Download the Magix Music Maker program. The program is not free but offers a free trial download so you can interact with the software and determine if it works for you. Magix is a full digital recording studio for the computer. Among many other features, it offers one particular tool called "Robota." This utility is a drum sequencer and provides the ability to make beats of any rhythm and style. The layout of Robota is similar to a classic drum machine from decades past. Up to four individual drum sounds can be played simultaneously, and each gets its own rhythm. The layout features 16 beats for a comprehensive 4-bar rock track. The included drum sounds offer a rich sound, and when your rock beat is completed, you can optionally add many other tracks using Magix's other utilities to finish a full song.
Install the Acoustica program called "Beatcraft." This shareware software is available for free download, but registration is encouraged despite that the download is fully functional without payment. Beatcraft offers the ability to create beats, and nothing more. The entire program has been carefully designed to provide an interface that makes beat creation particularly easy and limitless. The software uses a loop design to build beat tracks. However, multiple loops can be combined into "patterns" which may, in turn, be mixed together to build full songs. It is possible to lay down complicated and original rock beats that sound like more than just a repeating sequence. A large library of individual drum beat sounds is included so you can start from scratch in your compositions. The simple drag-and-drop style of editing means that anyone can be programming unique rock beats within minutes. The program is both easy to use and highly creative.
Get the FL Studio demo and see what the most advanced music production software is like. FL Studio is an industry-standard music program that offers the features to design any style of music. However, it is based around pattern creation and geared toward the quick creation of beats. The program used to be called "Fruity Loops" for this reason. Using the loop interface, you can quickly assemble rock beats using multiple individual layers. The program includes one of the largest libraries of drum sounds available in any standalone software. Without integrating or purchasing additional programs, you have a particularly massive collection of pre-recorded drum sounds available to make any rock beat possible. Once the beat track is complete, you can then add many other tracks if you desire. The FL Studio system provides many other instrument sounds to complete all the tracks of any song.
Lay down the kick drum beat first. This is usually the foundation of any beat, as the kick drum offers the actual sense of "beat" that a rock song frequently uses. A good start is to place a kick sound on each beat to instill the tempo and stability of the rhythm.
Add the snare drum sound to the beat. Usually snares are added as intermediate beats, or on the half-beats. A frequent pattern consists of a snare on the down beat followed by a snare for the second half of the beat, or the "up beat." In this way, the two sounds alternate evenly every half beat, or eighth note.
Mix in the cymbal sound to embellish the two beats already presented. Cymbals offer many different sounds, including closed hi-hats and full cymbal crashes. The crashes are used sparingly, but the hi-hats can offer sixteenth-note patterns that lay on top of the kick and snare. Try a single stream of nothing but hi-hats on every quarter beat to get the idea, then remove isolated hi-hats here and there to mix it up and give it a more random sound.