The BeatTips Manual
5th Edition
By Amir “Sa’id” Said

Author, Producer Sa’id sent me this book sometime in December as a gift, and I am proud and honored to have received it. I told him once I read it, that I would love to review The BeatTips (yes it is one word) Manual here at Studio Noize.com.

First Impression
The cover is attractive, and catchy. I even see a legendary Mackie 8-bus in the backdrop which is rare these days. I also notice the cover colors are similar to the color scheme here at Studio Noize. Nice coincidence! The title page is inviting and you actually get more of what the book is about as the page conveys the subtitle: Beatmaking, The Hip-Hop/Rap Music Tradition, and the Common Composer.

Overview
I would call this book highly informative. I definitely see that the author spent a lot of time putting this book together. Let’s be clear it’s not so much a manual of guided instruction or several tutorials to follow as you are making music. So in a strong sense, the title can be misleading. The BeatTips Manual covers more of the history/tradition of Hip-Hop and the process, techniques and elements involved.

The BeatTips Manual has a whopping 420+ pages, and I think that is well worth the money you will pay for this book. (List $34.95 US) However, I wonder if the average ‘beat enthusiast’ would be attracted to this many pages of a ‘beat tip’ manual. It’s not so much intimidating, but it just feels more like a text book than a guide so-to-speak. The number of pages before the 1st chapter is also hefty. There is the dedication page, acknowledgments /contributions page, disclaimer page, TOC, foreword, preface, introduction, and history page. That’s a total of 16 physical pages before the 1st chapter.

Body of Work
Once inside, you soon learn that Sa’id is taking you on an intellectual journey sharing his brain-power of the music production era. For the sake of time and space, I’ll give you a brief explanation of the first 5 chapters. There are also 4 parts in this book in addition to the 13 chapters and they are:
Part 1 – History
Part 2 – Technical Beatdown and Instruction
Part 3 – Music Tradition, Culture and Theory
Part 4 – The Business of Beats
Part 5 – The Interviews

Chapter 1 begins with giving you the origin of Hip-Hop in the South Bronx, and a detailed history lesson behind NYC and the South Bronx as it relates to the tradition of Hip-Hop. Chapter 2 takes you into the birth of Hip-Hop and more emphasis on the culture as well. This chapter also covers the history of sampling to graffiti. Chapter 3 again takes you through a history lesson of beat making while covering the break-beat era through the current retro-eclectic era, and illustrating seven periods of the beat making process. Chapter 4 covers the software/hardware debate and the advantages/disadvantages of both. This chapter also covers how to choose gear in the aspect of what you are looking for as for functionality, ports, sounds, user friendliness, look and feel, cost, etc. This chapter also gets into developing your style and mastering your gear. Chapter 5 covers the explanation of the drum programming process in building and customizing a sound package. It also covers timing, patterns, and mapping.

The remaining Chapter titles as they are in the book:
Chapter 6 – Hook a Beat Up and Convert It into Hip Hop Form
Chapter 7 – The Art of Sampling
Chapter 8 – Bright Line Sampling Rule
Chapter 9 – Practice Makes Better
Chapter 10 – Flash Battled Mozart at the Fever, and Mozart Got Burned
Chapter 11 – Know Where You Stand
Chapter 12 – It’s Yours; Nothin’ To It But To Do It
Chapter 13 – The Business of Business

Near the end of the book in Part 5, there are several pages of exclusive and wonderful interviews with different producers and engineers. They are Marley Marl, Buck Wild, D.R. Period, DJ Toomp, Steve Sosa, DJ Premier, and 9th Wonder.

Conclusion
Reading through the chapters is a bit wordy and the vocabulary is extensive in many areas which may not be a bad thing to some, but it can also be overwhelming and uninviting to others. I find that many people like simplicity in the content they read.

There are several bits of information that I really enjoyed such as the fact that many aspiring producers think you have to use a bass instrument in order to plug in a bass line. As a producer, I’ve always felt you can use any sound that suits you for any reason by sweeping out your high or low frequencies, throw in some EQ, and plug it into your track. If it sounds like a bass, it’s a bass, same as synths or strings. I also do this with sampled words and make them sound like instruments.

I think aspiring producers these days, in a media induced and fast paced environment are looking for a quick get-in, get-through and get-out in their reading materials, especially regarding beat making or beat making tips. I can appreciate what this author has done because I sense his concept and direction with The BeatTips Manual which makes this book a great course in the classroom. The BeatTips Manual is an excellent addition to your music resource library especially if you collect books, love to read, and not skim through, and seeking the knowledge of the Hip-Hop tradition.

Be it known, this book is not just for aspiring producers/beat makers. I gained a lot from it regarding the history and background of Hip-Hop from a different perspective of which I was familiar with. So, with that, the book added flavor to my unit of knowledge, which I’m grateful of.

What I would like to see in the next edition is maybe the text spaced out having more of a up-to-date visual which makes the book more appealing and inviting to read, reduce the content in half, and provide more of a outline of pin-pointed tips that are helpful in today’s music production process. I think this book is a great effort, and I look forward to reading more of Sa’id’s work.

Visit The Author’s Website
Visit www.beattips.com for more about the author and the book!
Click here to purchase The BeatTips Manual