Does Making Reggaeton Beats Take Much Talent at all? Why most people believe not...

 Does Making Reggaeton Beats Take Much Talent at all?  Why most people believe not...

by Reggaeton Party Mane El Uno

Hip Hop, EDM and Reggaeton producers have gotten a bad rap for years.  We are barely musicians we are told or some people outright say we are not!  Well, the reputation of the producer using a computer to make music has gotten worse and this is all thanks to AI.  I am not going to focus on analog beatmakers in this writing who ironically sometimes look down on us who use Logic and FL Studio to make music even though all of them use samples in their drum machines to produce.  They too are considered pseudo musicians by many although what they do takes a lot of talent to master.

Some modern producers using what are known as Digital Audio Workstations or DAW's to make music are actual musicians in the traditional sense.  They can play an instrument or several, quite competently many times.  But the blessing or curse (depending on how you look at it) of the DAW's is that they permit those who traditionally are not labeled musicians, to make music.

First, let's try to understand what DAW's are for the uninitiated which will be the majority of those who read this blog post.  DAW's are an app designed to create music utilizing a computer (and/or tablet).  Digital Audio Workstations come with samples and instruments along with tools needed to mix and master a final track such as compression, reverb, echo chambers and etc...  There are elements known as plug-ins which are add-ons you can attribute to your DAW that allow the producer to further expand his/her sound and some like the WAVES bundle plug-ins are just advanced tools to improve your creative output.  Some Plug-Ins are synthesizers like the popular NEXUS from reFX (recommended, although I don't have it) for which you require a very up to date computer with a high memory for the program to run competently.

I use FL Studio by Image Line (also known as Fruity Loops) for my music making.  Although, I have not mastered any other DAW, I consider myself fairly adept at FL Studio.  I do not have what you would consider a hit song, although I have worked with a noteworthy artist or two.  I cannot go further into detail, my apologies.

Sadly, if you are not a gamer, you may have a hard time understanding my reference.  But to best describe how to use a DAW, I liken it to Mario Paint from Nintendo.  In the Mario Paint games there are music palettes where you can paint in the notes and the computer will play them for you.  This is essentially how all DAW's work.  That is why many who have seen DAW's at work are not impressed as in its most basic form, anyone can do it for the most part.  It's just like Mario Paint.

And I am not gonna lie to you.  A newbie who just picked up FL Studio could make a very impressive beat especially if they learn shortcuts like presets and automators where the computer programs the beats for you and all you do is move the notes or fiddle with the sound and tempo.  But to make a beat from scratch on said program takes more ability.  I dare say, to master FL Studio, takes a lot of talent.  I don't consider myself a master for I have yet to record any live musicians, though I have recorded vocals on the program.  The more ability or music theory knowledge you have, the better you will be at using a Digital Audio Workstation.  But some are just naturals like Tainy who made his first hits at just 14 yrs old.  

There are also several details about the app I have never used.  I know how to program melodies, basic keyboarding, program drums, mix and master, make a beat from scratch, I create my own dembows (reggaeton beat pattern), chop, slice, and I know how to use effects like knob control, reverb, echo, etc...  I understand the basics of how an audio compressor works, but I don't consider myself the foremost expert and often use presets for my final mixes.  But I am fairly competent I feel, like I wouldn't try and compete with Skrillex or DJ Blass but I feel I can hold my own.  There are engineering techniques I feel I could improve upon and I have never mixed a song with a full blown physical console, only digital ones. 

But we still look like we are doing nothing.  I've been teased about it several times though I won't get into detail.  Though some who have seen my process accuse me of just knowing how to copy and paste although they are unaware of what I am pasting.  I sometimes pick up a project started long ago and though I created those melodies and drum pattern from inception, I will copy and paste them into new patterns and sometimes make something new from it.  But to the uninitiated, I may look like I am just copying and pasting, rather than working and they might even interpret me as a cheater of sorts.

The older people from past generations where computers weren't the norm are even worse.  They straight up say we are doing nothing.  I've been told by musicians and people that work in the music business that I don't make music.  And not because of the genre I chose (Urbano Latino/Rap & Reggaeton) though that has happened to me too.  No, they feel that once you have a computer produce the melody for you, even if you program it, the computer makes the music, not you.  That's fair and I respect their opinion but disagree wholeheartedly.

But I have seen a lingering thread although it's not common yet, I feel in a couple of years it will be.  People are beginning to misinterpret what me and those of my vein do.  And it's all because of AI.  It's all over the web, with just a quick query entry and the click of a button, people are "creating" beats sometimes better than anything I can do.  And for some reason this has led people to believe that this is akin to what us digital music producers were doing all along.  They think it was all automated, and though sometimes it was, I cannot lie, it mostly wasn't and making beats is often the product of genuine human ingenuity.

Although people are beginning to discover the AI's lack versatility, originality and variety, they will probably put out half of today's music producers out of work within the next 10 years.  It is inevitable.  And today, the producer, at least in my line of work (Reggaeton) is more highly disregarded than ever.  And I can't blame people when in less than 2 minutes with a clever query, some pre teen can have his computer regurgitate a beat comparable to the great Tainy's work.  I fully understand why people underestimate us so greatly.  It's become to the point where a lot of people are beginning to interpret that what the digital music producer does as not being anything remotely considered "work" nor does it require much effort and they couldn't be more wrong.  

I am not gonna lie, there are "talented" producers whose talent relies on the work of others.  They build upon production blueprints created by others and have little if any talent of their own.  And some of these guys went on to become millionaires (I'm looking at you Ovy On The Drumz, JK... maybe not).  There is nothing illegal about this as long as said producers get the proper permissions which more often than not, they do.  And there are some who can do some amazing stuff when recreating a blueprint from another producer, but usually they can create a beat from scratch too. 

Even though there is a superstar producer or two whose talent is very obtainable, people shouldn't aspire to this.  They should aspire to be the most original and creative talents one can possibly be even bringing something new that hasn't been done before.  But not everyone will seek this route.  And now with AI it will be easier for aspiring producers to cheat.  As I conclude this writing I will leave some Reggaeton tutorials I find on YOUTUBE for those aspiring to make music.  But I hope what I write here has opened the eyes of some.  And though, yes, in its most basic form, making a Reggaeton beat doesn't take much talent, mastering that ability does.