when did you last experiment?

I’m getting ready to embark on a new experiment.

I’ve always wanted to learn to make hip-hop beats, specifically ones that fall under the genre of Lofi. If you watch my videos, you might have noticed that each video typically has a different beat in the background—I subscribed to a website that allows me royalty-free access to an ever-growing collection of different types of music. I love listening to the different beats to find the one that fits the video I’m working on.

While it’s fun to find good beats to use, I wonder what it would feel like to MAKE the beats that I’ll use in future videos.

There’s only one way to find out…

About a month ago, I purchased Logic Pro, an AKAI mini MIDI keyboard, and a subscription to a plugin that contains loops, samples, and more. I thought the University of YouTube would be able to help me get started, but since I have no background in music, even some of the basics weren’t clicking.

I’m not going to lie, I was a little discouraged, but I wasn’t going to give up because I need to produce at least one beat to see what it is like to be the music producer version of my Self.

So, I hit up my social networks and found a couple of potential teachers to work with virtually to get over the initial hurdle of making my first beat—I’m confident once I get one done, making more will become much easier. Now, will the beats be good? Well, that remains to be seen, but honestly, that’s not the "why" behind this experiment.

The "why" behind this experiment is a lifelong passion for hip-hop, the curiosity of what it would be like to make my own beats, and the naive confidence that I can do it and end up becoming really good, in my eyes.

I have a vision where every video I make, podcast episode, social media clip, and a couple of other ideas I’m keeping quiet about feature music I produced—I can honestly see the videos with the graphic “music by Justin” (I need to think of a producer name).

That vision never gets a chance to become a reality if I don’t experiment a little and give it a try,

Who knows, I might find out that I don’t enjoy making the music as much as I do finding it. Or, I might find out that despite my confidence, the beats I make are not ones that I personally enjoy.

I could also discover that I’m a great producer, which opens up doors that I never knew existed.

Either way, I’m going to find out, and I’ll never have to look back and wonder, “what if?”

When was the last time you experimented with something new you are interested in?

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See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC