Estimated reading time 2 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
“Maybe I’m old, but what is a beat or beats?” The word beat in Hip Hop doesn’t just refer to the rhythm. Keep reading What Exactly Does Beat Mean in Hip Hop? to find out what it is and how it works.
This article uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
What Exactly Does Beat Mean in Hip Hop: Defining the Word
What exactly does beat mean in Hip Hop? Hip Hop uses the word “beat” for the music’s backing tracks.
- The track’s rhythm propels the song forward, establishing the structure that rappers work with to create their lyrics.
- The Hip Hop beat has at least drums and bass guitar (or synth bass).
- However, piano, keyboard, and guitar are usually included, and you can often hear a variety of other instruments as well, including backing vocals.
How do you make a Hip Hop track?
- This involves sampling small fragments of preexisting songs and reassembling them to create a new, collage-like composition.
- DJs like Grand Master Flash founded the basics of this process when they used two turntables to mix vinyl records to create beats at house parties.
- As the music moved into the recording studio, sampling naturally replaced vinyl.
What Exactly Does Beat Mean in Hip Hop: How Is it Arranged?
So, how is Hip Hop arranged?
- The heart and soul of Hip Hop is the drums.
- They establish the speed of the song as well as the rhythmic groove.
- Kit drums include the bass drum (a.k.a. the kick drum), snare, toms, hi-hat, and various other cymbals.
The drum kit is the instrument that drives the energy level of the track.
What’s the bottom end?
- The bottom end refers to the low notes.
- They’re so important to the music that serious fans of the genre need to have sound systems with beefed up bass woofers.
- The bass drum is the king of the bottom end, but the bass guitar (or synth bass) also plays an important role.
- The kick drum sets the beat, but it can only play a single, indefinite pitch.
- Because the bass line can play a variety of notes, it adds depth and complexity to the groove.
The bass line will often have riff-like patterns that create an instrumental hook for the song.
Instruments like guitar, keyboard, and piano play melodies and supporting chords.
- Their job is to fill out a track, and like the bass line, these instruments might be used to play the hook.
- Also, you can often hear other instruments such as sax, brass, and strings, which adds an additional level of complexity to the track.
- Moreover, this can include ear candy, which refers to sound effects that are added to catch your attention while breaking up the monotony of a repetitive track.
Video: How to Make a Hip Hop Beat Using Drum Loops and Samples
Final Thoughts on “What Exactly Does Beat Mean in Hip Hop?”
Takeaway points:
- Hip Hop uses the word “beat” for the music’s backing tracks.
- This involves sampling small fragments of preexisting songs and reassembling them to create a new, collage-like composition.
- The bottom end refers to the low notes, which are so important to the music that serious fans need to have beefed up bass speakers.
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