The web makes just about everything easier – commerce, research, communication, translation – you name it.
Tasks that used to take days or weeks now take hours, minutes or even seconds.
So it should come as no surprise that the internet also holds valuable tools for the songwriter, as well.
The web makes it easier to learn and trade techniques and order software.
In fact, a lot of software is only available to the beat maker online, with no option to purchase the traditional box and CD-ROM/DVD.
For both the novice beat maker and the experienced maestro, cyberspace is a virtual treasure trove of online tools and tricks.
All of these programs are helping the next generation of groups, MCs, DJs and singers shape the musical landscape.
How Online Tools Can Help the Aspiring or Experienced Beat Maker
The development of virtual drum machines and studio software has helped musical artists around the world take control of their creative experiences and make music wherever their inspirations take them. The internet has gone even further to help the struggling artist by offering new ways to purchase this software, often at greatly reduced costs. What’s more, the online experience fuels competition and further drives down prices. The web also allows beat makers shopping around for the right product to refine their searches and gather all of the necessary information quickly.
The internet also speeds up shipping by enabling users to not only find and order products online, but to pay for them as well, using credit cards or via secure payment sites like PayPal. Gone are the days of mailing a check to a distributor and hoping it will arrive safely so that you can wait for it to be processed and again for the item to arrive in the mail. Today’s beat maker can purchase music software with the click of a button, pay with another and then simply download the program. In a matter of minutes, he or she can be on the way to creating the next masterpiece.
Programs for the Beat Maker Online
Dubturbo is a downloadable medium- to high-end beat-making program with plenty of features and high-quality, modern sounds. The program costs between $30 and $200, depending on when you check out the site, and purchase entitles the beat maker to work remotely online where they can save their projects for later retrieval. Dubturbo also provides users with ways to potentially earn money by making beats and posting them online.
In addition to downloadable programs, the internet offers aspiring and experienced songwriters on-line beat-making tools that are usually easy to use and often free. These tools may come in the form of an extension of an existing downloadable program or a stand-alone beat maker online.
JamStudio is a fun little site that allows limited composition of not only backbeats, but melodies with different instruments as well. While its functions are limited, it presents an interesting take on the sequencer. Additional features like desktop applications are unlocked if the user joins the site for six months for $24.95. Free users can still save their compositions, but do not own the rights to them.
The simply-named Drum Machine is an equally simple flash tool that offers only kick, snare, open and closed hi-hats and rim hits. Users can manipulate volumes for individual tracks, use an effect simply labeled “FX” and adjust tempo, overall volume and shuffle.
While very limited in variety, the sounds are pretty good and the additional option to adjust the bounce of a composition also goes a long way to creating realistic beats. However, the user will have to figure out an alternate way to line out the finished product, as the program offers no export or save capabilities. It is more of a musical game, as evidenced by the site’s other offers, like Asteroids.
Technology advances at an exponential rate, with each discovery piggy-backing off the last. It won’t be long before anyone with an inclination to make music has access to all the online or home studio gear he or she wants, in a user friendly format and for the cost of dinner and a movie. With the additional proliferation of online broadcasting and social networking, tomorrow’s hits and classics will be made by the people with the most talent, not necessarily the most money or the best connections.
Photo courtesy of Sean Rogers1.
