The digital technological advances in music put an entire orchestra at your fingertips. Produce beats on your computer without spending any money on studio time. Tutorials are available to show you the mechanics of the software. You will still have to inject your own creativity to develop memorable beats. Choose from a myriad of synthetic instruments and sound clips to make your beats. Music software ranges from $50 to a few thousand dollars, as of the date of publication, with varying levels of difficulty.
The old fashioned method of creating music with instruments and musicians still works. The group the Roots built a career based on creating their own beats with live instruments. For hip-hop your beat-making instrumental orchestra will need a drum set and a bass guitar at the very least. Choose other instruments based on the style of music you create.
Drum machines are one of the earliest adopters of digital sound. Drum machines are rectangular boxes with knobs and finger pads that let you program in sounds. After choosing a sound, punch out beats with your fingers on the drum pad. Some drum machines let you upload external sounds, such as sound effects from a CD, and use those sounds to create your drum pattern. Plug the drum machine into your computer or a 24-track recorder to save the beats you've made.
Create beats out of sound effects. Timbaland and Missy Elliot became famous using sound effects to create layers to their beats. One of Timbaland's early creations featured a frog croak that he placed on a continuous loop to create the bass line. You can download sound effects from the Internet or buy sound effects CDs from music stores.