Skip to main content

About The New Beatmaker

Hi!  I'm Lee.  Welcome to my blog.  Here we talk music: news, reviews, interviews, tips, tutorials and more.  I'm also working on the upcoming podcast  Influenced  as a guest, writer and researcher alongside music aficionado Mark Williams and friends.  Watch this space! I have been a lover of music for as long as I can remember, an amateur lyricist for 25 years, a music writer for 15 years and a hobbyist musician and blogger for almost 10 years. My tastes range from jazz to house to hip hop and I love helping artists from all genres develop their sound. My music, videos, reviews and interviews have been featured in a variety of magazines and websites, including: B-Boy Tech Report Gimme That Beat Humanhuman Audio Skills Dream House Beats Where Did the Road Go Beat Tape Co-Op Push Power Promo Drum Magazine You can find my music on Bandcamp: Monkey Mind Sounds AKA LeeTNB And you can find me on Facebook: The New Beatmaker page Lee's personal page

Recommended Reads: Essential Must-Read Books on Music Production

A selection of recommended reading to further educate and inspire.

The below are my personal recommendations for those just starting out.  For many other popular books on music, from production guides to biographies, visit The New Beatmaker Amazon store here.   

'The BeatTips Manual' by Amir Sa'id: The much - loved beat making Bible.

The BeatTips Manual has long been regarded as the beat making Bible by many in the hip hop and beat making community.  Written by accomplished beat maker, MC and beattips.com founder Amir Sa'id, the 400 page book covers five categories in great detail: history, instruction, music theory, business and interviews with hip hop legends including DJ Premier, DJ Toomp, Buckwild, 9th Wonder and Marly Marl.
    'The BeatTips Manual earns its stripes as a legitimate textbook, accessible to students at college and students of the game alike.'
    - hiphopisread.com
    Now available as digital download, The BeatTips Manual is set to further solidify its position as the go - to book on beat making, both as an instructional resource and as a cultural document for the beat making rookie and veteran producer alike.  Buy here.


    'Home Recording for Beginners' by Geoffrey Francis: A great introduction to both music recording and working within REAPER

    An absolute must for those new to beat making and recording music at home.  Geoffrey Francis takes you through everything you could possibly need to know when starting out: from the basics of how a computer and a sound card work, all the way through to rendering a completed track and beyond.  Comprehensive, well written and easy to understand.  A classic.  Buy here.  



     

    'The #1 Rule of Home Recording' by Graham Cochrane: Words of wisdom that will save you money and heartache.  All you need is an email address.

    Graham Cochrane is the man behind the very popular The Recording Revolution website.  In this 16 page eBook he gives some very valuable advice to the new beat maker / musician.  Namely, how much to spend and how to work.  This book will only take an hour or two to read, but it could save you a fortune.  Register your email address at his site to get the free eBook. Free download
     

    'Music Theory Made Easy' by David Harp: An enjoyable entry into music theory
     

    Another hughly popular book, covering everything from how sound is made, to the Chromatic scale, on to how to play some of the most popular chord structures in pop, country, blues and rock music.  David Harp's knowledge and love of music make this book the perfect introduction to music theory.  The book is suitable for both adults and children, so buy one for yourself and one for your little brother or sister.
       Buy here.

    'The Art of Drum Layering' by Eddie Bazil: Are your drums a dissapointment? Learn how to make bigger, better beats.  

    Really two books in one: the first for the absolute beginner, the second for the more advanced, '...Drum Layering' explains what could be otherwise confusing subject matter through clear English and plenty of helpful images and wav files of 'before and after' treatments to drum hits.  Use drums in your music? Then use 'The Art of Drum Layering' too.   Buy here

    For many other popular books on music, visit The New Beatmaker Amazon store here.  


    Credits
    Image 1: www.beattips.com
    Image 2: www.tower.com 
    Image 3: www.samplecraze.com

    Popular posts from this blog

    About The New Beatmaker

    Hi!  I'm Lee.  Welcome to my blog.  Here we talk music: news, reviews, interviews, tips, tutorials and more.  I'm also working on the upcoming podcast  Influenced  as a guest, writer and researcher alongside music aficionado Mark Williams and friends.  Watch this space! I have been a lover of music for as long as I can remember, an amateur lyricist for 25 years, a music writer for 15 years and a hobbyist musician and blogger for almost 10 years. My tastes range from jazz to house to hip hop and I love helping artists from all genres develop their sound. My music, videos, reviews and interviews have been featured in a variety of magazines and websites, including: B-Boy Tech Report Gimme That Beat Humanhuman Audio Skills Dream House Beats Where Did the Road Go Beat Tape Co-Op Push Power Promo Drum Magazine You can find my music on Bandcamp: Monkey Mind Sounds AKA LeeTNB And you can find me on Facebook: The New Beatmaker page Lee's personal page

    Learn How to Play D'Angelo's 'How Does it Feel': Piano Couture

    Barely a week goes by without me playing 'Voodoo' at some point and with it, a desire to learn how to play 'How Does it Feel'.   This tutorial video by youtube user pianocouture is one of the best 'how to play' videos I have seen for the classic track.   I think that instructional videos like this are good for two main reasons.  Reason one: obviously, a learner player will gain confidence and enjoyment from learning a favourite song of theirs.   Reason two: Even if a beatmaker has no desire to learn to play the keyboard, but wants to create a loop or a riff (a feeling) similar to 'How Does it Feel', what better way to, than playing the song itself (or similar sounds), sampling it and chopping it up? Either way, this is a great tutorial video.  I've subscribed to Piano Couture's youtube page and, if you are looking to get your key game up, I suggest you do too ;) Related Posts: ?uestlove talks new D'Angelo, J Dilla Video: youtube.com/user/pian

    Objects In Orbit 'Panoramas'

    REVIEW :  The New Beatmaker favourite changes his name, hones his craft on potential best album of 2020 Producer, Sound Engineer, Musician and Videographer Objects In Orbit has been a favourite of the site since 2013. Whilst there is not a single bad project in the catalogue of the artist formerly known as Evil Alex, he has evolved and improved almost constantly from one project to the next. He is a master of sonic suspense with many of his projects sounding perfectly at home in an art installation or art-house cinema. His trademark style mixes hip hop born sample-based techniques and 4/4 beat composition along with jazz influenced time signatures and experimentation. He often incorporates eerie, industrial stylings and at times dissonant tones.  Whilst predominantly instrumental, Objects In Orbit finely weaves into layers of musical samples either long stretches of dialogue, which make the listener feel as though they are eavesdropping on private conversation, or snip