BUILDING BEATS WORKSHOP LEADER, DJ & MUSIC PRODUCER OBaH WALKS US THROUGH CREATING A DJ MUSTARD TYPE BEAT, USING THE FREE BROWSER-BASED MUSIC PRODUCTION PROGRAM SOUNDTRAP. YOU CAN ACCESS SOUNDTRAP ON YOUR LAPTOPS, PHONES, AND IPADS USING THE CHROME BROWSER.

By: Ebony Anderson-Brown

DJ Mustard is one of the top trap music producers on the scene today. He has produced hits for pretty much any mainstream popular trap music artist you could think of. So, to use him as a blueprint for this tutorial makes a lot of sense.

Trap music is known for its syncopated drum programming and its booming basslines. We’re going to start with those two elements. Something that I think is very important when making a trap beat is your ability to layer sounds. Not all sounds, but some sounds, deserve to be layered and the point to that layering effect is to create a bigger sound.

Let’s begin by selecting our drum kits. For your DJ Mustard type beat, you’re going to use the following premade loops which can be found in Soundtrap’s Loops Field: Agile, Beat - Flap, Swish, and Vanilla. In addition to your drum patterns, you can use Soundtrap’s premade loops sound effects for your bassline too. 

For the purpose of this beat, select SFX Bass Drop Wobble 1 and SFX Bass Drop Wobble 2. Once you’ve got your loops you can add them both into a single track so they are not playing at the same time but rather side by side. 

Trap music production is pretty simple when it comes to melodies and harmonies–this is where the synths come in. To achieve the sound you want for your melody you’re going to need Soundtrap’s Open Close synth loop which can be imported here. Next, you’re going to layer Rich Life 3, Trap Droplets 3, and Sad Bells 2 to get your harmonies in position. Now that you’ve got your drums, bassline, melody and harmonies, listen to what you’ve made so far!

A very important tool for any trap music producer, especially DJ Mustard, is having quality sound effects. Think of sound effects as the glue that helps piece different parts of your beat together. Using the premade samples from Soundtrap’s Loops Field, you can include sound effects in the intro, the breakdown section in the middle of the beat, and the outro. It’s up to you to determine what type of sound effect you want to use to spice up your beat up. 

For example, you can use sound effects to make your beat sparse enough for an emcee or vocalist to gather ideas that can be layered on top. Now when it comes to making a beat that you intend to have vocals on, you want to have different parts of your beat to highlight different feelings, vibes, energies, etc. 

For your DJ Mustard type beat, you can use SFX Pad Long Night and SFX Night 2 for your intro while using SFX Rhythmic Hangers 1, SFX Brampton Tone, SFX Brampton - Sweep Up 1, and SFX Brampton - Sweep Up 2 to set the tone throughout the rest of your beat.

We’ve gone over drums, basslines, melodies, harmonies, and sound effects. The only things left to do are the arrangement and mix down. A final tip - you can highlight and repeat different sections of your beat (i.e. verses, bridge, hook/chorus) using the Loop Bar or Cycle mode in Soundtrap. This is very useful when working on a part of your project, and you need to hear it played repeatedly while you are applying your masterful tricks and magic to it! 

Share your beat with us on social media by tagging @BuildingBeats on Instagram or Twitter.

You can also visit our Toolbox to learn how to create more beats on DAWs like Soundtrap, and be sure to check out some of our other How-To videos!