip-hop and fusing it with jazz, adding beautiful harmonies and some honest expression. In the 90's there was Branford Marsalis and his group Buckshot LeFonque who mixed jazz, funk, hip-hop, rock and pop. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band fuse the New Orleans brass band sound with just about everything they encounter, including hip-hop (probably best heard on their album What's Going On?). Trumpeter Roy Hargrove has The RH Factor, who deal in a dirty club type of groove.

    Then there are guys like Robert Glasper or Jason Lindner who seem to play a more modern jazz with a heavy hip-hop influence. More adventurous harmonic and rhythmic devices, more of an improvised nature, generally smaller groups, but still with that same spacious and cool feel, played in a way that someone could rap over top.

    If you think you hate hip-hop but love beautiful, honest music then I implore you to check out some of these groups. They may spark an interest in the genre that will lead you to search for more... of course, when you come across some guy singing about his drugs, money and women, it's perfectly fine to politely tell him to fuck off. Just don't let those arseholes stop you from listening to good music, whatever genre they happen to be polluting.

  13. Rosegarden and Buzztard (Jeskola Buzz) by HalAtWork · · Score: 3, Informative

    Rosegarden and Buzztard are great for such purposes, and are both open source.

    --
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  14. there is nearly-free software out there by rickb928 · · Score: 2

    CM Studio is inadequate? Every issue of Computer Music comes with a DVD, CMStudio being the centerpiece, with loads of samples etc.

    No, not free. Usually about $15 in the US, £6+ in UK, more elsewhere I bet.

    If you don't wanna pay $15, well, have at it.

    --
    deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  15. List of available open-sourced Beat / Drum Machine by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Okay, here's the list that I can find:

    Hydrogen
    http://www.hydrogen-music.org/hcms/?p=main

    OrDrumBox
    http://www.ordrumbox.com/

    OpenBeatBox
    Mac
    http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Audio/Open-Beat-Box.shtml
    Linux
    http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Open-Beat-Box-4095.shtml

    Koblo
    http://koblo.com/beta

    Free Cycle
    http://freecycle.redsteamrecords.com/

    Anymore?

    Please feel free to tag on ...
     

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