Genres & styles
Nine ways to sound like yourself.
What each style actually feels like — the tempo, the chords, the sounds that make it recognisable — and which rooms in the studio are the best place to start making it. Every style below has a matching starter kit in Beat Maker, and a guide that opens by itself the first time you enter a room.
Techno
125–140 BPM (our kit: 130)
Driving, hypnotic, dark.
A single strong pulse that refuses to let go. The kick lands on every beat, the bass sits low and steady underneath it, and small details — a hiss, a clang, a short stab — repeat and slowly change, so the track feels like it is travelling even when barely anything moves. Techno is for losing yourself in, not for singing along to.
Chords & notes
Very few chords, often one or two, usually minor. Notes repeat rather than develop — the interest comes from the colour of the sound and the shape of the rhythm, not from chord changes.
The sounds that define it
- Four-on-the-floor kick drum
- Crisp closed hi-hat on the off-beats
- Sub bass holding one note
- Short metallic stabs and clangs
- White-noise sweeps for build-ups
- Vocal fragments used as texture, not lyrics
Rooms to start in
- 01Beat Maker — Load the Techno kit — a pounding 130 BPM four-on-the-floor.
- 02Wave — Play dark chords and sweeps with your hands.
- 03Constellation — Layer hypnotic loops and percussion on one clock.
- 04DJ Decks — Perform the build-ups and drops live.
- 05Mixing Room — Balance the low end and export the master.
Tips for making it
- Resist adding a new idea every eight bars. Change one small thing at a time — a filter opening, a hi-hat arriving — and the loop pulls instead of wandering.
- Leave a stretch with almost nothing in it before the drop. The near-silence is what makes the return land.
- Keep the bass line in one place and let the top end do the moving. That is what stops a techno mix from turning to mud.
House
118–130 BPM (our kit: 124)
Warm, swinging, made for the floor.
Techno's warmer cousin. The same steady kick on every beat, but with swing in the hats, a bass line that walks and bumps, and chords on piano or synth that sound like a person played them. Soulful, a little optimistic, built for dancing with your shoulders.
Chords & notes
Seventh and ninth chords, often minor 7ths, moving in short loops. Gospel-tinged house reaches for warm major 7ths instead.
The sounds that define it
- Four-on-the-floor kick
- Swung hi-hats and shakers
- Walking bass line
- Piano or organ stabs
- Soft string pads
- Hand claps on beats two and four
Rooms to start in
- 01Electric Drum Kit — Finger-drum a swinging groove of your own.
- 02Beat Maker — Or start from the House kit at 124 BPM.
- 03Keys — Play deep, warm chords over the groove.
- 04Remix Playground — Bring in club stems and shape the drops.
- 05Mixing Room — Mix it and export the finished track.
Tips for making it
- Push your off-beat hats a few milliseconds late. That lean is what makes house breathe instead of march.
- Play your chord part live in Keys rather than typing it in — a slightly imperfect hand is the house sound.
- Leave room for one thing to take the front: a vocal, a piano solo. House arrangements breathe when the rest steps back.
Rave & Breaks
140–175 BPM (our kit: 145)
Fast, rolling, euphoric.
Drums that tumble instead of marching, a deep rolling bass, and bright synth lines that lift you out of the chair. Breakbeat and drum & bass live here: the rhythm is busy and syncopated while the chords underneath stay wide and calm, and that contrast is what creates the flying feeling.
Chords & notes
Long, sustained chords — often minor with a lifted 6th or 7th — held underneath the fast drums so the top end is free to race.
The sounds that define it
- Chopped, rolling breakbeats
- Snare with a lot of reverb
- Sub bass with a moving filter
- Bright sawtooth leads and stabs
- Wide atmospheric pads
- Echoed vocal snippets
Rooms to start in
- 01Beat Maker — Load the Rave kit — rolling breaks at 145 BPM.
- 02Orbit — Glide orbs for soaring leads and stabs.
- 03Remix Playground — Chop and reshape loops with your hands.
- 04DJ Decks — Blend tracks and record a full set.
Tips for making it
- Keep your chords long and slow while the drums run fast. The contrast is the euphoria.
- Mute the bass for a bar before it returns. A drop lands on the low end, not on the volume.
- If the groove starts to feel like a machine gun, thin the hats out rather than adding more drums.
Pop & Songwriting
90–120 BPM (our kit: 104)
Hooks, vocals and a story.
The song comes first: a verse that sets something up, a chorus you can hum after one listen, and a voice carrying both. Everything else in the production exists to make the words and the melody land — nothing competes with the vocal.
Chords & notes
Four chords doing most of the work, usually in a major key or its relative minor. The chorus often lifts to a higher register or a new chord to feel different from the verse.
The sounds that define it
- Lead vocal front and centre
- Piano or acoustic guitar
- Tight, live-sounding or programmed drums
- Warm bass
- Layered backing vocals in the chorus
Rooms to start in
- 01Hum Recorder — Hum the hook before you lose it.
- 02Lyrics Pad — Write your words.
- 03Voice Booth — Record a clean vocal with studio reverb.
- 04Session Band — Direct a disclosed band to play your parts.
- 05Mixing Room — Mix and master your song.
- 06Release Hub — Credit it honestly and release it.
Tips for making it
- Write the hook before the production. If it still works hummed a cappella in Hum, it will survive any arrangement.
- Change something real for the chorus — a new chord, a higher vocal, one more layer. Repetition on its own is not a lift.
- Keep the lead vocal dry enough to hear the words clearly. Room sound belongs behind it, not on top of it.
Hip Hop & Lo-Fi
70–100 BPM (our kit: 88)
Laid-back pocket, dusty keys.
A slow, heavy groove that sits slightly behind the beat, a loop of chords with some hiss and wobble in it, and plenty of space left for a voice. The drums are blunt — kick, snare, hat — and the mood comes from the texture around them.
Chords & notes
Short loops of two or four chords, often jazzy 7ths in a minor key, sometimes pitched down or filtered so they feel remembered rather than played.
The sounds that define it
- Hard, short kick
- Sharp snare or clap on beat three
- Tight hats with the occasional roll
- Warm Rhodes or dusty piano
- Vinyl hiss and tape wobble
- Deep 808 bass
Rooms to start in
- 01Beat Maker — Load the Hip Hop kit at 88 BPM.
- 02Groove Match — Feel the pocket under your idea.
- 03Keys — Lay down mellow chords.
- 04Your Voice, Your Song — Record your verses over the beat.
- 05Mixing Room — Mix it warm and export.
Tips for making it
- Leave the bars around your snare mostly empty. The pocket is made of silence as much as of hits.
- Sing or rap slightly late against the beat. Pulling back a touch is what makes a verse sound confident.
- One looped chord part with a slow filter move can carry a whole track — resist adding a second idea.
Ambient & Healing
50–80 BPM, or free (our kit: 72)
Slow, spacious, calming.
Music with room in it. Long tones that arrive and leave without a clear beat, layers that drift past each other, and a sense that nothing is being asked of you. It is used for resting, breathing and healing work — here the space is the piece, not the melody.
Chords & notes
Simple and mostly consonant: drones, open fifths, major 7ths and suspended chords that never resolve forcefully.
The sounds that define it
- Sustained pads
- Crystal singing bowls
- Soft bell harmonics
- Field-recording hiss and air
- Very long reverb tails
- Breath
Rooms to start in
- 01Crystal Bowls — Play real crystal singing bowls.
- 02Orbit — Glide orbs for soft, glowing pads.
- 03Sound Sculptor — Layer orchestral textures slowly.
- 04Mixing Room — Add hall or dream reverb and export.
Tips for making it
- Leave several seconds of silence between events. In ambient, the gaps are the composition.
- Fade a tone in rather than switching it on. Arriving slowly feels calmer than starting.
- Keep the low end quiet and the reverb long. Too much bass is what turns a healing piece into a rumble.
Dream Pop
85–110 BPM (our kit: 96)
Hazy, floating, wrapped in reverb.
Guitars and vocals washed in reverb until the words become part of the texture, a steady gentle drum, and the feeling of floating a little above the ground. The melody still matters — it is just half hidden, and that is the point.
Chords & notes
Open, ringing chords: majors with added 9ths and 6ths, modal shifts, and a bass note that holds while the chords move above it.
The sounds that define it
- Reverb-drenched guitar or pads
- Breathy, double-tracked vocals
- Soft brushed or sampled drums
- Melodic bass
- Shimmer and chorus effects
Rooms to start in
- 01Beat Maker — Load the Dream Pop kit — a soft, floating groove at 96 BPM.
- 02Wave — Play washed-out chords with your hands.
- 03Voice Booth — Sing breathy vocals with the Dream reverb.
- 04Sound Sculptor — Layer glowing textures underneath.
- 05Mixing Room — Wash it in reverb and export.
Tips for making it
- Sing your take twice and stack them. Two voices slightly out of step is the dream-pop blur.
- Use Dream or Hall reverb on the vocal, but keep one dry copy low underneath so the words don't vanish.
- Write the melody first and hide it afterwards. Washing a strong tune works; washing a weak one only exposes it.
Dark Pop
90–110 BPM (our kit: 100)
Moody hooks, deep bass, late-night shine.
A pop hook wearing black. A close, intimate vocal, deep bass you feel more than hear, minimal drums with a lot of empty space around them, and a cold sheen over everything. Confessional and slightly dangerous.
Chords & notes
Minor keys, usually one four-chord loop for the whole song. A chromatic bass move or one lowered note supplies the unease.
The sounds that define it
- Deep sub bass
- Sparse, punchy drums with a heavy snare or clap
- Whispered or close-mic'd vocals
- Cold synth pads
- Reversed cymbals
Rooms to start in
- 01Beat Maker — Load the Dark Pop kit — a moody 100 BPM pulse.
- 02Hum Recorder — Hum the haunting hook before it fades.
- 03Voice Booth — Record a close, intimate vocal.
- 04Prism — Turn a sound into dark, shimmering light.
- 05Mixing Room — Mix it deep and export.
Tips for making it
- Sing closer and quieter than feels natural. Intimacy is the instrument here.
- Take things away for the chorus instead of adding: drop a layer, then bring it back. Space reads as tension.
- Leave one slightly wrong note, or one detuned element, in the loop. That is the unease that makes it dark.
New Wave
110–130 BPM (our kit: 118)
Bright synths, tight drums, retro cool.
Synth hooks and drum machines from the early eighties, played straight and bright, with a vocal that is cool rather than emotional. The bass line moves, the chords punch on the off-beat, and everything stays crisp and a little dry.
Chords & notes
Major and minor with a love of the 6th and the suspended chord. Simple progressions, played with attitude.
The sounds that define it
- Analog-style synth bass
- Tight drums with a big snare
- Off-beat synth stabs
- Chorus-drenched guitar
- Bright, cutting leads
Rooms to start in
- 01Beat Maker — Load the New Wave kit — tight 118 BPM drums.
- 02Keys — Play bright, punchy synth riffs.
- 03Orbit — Glide orbs for retro leads.
- 04Voice Booth — Add a cool, detached vocal.
- 05Mixing Room — Mix it crisp and export.
Tips for making it
- Play your chords short and on the off-beat. New wave lives in what isn't held down.
- Keep the reverb short and the edges crisp. A big hall wash softens the retro bite.
- Give the bass line the hook and let a synth answer it. Call and response is the new-wave move.
Not sure which one is yours?
Open Beat Maker, pick any kit and tap out four bars. Whichever groove makes you want to keep going is the style to start in — you can change your mind later, and nothing you make is wasted.