We Don't Talk About 6/8 Beats Enough...

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]What's up guys? In this video, we're going to be making some beats in 6/8 because it sounds good and people don't make it enough. I'll show you how to make two beats today. One is going to be a classic R&B one and then the other one is going to be pop inspired by artists like Olivia Dean. For any of you who don't know what 6/8 is, it is a time signature. Now, in the majority of music, beats are divided into four.

[00:00:16]Here's an example. 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4. And in 6/8, instead of dividing our beats into four, we're going to divide it by three. So, this is a nice example. 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3. Now, before we start making anything, we have to kind of set up our project cuz right now, it's just normally set to 4/4. So, first thing we should go to our project settings. So, right here under numerator and denominator, we can change this to 6/8 or you can change it to 3/4 as long as you're getting that triplet feel in the metronome now.

[00:00:53]Then the next thing you have to do is you have to go to this grid and change this grid to like 1/3 or 1/6 beat cuz you're going to be dividing it by triplets as well. Okay, we can start making music. For my classic R&B, I'm going to go around 120 to 130. Let's see, like around there. Let's start with the drums so you can really feel that bounce. Definitely want more of a realistic sound for this one, so I'm going to just do a little bit of velocity control like that. Nothing crazy.

[00:01:16]Put a little bit of swing on it.

[00:01:20]So, we can do little ghost kicks in here.

[00:01:26]And make sure on your piano roll, it's also 1/3 1/6 beat so we can do these little triplets.

[00:01:32]Nice. Drums aren't really the most important thing. It's more about the instruments and the colors. Let me think of a chord progression.

[00:01:39]All right, I'm thinking chord with like a nice little flourish at the end.

[00:01:49]>> [music] >> One more chance.

[00:01:59]That's a nice one.

[00:02:01]>> [music] >> And then one little turnaround chord as well. All right, let's put some bass down.

[00:02:13]Where is my wire?

[00:02:15]Never mind, can't find my wire. We're going to pull up contact.

[00:02:24]>> [music] >> And let's see if we can get like a funky preset. Uh there we go. Uh uh Nice. Let's kind of make a bunch of cool little string phrases.

[00:02:43]Let's use this. So, I'm going to cycle these and I'm going to just kind of play individual parts and then kind of just sprinkle it on into the beat. So, a tremolo would be nice.

[00:02:58]>> [music] >> Pizzicato. Let's just kind of hit that snare hit. Oh, [ __ ] I'm too slow.

[00:03:09]>> You're too slow.

[00:03:11]>> Here.

[00:03:13]>> [music] >> Strings are kind of carrying the beat right now. Slide might be fun.

[00:03:29]We need to find the chord.

[00:03:33]Oh, there it is, you sneaky little [ __ ] >> [music] >> Just sprinkling in random melodies that pop into my head.

[00:03:49]Play it slow, bring it over, let it stretch, and no one would know the wiser.

[00:03:57]>> [music] >> Sounds clean. All right, let's do a quick arrangement and then we're done.

[00:04:26]>> [music] [music] [music] >> The next beat we're going to do is pop.

[00:04:51]Technically, it's not in 6/8, it's in 4/4, but it's still divided into triplets, so it gives us that same kind of feeling. So, if I take these drums from the last beat and I just kind of speed it up, you're going to kind of see what I'm talking about.

[00:05:04]>> [music] >> For this one, the project we're going to have the same, but then we're still going to have this 1/3 beat and it's going to create this long short shuffle rhythm that is divided by triplets.

[00:05:16]Yeah, so this is kind of the bounce that you hear in Olivia Dean's "Men I Need".

[00:05:19]Also, really similar to uh Kanye West's "Black Skinhead".

[00:05:24]Let's go kind of slow, so it's a bit more chill. I'm going to be like 105.

[00:05:28]Once again, let's put some really basic drums down. Basic hi-hats here.

[00:05:33]Then I have a second hi-hat here, just kind of putting in some little ghost notes.

[00:05:39]Let's alternate rim and clap. That might be fun.

[00:05:45]You know, we'll find a cooler pattern, but for now, we just need this.

[00:05:50]Nice little bounce. Let's put down some chords. Yeah, why don't we go vintage?

[00:05:55]So, I'm really trying to focus on hitting that like triplet syncopation.

[00:06:06]>> [music] >> That's clean. Add some sprinkles.

[00:06:25]Get a bass going again. Lots of syncopation on this bass.

[00:06:32]Playing with the note lengths to keep it really interesting.

[00:06:38]Really.

[00:06:39]Add a bit of brightness. [music] I want this thing that's sparkle.

[00:06:45]You can kind of put a Dijon's The Dress over this.

[00:06:49]>> [music and singing] >> Oh, maybe we should do a cover. I Yeah, we're doing a cover. In the song, this changes chords.

[00:07:08]Get some just keys to hit these down beats a bit.

[00:07:17]I'm usually not in the mood, but I feel like doing vocals right now. We'll just do this line by line.

[00:07:23]Do you still take a long time [singing] to get ready?

[00:07:27]Do you still take a long [music] time [singing] to get ready?

[00:07:32]Vocals need to be softer. Okay, I hear it. I hear the vision.

[00:07:36]Do you still take [music] a long time [singing] to get ready?

[00:07:42]That was a good one. That was a good one. That was a good one. Take a long time [singing] to get ready. Ooh, harmonies. I'm about to get harmonious in this [ __ ] Wait [music] a long time.

[00:07:52]>> [singing] >> Wait a long time.

[00:07:55]Wait a long time.

[00:07:56]>> [music] >> Are you still >> [singing] >> headed our way, still our way? Wait a long time to see [music] you. That's kind of tough. So, maybe I'll give this to like an artist to sing for me. I feel like there's a lot of potential in this one.

[00:08:16]Do you still take a long time [music and singing] to get ready?

[00:08:22]Cuz you used to make too much [music] out of that kind [singing] of song. When you turn your head around, then it Cuz [music] the dress looks [singing] nice. Are you still headed our way, still our way? Wait a long time to see you.

[00:08:40]Happy to be catching up, but don't got to patch things up. Just [music and singing] turn the lights down and Cuz the dress looks [singing] nice. Are you still headed our way, [music] still our way?

[00:08:54]Thank you guys so much for watching the video. Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what kind of beats you want me to make next. And that's about it for now. Love you guys, and I'll see you guys soon. If you have any suggestions, leave a comment. If you like this video, leave a like. If you really like this video, subscribe. If you didn't like this video, leave. Just leave.

[00:09:06]Get out of here.