How to Make a Trettmann Type Beat (+ Free Loops)

What BPM and key is a Trettmann type beat?

Loops run 105 to 144 BPM with the bulk around 127 BPM, often felt half time, which gives it that slow, airy cloud rap drift. If a loop feels too fast, halve the drum feel and let the melody breathe over it instead of chasing the tempo.

The key is mostly minor and a little melancholic. Take the key from the loop and sit the bass on the same root, then set your Auto-Tune plugin to that same scale so the hook locks in instead of fighting the chords.

How to make a Trettmann type beat in 6 steps

The loops in step 1 stream right here and the mp3 is free. Then work through the six steps.

1. 1Pick a sample▾

   A guitar or pluck loop in minor, 105 to 144 BPM, a bit melancholic. Grab one from the list below that already carries a mood before any drums. A loop that already sounds sad on its own is doing half the work for you.

   • ▶
     Aura
     105 BPM · Emin
     AmbientDancehallSad
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Kein Halt
     135 BPM · Emin
     AmbientClubDancehall
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Hundred
     105 BPM · Dmin
     AmbientDancehallSad
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Jede Nacht
     105 BPM · C#min
     AmbientDancehallGuitar
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     giant
     140 BPM
     ClubDancehallDark
     @ndacompany
     ↓
2. 2Lay the low end▾

   A sparse bass or a soft 808 on the root, with rests between the notes. Add a touch of glide so it slides into each root like a dub bassline, and keep the sub in mono so the low end stays solid. It holds the bottom without slamming, this is minimal, not trap heavy.
3. 3Keep the drums minimal▾

   A soft clap, rim or cross-stick on 2 and 4, a short kick, a sparse two step on top. Put the rim slightly off the grid so it skanks like dancehall rather than sitting stiff. Two open hats panned hard left and right give width without adding density. A hint of dancehall bounce beats a busy trap kit every time.
4. 4Leave space for Auto-Tune▾

   Build the arrangement around a sung, Auto-Tuned hook. Pull elements out rather than adding them so the voice has room, and keep the midrange open where the vocal lives. A short tape style delay throw on the last word of a line is a classic dub touch that fills the gaps without crowding them.
5. 5Try the pitch▾

   Only once the drums sit. Move the whole melody group one or two semitones, keep the most melancholic position, then pull the bass to the new root so nothing clashes.
6. 6Arrange it▾

   Keep it reduced. A 16 bar hook, a verse with one layer gone, a short switch. Hook early, less is the whole point here. When in doubt, mute a track and see if the beat still works, it usually does.

German minimalism and the dancehall root

KitschKrieg produced and co-wrote the whole 2017 album DIY, which went gold with no major label behind it off the strength of the single Standard. Their approach is reduction: cut everything that does not serve the mood, and trust the empty bars to carry weight.

Trettmann is rooted in dancehall and carried that soundsystem feel into German rap. You hear it in the bounce and the space, not in a four on the floor, so a loose off beat rim or skank sits better than a dense trap grid. A little spring or plate reverb thrown onto the snare, in the dub tradition, nods to that root without turning the track into a riddim.

He swears by Auto-Tune, which puts him in the cloud rap corner: slower, airier, repeating melodies. The beat exists to frame that voice, so restraint is the skill. Hand the hook a clean, open midrange and let the saturation and warmth live in the loop and the pads around it.

Guitar, pluck and the mood

For the melody a guitar, a pluck and a soft choir pad are enough, often just simple chords played in by hand on a MIDI keyboard and moved up and down. A nylon or clean electric guitar left to ring, with a slow reverb behind it, gets closer to the sound than anything busy. The melancholy is in the chords and the space, not in stacking layers.

High pass the melody so the bass stays clear, and keep the midrange open for the Auto-Tune lead. A slow filter opening on the melody across the intro lets it fade in from dark to bright. Warm it with light tape or vinyl saturation so it sits lo-fi rather than clinical, which matches the DIY aesthetic. One clear motif repeating is more Trettmann than a busy progression.

Pitch the sample up and down

The position of the loop is not fixed. One or two semitones change the whole mood, so audition a few before you commit.

Up the melody gets brighter and thinner, down it gets heavier and darker. The key moves with it, so pull the bass to the new root afterwards and retune your Auto-Tune plugin to match.

Common mistakes

Filling every bar. German minimalism means the empty space is the sound, a busy beat is the opposite of Trettmann. If you catch yourself adding a layer to make it feel finished, mute something instead.

A hard trap kit. The feel leans on a soft, dancehall rooted bounce, not a slamming four on the floor, so a cross-stick and a loose off beat beat a wall of 808 hits.

Burying the hook. The beat frames an Auto-Tune vocal, so carve out the midrange and leave the gaps open for it rather than filling them with melody.

Forgetting the root move. When you pitch the loop you change its key, so the bass and the Auto-Tune have to follow or the whole thing turns sour.

Using the NDA Company loops

Every loop here is played by hand, no AI, and free as an mp3. Load one, pitch it until it sits in the saddest spot, drop a sparse bass and a loose dancehall bounce under it, and you already have the frame for a Trettmann type beat. A commercial release means a 50/50 split with NDA Company, everything else is free to flip.