BUILDING BEATS WORKSHOP LEADER & MUSIC PRODUCER VAUGHN LEVI HAS SOME TIPS ON HOW TO CREATE A LIL NAS X 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: Isaac Ziman

Lil Nas X is a rapper, singer and songwriter from Lithia Springs, Georgia who exploded onto the music scene with his country-rap breakout single “Old Town Road” that spent nineteen weeks atop Billboard 100. He also continued to break records and barriers by being the first artist to come out as gay while having a number one-record. Nas X continues to create today and most recently released a children’s book “C is for Country” this year.        

Vaughn Levi begins the tutorial by showing us his finished Lil Nas X Type Beat. As the Guitar, Hi-Hat, Snare, Kick and 808 Drum are already set within the project, he reverse engineers the process for us to understand how the beat was made.  

First, when you’re creating in Soundtrap, you either want to start out with a 4 bar loop or an 8 bar loop, depending on what the loop turns out to be when you drag it from your loop library.

The Loop Library pops up when you click the purple note icon on the right side of the page.

The Loop Library allows you access to all types of sounds, loops and different music elements to incorporate in your own music within Soundtrap.

The first element that Vaughn Levi used was the Electric Guitar, which is an 8-bar loop that he found in the Loop Library. He chose this loop because it gives an uptempo Lil Nas X type of sound! 

Next, let’s add the Drums to accentuate the Hip-Hop and Trap dynamic consistent in Lil Nas X’s music. First we layer on the Hi-Hats by clicking them in the project and opening the ‘Pattern Maker’. Clicking on the ‘Patterns’ Tab in the middle of the page creates a loop display that allows you to determine where the Hi-Hats land by clicking on the squares.

Remember that every 4 beats in Loops is a bar, so when you count to 4 - that equals one bar. Looking at the picture above, Rayvaughn put 2 beats in the ‘1’, ‘2’, & ‘3’, and then 3 beats on the ‘4’. This gives it a Trap element!

Vaughn went back to the project screen, looped the Hi-Hats and listened to what they sounded like by themselves. 

Time for some Snare Drum. This element is layered on by adding a drum hit to the Patterns Maker. Vaughn added a snare to the ‘2’ and 4’ of the beat.

Let’s return to the project and first listen to the Snare on its own, then the Hi-Hats, then with the Electric Guitar.

Check the groove- it’s hitting! 

Now the Kick Drum! This time Vaughn Levi played it as an instrument by opening Patterns Maker and under the ‘Instruments’ Tab, clicked letters on the keyboard that correlate with specific sounds. In this instance the Kick Drum is represented by the letter ‘A’.

Vaughn Levi then recorded his kick pattern and first listened to see how it sounded on its own, then layered on the other sound elements.

Next, he added the Bass, and to stay in the Trap lane, he added an 808. Opening up the instrument track and clicking on ‘Bass - Kick (808)’ shows the different 808 sound choices to your liking - which you can preview before recording. 

Vaughn Levi chose the ‘808 Rite’ because of its heavy bass & boom sound, and similar to the Kick Drum from earlier, played it as an instrument, though this time in the Key of ‘E’. He did this by opening the ‘Instrument’ Tab inside the Pattern Maker.

Finally, he listened to the ‘Bass - Kick (808)’ on its own to hear how it sounds - bouncy!

Now that the Guitar Loop, Hi-Hats, Snare, Kick-Drum and Bass have been recorded, let’s listen to the project to see if it’s finished...

We still need one more element to bring it all home! Vaughn wrapped up his beat by adding a Guitar - Pedal Steel directly from the Loops Library, dragged it into the project and listened to what it sounded like on its own, and finally with the rest of the layers.

And there you have it! A full bass for a Lil Nas X Type Beat. 

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