Berklee College of Music Uses The BeatTips Manual for Its Hip Hop Production Courses

The Berklee College of Music began using The BeatTips Manual this summer for one of its hip hop production courses. This fall, the prestigious music institution will continue using The BeatTips Manual in its upcoming hip hop production and music appreciation courses as well.

New Review! SoundsandGear.com Says 'The BeatTips Manual' is a "Must Have!"

SoundsandGear.com has reviewed The BeatTips Manual, and they resoundingly give it a "A+" grade. In fact, the acclaimed electronic music production site says that The BeatTips Manual is a "must have" for "anyone who make beats, or have any interest in making beats/producing... This joint is PACKED with info!"

In addition to giving a traditional written review of The BeatTips Manual, SoundsandGear also did a video review! Check it out below.

SoundsandGear.com Video Review of The BeatTips Manual

For both of Soundsandgear.com's full review of The BeatTips Manual, click here.

'The BeatTips Manual' Author Amir "Sa'id" Said Interviewed by RefinedHype.com

In just a couple of months, the temperature has risen swiftly, and more publications are paying attention to The BeatTips Manual and its author, Amir "Sa'id" Said. In his first interview since the release of The BeatTips Manual, Sa'id talks with RefinedHype.com about the inspiration for his book as well as the state beatmaking. Check out RefinedHype.com's exclusive interview of Sa'id: here

New Review! HipHopIsRead.com Gives "A" Grade to 'The BeatTips Manual'

Here are excerpts from HipHopIsRead.com's review of The BeatTips Manual, 5th Edition

“If rap was a university, The BeatTips Manual would be required reading. Scratch that. Amir “Sa’id” Said’s beatmaking opus has already earned that status at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for the university’s course on hip hop/rap music production. Rightfully so, The BeatTips Manual earns its stripes as a legitimate textbook, accessible to students at college and students of the game alike.

From the offset, the author’s respect for hip hop as an artform is evident…Sa’id fulfills his obligations to highlight hip hop’s influences, both culturally and musically. What’s especially unique about this guide is Sa’id’s introductions and explanations on topics concerning musical theory, written with a style that’s both technical and comprehensible, satisfying production vets and newcomers alike. Sa’id’s crash course on beat composition will serve as an invaluable compass for novices, but The BeatTips Manual provides a wealth of knowledge to beatmakers of all levels of experience.

Guiding the reader through the nitty gritty of both artistic and business angles of beatmaking, Sa’id offers tips and tricks of the trade, the best equipment to look for, and of course, valuable production techniques. His discussions with super producers like Marley Marl, DJ Premier and Buckwild, for instance, are particularly eye opening. Few interviews with these artists ever delve into the brass tacks of beat composition to this detail. Additional sections on shopping beats, sampling laws, and tips on maneuvering through the music industry are all essential reading for anybody who is serious about taking their hip hop hobby to new levels.

Detailed and thorough, I'd consider The BeatTips Manual to be the go-to guide for beatmaking. Highly recommended!” —Ivan Rott, HipHopIsRead.com

Press Release: 'The BeatTips Manual,' By Amir Said, Delivers First-Rate Music Study

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

‘THE BEATTIPS MANUAL,’ BY AMIR SAID, DELIVERS FIRST-RATE MUSIC STUDY;
BEATMAKING BOOK DECIPHERS HIP HOP’S FASTEST GROWING SUB-TRADITION

NEW YORK, NY DECEMBER 15, 2009 – Beatmaking and hip hop production educator, Amir “Sa’id” Said, announces the release of his book, The BeatTips Manual: Beatmaking, the Hip Hop/Rap Music Tradition, and the Common Composer, 5th Edition. The BeatTips Manual, one of the most innovative music studies ever published, offers a serious exploration of the art of beatmaking, hip hop/rap’s chief compositional method. In his book (available now at TheBeatTipsManual.com), author Amir Said (aka “Sa’id”) takes a critical look at the 36 year history of hip hop/rap’s most intricate sub-tradition. He carefully dissects the dynamics of beatmaking, while examining both the cultural aesthetics and historical developments that lead to its birth. Beginning with a riveting chronicle of the early history of hip hop culture and hip hop/rap music, followed by a meticulous exploration of the practices of beatmaking, an explosive comparative analysis of Western music theory and “hip hop theory,” and, finally, ending with a series of incomparable interviews with top beatmakers (producers) and music insiders (including: DJ Premier, DJ Toomp, Marley Marl, and 9th Wonder), The BeatTips Manual takes readers on an unforgettable journey through the art, craft and philosophy of the hip hop/rap beatmaking tradition.

“Less we forget, beatmaking is a rather intricate art form, one rich with tradition and history,” says Said. “As such, if it is to ever receive its proper recognition in the world of contemporary music, it requires a detailed study of all of its critical nuances.” Speaking on his aim of the book, Said says: “With The BeatTips Manual, my goal is to create a reading experience that stirs one’s musical intuition, stimulates the cultural mind, and, ultimately, recalibrates the focus of hip hop/rap music. Furthermore, my aim with The BeatTips Manual is to help fill the music education and instruction void that was left by the widespread music and arts program cuts that have taken place in schools all across America.”

The BeatTips Manual has been providing comprehensive information on the craft, culture and business of beatmaking and hip hop production since 2002. The 1st edition of The BeatTips Manual, published by Superchamp Books, was introduced in the fall of 2002. In 2007, The BeatTips Manual, (now widely held as the standard for hip hop production education), was chosen as the required text book for New York University’s first course on beatmaking and hip hop production. Nearly eight years after it was first published, The BeatTips Manual has grown in both size and scope, and it’s rapidly on its way to becoming one of the most important publications in the field of hip hop studies.

Superchamp Books is a division of Superchamp, Inc., an independent mixed media company based in Brooklyn, NY.

For more information and to schedule an interview, contact Sa’id at:
Tel (347) 263-7865, Fax (347) 405-9524, Email: said@beattips.com
http://www.TheBeatTipsManual.com; http://www.beattips.com

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NYU Uses BeatTips Manual for Inaugural Beatmaking Course

2007 — The BeatTips Manual, (now widely held as the standard for beatmaking and hip hop production education), chosen as the required text book for New York University’s first course on beatmaking and hip hop production.