Here’s one way of using the BeatBuddy (BB) Default Content to come up with a decent beat for your song. The example I’m using below comes from the Song Matcher Tool
If the song isn’t in the Song Matcher Tool or one of the lists that users have shared, then it’s time to do a little grunt work.
- PREVIEW THE BEAT. Enter the song title in Youtube and listen to the drums playing for the various song parts (Intro, Verse, Bridge, Outro and etc). For this example, let’s use Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai (I like to use the Official Version, when I can find it).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JkIs37a2JE - FIND THE TEMPO. Now that you’ve got the idea for the beat, find the tempo by going here
BPM and key for virtual insanity | SongBPM | songbpm.com - FIND BEST FIT FOR THE GENRE. Identify the genre that comes closest to the song; in this case it could be Funk or maybe Hip Hop
- PREVIEW BEATS. From the BeatBuddy Manager (BBM) or the BBMO Default Content, go to the Funk folder and preview the parts (mainly the loops) in each beat. There are 10 beats/songs in the Funk genre. You’ll probably find that part 1 in Funk 7, 8 and 9 come reasonably close. Choose any one of those.
- TURN THE BEAT INTO A SONG USING THE BB SOFTWARE. To preserve the original beat/song in your Default Content, duplicate the song in the BBMO and move it to your gig list folder (or whatever you want to call it) or use the BBM > File > Export > Song to your desktop and then import it to a new folder.
- EDIT THE SONG. Rename the song and edit the tempo and experiment with other drum sets until you find one that sounds good.
- AUDITION YOUR WORK. Save your project often as you work and when you’re ready, sync your project to your SD card and preview it on the pedal.
Lists of songs and beats:
Lists of Songs and Beats.zip (1.0 MB)