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Chill beats are designed to impart a moody effect on the listener. People use chill beats when studying or when they need to relax, and this has made LoFi beats quite famous. People want to learn to make customized beats. So, if you intend to create fantastic chill beats, you may start by being nostalgic or recalling some memories from your past. This frame of mind will inspire creativity in the production process.

Chill beats go way back when technology was not as advanced as it is today. One of the characteristics of chill music is low-quality sounds. You can add a modern touch to your chill beats. LoFi, which stands for low fidelity, is one of the examples of chill beats. It refers to an audio recording that has technical flaws. Equipment such as hum, reduced frequency, distortion, and background noise plays an essential role in the production of LoFi sound. Here’s a comprehensive guide to making chill beats.

Step 1: Chords and Melody

Sampling chords is common with LoFi hip hop. You can start by checking out jazz and old funk records, which will give you a sound basis for writing your progression. This article guides you on how to create your beats and sample it to learn both ways of working with chords and melodies.

First, get a sound that rhymes with your chosen track. Produce a 4 bar loop and duplicate it to make slight modifications to the second half to ensure the listener is not bored. Change the chord timing and duration to produce an edgy but less obvious progression. If the output sounds too clean for a LoFi beat, apply subtle effects. Generally, LoFi has a less high frequency. If the sound has a high frequency, use a low-pass filter to get rid of the high frequency.

Step 2: Dusty-Sounding Drum Beat

After creating a Jazzy LoFi beat, the next step is to make traditional, dusty-sounding drum beats. You may be tempted to check out old drum samples, but this won’t lead to an impressive rhythm. The loop needs to sound dusty and crunchy. If you must sample, look find appropriate lofi drums to work with. It’s recommended you check the tuning of the drum instrument to make sure the drums rhyme well with the music loop created in step 1.

For easier processing of the beat, reduce the amount of post-FX on the beat. Add a snare, hats, and a kick that have background noise and less high-end information. Swing is essential in chill beats as it creates a relaxed atmosphere. You can achieve this effect by adjusting the first hat back and the second hat forward. Move the hats again and again to hear the impact. Add an open hat to foster a sense of interest and continuation to the beat. Play around with the hat sounds to get the sounds that work for you. Group processing on drum sounds contributes to the aesthetic and glue the drums for a better sound. Here are some of the processing tips worth to try:

  • Saturation
  • Pitch adjustment
  • Compression
  • Low-pass filtering
  • Transient pitching

Step 3: Bass Line

At this point, you should add a bassline to add weight to the completed beat. Ensure the sub-bass notes follow the chords to create a nice flow without making the low end too engaging. Typically, bass in chill beats is usually mellow, with interesting loops and full-blown bass solos. Start by finding a bass sound that has beautiful harmonics. A sine wave is an ideal choice, but it runs through a bit of saturation and distortion to spice it a little. Once you get a bass line that works well with your loop, blend the volume till it sits nicely.

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Step 4: Foley

Add some foley sounds to foster a sense of realism. The most common option is sampling the sound of rainfall. You can also record something unique with your recorder or phone and include it.

Step 5: Creative Elements

One of the creative features to add to your music beat is the vinyl crackle. It mimics the sound of a record player, hence contributing to the dusty aesthetic. Other suitable sound effects you may play around with include: chimes, sweeps, and foley. You may also do additional processing like pitching the master up and down.

It is quite easy to come up with ideas for chill beats. Also, there are repositories of beats and sounds you can process to come up with the LoFi beat that you desire. With this guide, you can make customized chill beats to listen to when studying or relaxing.