# When did "music" become "beats"?



## MusiquedeReve (Apr 16, 2021)

When I was in a band, we would write music for songs - this included guitar, bass, keys and drums - the vocalist would then write lyrics and voila, we had a completed song

Nowadays, whenever I watch a YouTube video about music production, the presenters thereon refer to the entirety of the music as "beats" 

Even some vocalists I have communicated with about working together asked me to send them my "beats" - when I asked for clarification, they explained to me that they wanted to hear the music for the track I wanted them to write to

Anyone else see this shift? Thoughts thereon? Am I just old?


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## doctoremmet (Apr 16, 2021)

1) you are likely old *)
2) it is ultimately merely a semantic “thing” where the word “beats” has taken on a new meaning (i.e. music or backing tracks)
3) I guess this shift in meaning stems from hiphop culture - which goes to show the influence of that subculture on the music lingo as a whole
4) all of the above is just me guessing

*) I’m a 49 yo white male and I sort of feel the same thing I guess


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## MusiquedeReve (Apr 16, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> 1) you are likely old *)
> 2) it is ultimately merely a semantic “thing” where the word “beats” has taken on a new meaning (i.e. music or backing tracks)
> 3) I guess this shift in meaning stems from hiphop culture - which goes to show the influence of that subculture on the music lingo as a whole
> 4) all of the above is just me guessing
> ...


I will join you at 49 in a couple of months 

Agreed that it is just a shift in nomenclature but, for me, when I hear "beats", I think of drums


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## GNP (Apr 16, 2021)

lol


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## Brasart (Apr 16, 2021)

"Music" never became "beats", and the word "beat" has been used for like two decades, don't know what else to tell you, people say "track", "instrumental", "cue", "bop"...etc
I never hear "beat" myself, it's a bit old-fashioned now too


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## Macrawn (Apr 16, 2021)

I thought it was like edm music beats. Tell her you don't make that crap.


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## Alex Fraser (Apr 16, 2021)

Beats/Beat = everything but the vocals, usually refers to R&B/Hip-Hop genres.
The term has been in use for at least 10+ years.

I wouldn't dismiss or get too snobby about beats. They've paid the mortgage for a decade now.. 😉


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## MusiquedeReve (Apr 16, 2021)

Alex Fraser said:


> Beats/Beat = everything but the vocals, usually refers to R&B/Hip-Hop genres.
> The term has been in use for at least 10+ years.
> 
> I wouldn't dismiss or get too snobby about beats. They've paid the mortgage for a decade now.. 😉


Not being dismissive or snobby - merely asking a question


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## companyofquail (Apr 16, 2021)

it probably started shortly after dr dre dropped "the chronic" in 1992


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## Alex Fraser (Apr 16, 2021)

ChromeCrescendo said:


> Not being dismissive or snobby - merely asking a question


I know. 👍


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## Polkasound (Apr 16, 2021)

You may be interested in this thread from last year:

https://vi-control.net/community/threads/making-beats.97261/


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## AudioLoco (Apr 16, 2021)

It stems mostly from hip hop origins but has expanded to many young music people.
I think it comes from the fact the instrumental is such a taken for granted element by many young folks used to just downloading legally or not said "beats" or just sample "stuff" as an afterthought and then laying the all important vocals on top.
There are some others.... Also "stems" is used with the wrong meaning often and people use meanigless terms such as "vocal mastering".....
Quite a few years ago i was starting to work in a London studio attended by many young Grime and Rap artists. coming from a traditional studio background it took me a while to learn the new young tech lingo.


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## MusiquedeReve (Apr 16, 2021)

Polkasound said:


> You may be interested in this thread from last year:
> 
> https://vi-control.net/community/threads/making-beats.97261/


Ohhhh I didn't see that thread



AudioLoco said:


> It stems mostly from hip hop origins but has expanded to many young music people.
> I think it comes from the fact the instrumental is such a taken for granted element by many young folks used to just downloading legally or not said "beats" or just sample "stuff" as an afterthought and then laying the all important vocals on top.
> There some others.... Also "stems" is used with the wrong meaning often and people use meanigless terms such as "vocal mastering".....
> Quite a few years ago i was starting to work in a London studio attended by many young Grime and Rap artists. coming from a traditional studio background it took me a while to learn the new young tech lingo.


Am I now going to have to go down the rabbit hole of researching what "Grime" music is?


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## Alex Fraser (Apr 16, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> Quite a few years ago i was starting to work in a London studio attended by many young Grime and Rap artists. coming from a traditional studio background it took me a while to learn the new young tech lingo.


Haha, exactly my intro into the genre. _"You want what now?"_

My absolute favourite:
_"Rinse the track"_ = press play on your DAW.


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## AudioLoco (Apr 16, 2021)

Alex Fraser said:


> Haha, exactly my intro into the genre. _"You want what now?"_
> 
> My absolute favourite:
> _"Rinse the track"_ = press play on your DAW.


"more 808!"
Me: "there is no 808 on this track... ah you mean the bass...."


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## Alex Fraser (Apr 16, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> "more 808!"
> Me: "there is no 808 on this track... ah you mean the bass...."


LOL YES! Was just going to add that...


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## b_elliott (Apr 16, 2021)

ChromeCrescendo said:


> When I was in a band, we would write music for songs - this included guitar, bass, keys and drums - the vocalist would then write lyrics and voila, we had a completed song
> 
> Nowadays, whenever I watch a YouTube video about music production, the presenters thereon refer to the entirety of the music as "beats"
> 
> ...


You may find the attached of interest. Something I put together a few years back. 

I am old school and ran into slang that is regularly used by talent to mixers. When they ask for something "greasy", "ballsy", needs more "sauce" or spit -- they usually mean ...well, see attached.

Note: definitions were snagged from pro mixing articles on the net.


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## ghostnote (Apr 16, 2021)

Same goes for the term producer... I hate that...


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## Living Fossil (Apr 16, 2021)

ChromeCrescendo said:


> When I was in a band, we would write music for songs - this included guitar, bass, keys and drums - the vocalist would then write lyrics and voila, we had a completed song
> 
> Nowadays, whenever I watch a YouTube video about music production, the presenters thereon refer to the entirety of the music as "beats"


I'm hearing that term a lot since around 20 years.
Maybe there is a connection that at that time Sampling CDs with construction kits became popular, which allowed the users (often Rapers) not only to build a drumbeat but also provided chord changes, bass lines etc.

For songwriters the term "beat" may sound strange, however, to me it sounds more awkward when people are speaking of "songs" when they mean instrumental tracks.
Or when they use the term "classical" when speaking of easy listening music that incorporates either strings or brass or pianos.

If words are used in an inappropriate way over a long time, they eventually change their meaning.
What was inappropriate becomes the new appropriate.
But that's quite a normal process in culture.

With regards to the beats, as long as they are smooth, i like them.


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## GtrString (Apr 16, 2021)

Actually, back in the 60s, popular music was called “beat music”. Not far from that to just “beats”, like the urban dudes call it.

Ofc, beats is a backing track, that used to be beat out of an MPC. So, yeah, the term is 60s-80s old by now.

I guess the new terms; “controller hits” or “one finger taps” never caught on..


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## IgneousOne (Apr 16, 2021)

I think it's a lazy term, presuming all music is primarily 'beat-based'.


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## ashX (Apr 16, 2021)

This term is used more because of trap/hiphop producers. Those FL Studio guys who have a melody, a drum pattern and 808 bass pattern (I hate that nowadays it's not about legendary 808 drum machine but about distorted sine bass) and voilà, their track or how they call it 'beat' is done.


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## MA-Simon (Apr 16, 2021)

Imho a beat is something that can be produced in a ~20 second instagram story. That is my experience.


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## jononotbono (Apr 16, 2021)

FYI. I think the actual spelling is Beatz.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 16, 2021)

jononotbono said:


> FYI. I think the actual spelling is Beatz.


Yo that’s right fam


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## InLight-Tone (Apr 16, 2021)

Common denominator music for the common folk...


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## MA-Simon (Apr 16, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Yo that’s right fam


Ja man. Brudi.


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## rrichard63 (Apr 16, 2021)

ghostnote said:


> Same goes for the term producer... I hate that...


I find the term "producer" useful because it highlights a real distinction. Composers write and arrange music. Producers make beats. Beats are one kind of music, and a producer is one kind of composer/arranger.


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## ghostnote (Apr 16, 2021)

rrichard63 said:


> I find the term "producer" useful because it highlights a real distinction. Composers write and arrange music. Producers make beats. Beats are one kind of music, and a producer is one kind of composer/arranger.


Well if someone reads your resumee and calls you producer in the face you'd think differently.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 16, 2021)

Goldsmith has the best beats, as do Zimmer and Powell.


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## el-bo (Apr 16, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> I’m a 49 yo white male


#Metoo


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## doctoremmet (Apr 16, 2021)

My man JXL, like, dropped some new beats too for the Snyder cutz


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## doctoremmet (Apr 16, 2021)

el-bo said:


> Me too


Great minds age alike


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## el-bo (Apr 16, 2021)

Music was likely 'Beats' long before music was music


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## MusiquedeReve (Apr 16, 2021)

Living Fossil said:


> I'm hearing that term a lot since around 20 years.
> Maybe there is a connection that at that time Sampling CDs with construction kits became popular, which allowed the users (often *Rapers*) not only to build a drumbeat but also provided chord changes, bass lines etc.
> 
> For songwriters the term "beat" may sound strange, however, to me it sounds more awkward when people are speaking of "songs" when they mean instrumental tracks.
> ...


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## el-bo (Apr 16, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Great minds age alike


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## givemenoughrope (Apr 16, 2021)

Before the Beatles 
Dale Crover has the best beats imo


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## Crowe (Apr 16, 2021)

I just had the most profound case of Deja vu. Thankfully someone already linked to the relevant topic.

Honestly, I view everything that comes out of my Maschine as beats. Which could be funk-, hip-hop, edm- or otherwise pop-based.

It's just the vernacular. Words keep changing their meaning even if those changes are ridiculous. I'm glad I'm not old enough yet to have forgotten that one just has to get with the program.

Although. Is 33 old enough to just say 'fuck it', become obstinate and blame it on my age? I already blame a bunch of other things on my age and it would be nice to not have to adapt anymore.


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## rnb_2 (Apr 16, 2021)

All of you youngsters here - I turn 54 tomorrow...


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## Stringtree (Apr 16, 2021)

el-bo said:


> #Metoo


Turning 48 this month. And while not as hip as @doctoremmet to this new lingo, I try to keep up. 

Low key? To me that means higher-contrast portrait lighting. Or passing a doobie nonchalantly, so as to not attract attention while in public. "Sic?" I thought that was Latin shaming that means "thus." Yeet? Oh, forget it. Language is cool. Let it evolve and get batted over our crowd like a beach ball. Cool.

"Beats" does derive from hip hop, and seems different to composition, even though some things are arranged with one another. When I was using Sonic Foundry's ACID, or Fruity Loops, I knew I wasn't composing, but making beats. Is the feeling of participating in sound on sound much different? Dunno.

Pass the ball. Or the... never mind.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 16, 2021)




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## el-bo (Apr 16, 2021)

Stringtree said:


> Turning 48 this month.


Oh, to be young again. Cherish these moments 'fore they're gone


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## doctoremmet (Apr 16, 2021)

el-bo said:


> Oh, to be young again. Cherish these moments 'fore they're gone


Damn kids have no idea what they're talking about do they?


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## el-bo (Apr 16, 2021)

rnb_2 said:


> All of you youngsters here - I turn 54 tomorrow...


Nice! Happy Birthday


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## el-bo (Apr 16, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Damn kids have no idea what they're talking about do they?


S'right! They don't know they've been born


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## Stringtree (Apr 16, 2021)

32 years ago? I think we should have a demographics poll. I'm getting the feeling none of us would willingly appear in shorts today. I'm feeling too old to be making beats. Happy birthday, @rnb_2 !


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## el-bo (Apr 16, 2021)

Stringtree said:


> I'm getting the feeling none of us would willingly appear in shorts today.


I reckon in the last 12 years the amount of time i've spent in long trousers would be less than a year. Certainly, in the last 5 years I've been in shorts and t-shirts every day, save for one month weher I needed to wear long trousers for a job. So there's that


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## el-bo (Apr 16, 2021)

P.S Stringtree: Is that you in the photo?


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## Stringtree (Apr 16, 2021)

Sí. I think it's an interesting discussion, because a lot of trendy lingo raises my hackles, but reminds me that language is fluid. So is music.


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## Alex Fraser (Apr 16, 2021)

I’m probably too old to make beats now, but I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss younger beat makers out of hand.

Yeah, some of the production is basic but these folk get marketing, work quickly, don’t mess around...and have very busy PayPal accounts.


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## Polkasound (Apr 16, 2021)

Stringtree said:


> Turning 48 this month.


I remember being 48 as if it were, uh, three years ago. At 48, I developed tinnitus, my astigmatism got worse, I had to quit tennis due to knee damage, and I put on ten pounds. Good times. Good times. 



Alex Fraser said:


> I’m probably too old to make beats now, but I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss younger beat makers out of hand.


Yes. There are some really, really good beatmakers out there. It's a skill just like any other. It requires keeping one's finger on the pulse of music trends and being able to keep things fresh and exciting in a highly competitive market.


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## rgames (Apr 16, 2021)

Oh man. All these years I thought they were referring to a reddish vegetable that causes odd reactions in human gastrointestinal tracts.

rgames


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## wilifordmusic (Apr 16, 2021)

1979 = Rapper's Delight = Sugar Hill Gang


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## Stringtree (Apr 16, 2021)

wilifordmusic said:


> 1979 = Rapper's Delight = Sugar Hill Gang


Yeah, that’s supernaturally good.


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## YaniDee (Apr 16, 2021)

One term that "youngsters" like and still use (50 years later) is "cool". It's cool to say cool all the time now...


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 17, 2021)

It all started with Ginsberg and Kerouac.

Yeah, I’m older than all of ya!


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## doctoremmet (Apr 17, 2021)

Ned Bouhalassa said:


> It all started with Ginsberg and Kerouac.
> 
> Yeah, I’m older than all of ya!


Ah yes totally dig them beatz poetz fam
On the Rhodes is my fave book


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## doctoremmet (Apr 17, 2021)

Ned Bouhalassa said:


> It all started with Ginsberg and Kerouac.
> 
> Yeah, I’m older than all of ya!


You may be old(er) but your demo for 8dio Ostinato Brass is great! Now playing


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## b_elliott (Apr 17, 2021)

Ned Bouhalassa said:


> It all started with Ginsberg and Kerouac.
> 
> Yeah, I’m older than all of ya!


Kerouac: THIS was really the way my whole road experience began, and the things that were to come are too fantastic not to tell.

Me: What his sayin'? 

Friend: Beats me. 🤷‍♂️

Beats is everywhere.


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## Saxer (Apr 17, 2021)

Beatz is for rappers. There are old rappers too. They still think it's cool. I'm old enough to know that it will be uncool for their kids. Maybe cool for their grand kids: Haha, time for grandpa to recite a rhythmic poem again! Come on grandpa, I found a "beat" on your old big telephone, haha! Here's your trusty microphone, hold it like a drinking bottle again please, haha!


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## rrichard63 (Apr 17, 2021)

Here's a somewhat (but not entirely) different take on the relationship between "composing" and "beatmaking":



https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/production-expert-1/loops-5-techniques-for-turning-them-into-a-track



A "beat" is, in essence, a loop (4 or 8 or more bars) around which a composition (or arrangement) is built.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 17, 2021)

Fun fact: I once made beats for the old iDrum software. Rolling your own can be much joy.

I’m enjoying laying simple beats on the Roland TR-6S these days, just to accompany my modular explorations.


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## RogiervG (Apr 18, 2021)

i make classical beats (it has a beat, metronome pulse, measure)


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