TurnaFraze said  
I had a guy doing it. He didn't really produce beats. He tinkered, found cool sounds, and put them in the program. Then I would come through and arrange them, time them out for a song, and add whatever I thought it needed. But he "lost inspiration..."   

no, find a producer.  as in, one who produces. 

not 'some guy', who produces nothing, and you still gotta do it anyway. 

I don't disagree with that. I'm going to be working on it some more. The whole reason I posted the link was to get some ideas what it could use more or less of. The music is for the sadness where as the lyrics are anger. When I get it all done I will post the full song

TurnaFraze said
https://www.reverbnation.com/turna911/song/25988993-new-beat

Not sure how the other guys put a player in here so im just going to put a link. This is a new beat I made.

@djscrubb   

I think this song needs some ... Sustaind high pitched sound ... Like violin cords here and there? 
 

I though about just doing a bare structure. Just a kick, a snare, and hats. 

scruffy said
well, if youre only askin cuz you need beats to record over, but arent really tryin to be a producer, shits different. 

in that case, basicly all i could tell ya for a tip is, 'find a producer, get them to do it'. 

that way, youre not throwin away half your time puttin together tracks to use as overly complicated metronomes.   

this is what id do for a start. let someone else do the hardwork in the beginning. you can always learn to produce later on.

in that case, basicly all i could tell ya for a tip is, 'find a producer, get them to do it'. 

that way, youre not throwin away half your time puttin together tracks to use as overly complicated metronomes. 

TurnaFraze said 
But I see instruction as the way to do something and ideas are a way to do something.   

huh wha...? 

I think part of my problem is that I never studied the music in the songs I listen to. I'm doing this out of necessity for my songs. Not out of passion     

you should study the music in the songs you listen to. 

study the music in the songs you dont listen to. 

basicly, study music. 

scruffy said:

then youre in trouble. 

Agreed.

But I see instruction as the way to do something and ideas are a way to do something. 

I think part of my problem is that I never studied the music in the songs I listen to. I'm doing this out of necessity for my songs. Not out of passion

TurnaFraze said  
I'm not looking for instructions. Just ideas.     

then youre in trouble.  ideas it what you are there for, as a creator. 

how to make your ideas happen the way you want, thats instruction. 

I like hearing how other people would tweak or change something I'm working on. Constructive criticism is always helpful. I may not choose to use it in this track (the song I have planned for it is about toxic relationships) but if I learn a different technique, that I might be able to use on a different project, then it's a win.

I'm not looking for instructions. Just ideas.

ill say that i also agree with scrubb, in that its 'unfinished'.  im not talkin bout polish, like tweakin the mix, layin in fx, or throwin sprinkles on it;  i mean, the general structure and flow of the track seem overly simple and basic.  sounds like a temp track. 

the thing is, maybe thats what you wanted, so it really aint for me to say.  if youre goin for a stripped down, rough kinda sound, youre on it.  me tellin you to add this, or change that instrument, or put a breakdown here, or mix it this way or that, would just be doin more damage to your vision than good. 

im good with tips on craft, technique, theory, etc.  but once it becomes about chord progressions, instrument choices, style-driven decisions, shit like that...  all id be doin is imposin my sound on your artworks. 

every producer is different.  and despite what we might say, truth is we cant be tellin people to do shit the 'right' way, cuz nine times outta ten, itll stiil be wrong, just less wrong.  maybe. 

take my style.  i usually mix percs on the loud side, basslines or kick drums dominating, depending on the intent of the song.  thats not a hard and fast rule [there are no hard and fast rules];  if the track calls for it, i might mix snares to be barely audible, or even missing altogether.  also, my sprinkles are usually somewhat quiet. 

i mix like that cuz i do hip-hop, not clock radio pop.  i want my shit to thump, not crack.  dont need high end, in fact, i usually cut a lot of it out [especially hats, i cant stand it when the loudest thing on a track is a fuckin hi hat, and a lotta people do that]. 

but its mostly situational.  say im doin a song about introspective shit, or sumn.  lotsa light hooks and mellow shit.  maybe then, ill add some extra pop and snap to the snares, to compensate a bit for the easy lightness of the mix.  or whatever rubs my ear the right way. 

at any rate, i cant tell a pop-hop producer that theyre doin it wrong, just cuz they make everything equally loud and bright sounding.  thats what they were trying to do.