practice and experience eventually things will click
Where/How did you learn how to make beats? (using FL Studio)
- Thread starter Apex
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Nothing is ever 'just'. The devices you are seeing are just extensions. FL studio uses a bunch of VST's. A VST is virtual studio technology. So digitally or virtually they are manipulating and playing different sounds. So rather than you seeing what is really used like:
you have 1 program that does it all, or does alot. Within FL you can do a lot, more than just average just using the keyboard (qwerty) and the mouse/touchpad. Because you are able to click and paste/drag the music notes across the piano roll as well as copy sequences etc.
You can always have more, sure you can get a midi controller, you can get a midi controller for every thing, drums, keyboards, etc. For instance if you want to use drum sticks and actually play your drums out by assigning the kick, snare, hats, toms, etc to particular pads and literally banging them out like a drummer would rather than clicking with a mouse or tapping on a drum pad with your fingers you can use this
if you want to play the keys you can use a controller like this:
this controller also has pads so you can play samples ala mpc/maschine/etc it has sliders and knobs to provide an external studio experience.
All this stuff is cool, but its not necessary, its just different ways to do the same thing. Of course with sheer skill you are going to get different outputs, if you can't play the drums its might not be the best idea for you to have the drum pad, if you cant play the keys/piano you may not need a midi controller. A midi keyboard controller will make playing simple chord shapes easier, or assigning samples like kicks snares and hats to keys and playing them out rather than pointing and clicking or using your qwerty keyboard.
Like @KillSpray said, it's all about having an idea in your head and being able to execute it. the tools and toys will make it simpler in the future but they are in no ways a necessity.
The stock sounds should be ok for just basics when your tired of those sounds and when they start to not be able to fulfill your wants then its cool to expand, but one thing to remember is just blaze's drums, 9th wonders', kanyes', dre's, everybodys drum kits are their own sounds that they've manipulated by layering adding various effects and altering attack,decay, release and sustain.
There are no magic sounds. Pharrell could give you his kit personally, it doesnt mean you'll know how to layer synths and various percussion to make a neptunes type of beat. It's all about imagination and execution.
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Definitely need to get a keyboard, because creating a melody is difficult for me on FL itself.Nothing is ever 'just'. The devices you are seeing are just extensions. FL studio uses a bunch of VST's. A VST is virtual studio technology. So digitally or virtually they are manipulating and playing different sounds. So rather than you seeing what is really used like:
you have 1 program that does it all, or does alot. Within FL you can do a lot, more than just average just using the keyboard (qwerty) and the mouse/touchpad. Because you are able to click and paste/drag the music notes across the piano roll as well as copy sequences etc.
You can always have more, sure you can get a midi controller, you can get a midi controller for every thing, drums, keyboards, etc. For instance if you want to use drum sticks and actually play your drums out by assigning the kick, snare, hats, toms, etc to particular pads and literally banging them out like a drummer would rather than clicking with a mouse or tapping on a drum pad with your fingers you can use this
if you want to play the keys you can use a controller like this:
this controller also has pads so you can play samples ala mpc/maschine/etc it has sliders and knobs to provide an external studio experience.
All this stuff is cool, but its not necessary, its just different ways to do the same thing. Of course with sheer skill you are going to get different outputs, if you can't play the drums its might not be the best idea for you to have the drum pad, if you cant play the keys/piano you may not need a midi controller. A midi keyboard controller will make playing simple chord shapes easier, or assigning samples like kicks snares and hats to keys and playing them out rather than pointing and clicking or using your qwerty keyboard.
Like @KillSpray said, it's all about having an idea in your head and being able to execute it. the tools and toys will make it simpler in the future but they are in no ways a necessity.
The stock sounds should be ok for just basics when your tired of those sounds and when they start to not be able to fulfill your wants then its cool to expand, but one thing to remember is just blaze's drums, 9th wonders', kanyes', dre's, everybodys drum kits are their own sounds that they've manipulated by layering adding various effects and altering attack,decay, release and sustain.
There are no magic sounds. Pharrell could give you his kit personally, it doesnt mean you'll know how to layer synths and various percussion to make a neptunes type of beat. It's all about imagination and execution.
KillSpray
Don't be mad
I wouldn't say its a neccessity, you can achieve the same effect creating chords and patterns using the qwerty keyboard and fl studio. youtube videos of it, it doesnt make a difference if you are playing the qwerty keyboard or a midi keyboard, you are going to press the same range of keys and achieve the same chords. I mean sure with a 41 key midi controller you are going to be able to play 5 key chords easier, but the likelihood of playing 5 key chords are pretty slim and the reality is you could play 3 note chord and just draw in the remaining 2 notes.
Your next post should be a beat breh
it doesnt make that much of a difference if you are making/playing chords on the qwerty keyboard or a midi controller, its just more relaxing/easier to play on a midi keyboard.
the best thing is for you to play around and create chords by painting them in the piano roll so you can hear in real time how each chord sounds and what certain notes played together sounds like.
as you do that you will be better at executing aka having a melody in your head and being able to put it into the software. you will eventually be able to drum your fingers on a table or beat box or think boom-boom snap, boom-ba-boom snap. then open up fl and put the beat down just like it sounds in your head, it just takes time.
Just make beats. Try to execute whatever is on your mind with what you have. You'll know when you need to update your setup. Figure out what types of beats you want to make and look for tutorials for it.
I go by the name of "The Harlem Kid" and I got 7 years of experience with this stuff now. I just randomly one day searched beat making videos on youtube, and saw one from King I Divine making a beat on his MPC 1000.
I think it was this one to be exact:
After that I was intrigued. I copped Fl Studio and tried my best to learn. At first my beats were pure trash, cause I only had a computer and Fl studio, but I would make decent sample chops, I just sucked at making melodies and original work.
My sound improved heavily after I got a midi keyboard, after that I started selling beats and made enough money from selling them to cop a MPC Renaissance. After that, my career took off. I made a career out of beat selling.
Now I got a production crew called TheHitKingz, we just make crazy beats.
I use FL Studio and Logic Pro, but you can ask me any questions and I'd help.
Some examples of our work:
I def recommend you check out Busy Works Beats .TV on youtube, he uploads very detailed oriented beat making type tutorials for beats made in today's style.
He goes in full detail, you can learn a lot from him Busy Works Beats .TV
You should also get vsts that are being used in today's production such as: Nexus, Kontakt, Dune 2, Omnisphere, Massive, Blue II, Predator, Sonik Synth, Reaktor, Absynth, Dimpension Pro, Spire, etc
Learn some chords, learn how to play them, and learn music theories, they will def help you.
If you got money, check out Beat Generals, they provide tutorials as well but for subscribers to their website only.
I will tell you this, it takes a lot of hard work, patience, and countless hours of trying to learn techniques. But if you put your all into it, you can do it.
I think it took me 4-5 years for me to get on that "professional" level and "industry" sound.
I think it was this one to be exact:
After that I was intrigued. I copped Fl Studio and tried my best to learn. At first my beats were pure trash, cause I only had a computer and Fl studio, but I would make decent sample chops, I just sucked at making melodies and original work.
My sound improved heavily after I got a midi keyboard, after that I started selling beats and made enough money from selling them to cop a MPC Renaissance. After that, my career took off. I made a career out of beat selling.
Now I got a production crew called TheHitKingz, we just make crazy beats.
I use FL Studio and Logic Pro, but you can ask me any questions and I'd help.
Some examples of our work:
I def recommend you check out Busy Works Beats .TV on youtube, he uploads very detailed oriented beat making type tutorials for beats made in today's style.
He goes in full detail, you can learn a lot from him Busy Works Beats .TV
You should also get vsts that are being used in today's production such as: Nexus, Kontakt, Dune 2, Omnisphere, Massive, Blue II, Predator, Sonik Synth, Reaktor, Absynth, Dimpension Pro, Spire, etc
Learn some chords, learn how to play them, and learn music theories, they will def help you.
If you got money, check out Beat Generals, they provide tutorials as well but for subscribers to their website only.
I will tell you this, it takes a lot of hard work, patience, and countless hours of trying to learn techniques. But if you put your all into it, you can do it.
I think it took me 4-5 years for me to get on that "professional" level and "industry" sound.
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HUGO BAUCE
Rookie
Alot of helpful tips here 
I'ma add some mo.
First off, respect your hearing. Write music on a low volume and take breaks. Unprocessed sound causes ear fatigue faster and can damage your hearing. Get familiar with levels.
Second, you are manipulating frequencies in order to make music. Don't just sit down to make a beat. Sit down and fukk with sounds. Load a sample, watch it through the Parametric EQ 2. fukk with Envelopes in the sampler channel. Attack, Sustain, Decay, Relase. Load it into Edison Audio Editor and fukk with it some more. After two hours you might not have a dope ass beat, but you might have sounds that no one has ever heard before. Be an artist from the getgo and develope your own style and sound.
Edison is also good for chopping samples and you can use your keyboard to play it like an MPC (without velocity tho).
Try searching "flp" or "remake flp" on youtube and download FL Studio projects from others. Reverse engineer that shyt to see how it is structured. Some are even decently mixed and come with samples.
Check out some basic drumming videos. Get familiar with rudiments and time signatures.
Try the swing function in the upper right corner of the sequencer or Check out the groove templates in FL. Sequence some hihats, open the piano roll, press ALT+Q and in the quantizer window you can open a folder that has pre-programmed groove templates. Load them shyts and hear the difference in the groove and see how the velocity and small changes in positioning on the grid plays a huge part there.
If you don't know chords or how to write melodies within a certain key then you should watch a few pianoplaying tutorials and some entry level music theory.
There is also a neat trick in FL Studio where you use "Ghost Notes" to help you stay on key.
Synths are fun and try editing presets. Also learn the fundamentals of synthesis by using 3xOSC that comes with FL. You can use that to make drums, bass, keys, whatever really.
When it comes to learning how to mix and add texture to your songs you can really watch any tutorial. Doesn't matter if it's FL, Logic, Pro Tools or Reaper. The same rules apply everywhere and the bundled VST's that come with FL are more than enough to get you going. Don't focus on presets, get to know what each function does and how. fukk with knobs. This is where you achieve that commercial/radio sound before it is mastered.
Listen to songs in different environment. Play a popular song in your car, then listen to it on your laptop speakers and you might even hear it at a club or at Footlocker. Notice how/if the song changes character. Does the snare sound louder here or does the hihat drown there ? Nahmean ?
Even how differently your local strugglerapper FL studio mixtape sounds compared to Dirty Sprite 2.
Finally. Use Youtube for inspiration. Check out videos of old drum machines, samplers and various hardware. See how they did it way back when, hardware sequencers and tape machines. Get to know the roots and basic ideas. Watch FACT Magazine's "Agains the Clock" series to see the workflow and approach of others. Forget about genres or the idea of wack music when learning. Every piece of music has a reason and can be inspiring when you open your ears.
Learn how to make music. Not just standard rap beats.
Be patient, read the manual, watch tutorials,and you're gonna live for those "aha!" moments.
Have fun.
p.s
freestuff - here you can get free drum machine samples that has been processed through expensive analog hardware.
Tutorials - Attack Magazine
Beat Dissected - Attack Magazine - Attack Mag has some great tutorials, articles on technique and beat contruction. Doesn't matter if it's Ableton, the same fundamental rules apply to FL.
10 Cool FL Studio Tricks You Aren’t Using
I'ma add some mo.First off, respect your hearing. Write music on a low volume and take breaks. Unprocessed sound causes ear fatigue faster and can damage your hearing. Get familiar with levels.
Second, you are manipulating frequencies in order to make music. Don't just sit down to make a beat. Sit down and fukk with sounds. Load a sample, watch it through the Parametric EQ 2. fukk with Envelopes in the sampler channel. Attack, Sustain, Decay, Relase. Load it into Edison Audio Editor and fukk with it some more. After two hours you might not have a dope ass beat, but you might have sounds that no one has ever heard before. Be an artist from the getgo and develope your own style and sound.
Edison is also good for chopping samples and you can use your keyboard to play it like an MPC (without velocity tho).
Try searching "flp" or "remake flp" on youtube and download FL Studio projects from others. Reverse engineer that shyt to see how it is structured. Some are even decently mixed and come with samples.
Check out some basic drumming videos. Get familiar with rudiments and time signatures.
Try the swing function in the upper right corner of the sequencer or Check out the groove templates in FL. Sequence some hihats, open the piano roll, press ALT+Q and in the quantizer window you can open a folder that has pre-programmed groove templates. Load them shyts and hear the difference in the groove and see how the velocity and small changes in positioning on the grid plays a huge part there.
If you don't know chords or how to write melodies within a certain key then you should watch a few pianoplaying tutorials and some entry level music theory.
There is also a neat trick in FL Studio where you use "Ghost Notes" to help you stay on key.
Synths are fun and try editing presets. Also learn the fundamentals of synthesis by using 3xOSC that comes with FL. You can use that to make drums, bass, keys, whatever really.
When it comes to learning how to mix and add texture to your songs you can really watch any tutorial. Doesn't matter if it's FL, Logic, Pro Tools or Reaper. The same rules apply everywhere and the bundled VST's that come with FL are more than enough to get you going. Don't focus on presets, get to know what each function does and how. fukk with knobs. This is where you achieve that commercial/radio sound before it is mastered.
Listen to songs in different environment. Play a popular song in your car, then listen to it on your laptop speakers and you might even hear it at a club or at Footlocker. Notice how/if the song changes character. Does the snare sound louder here or does the hihat drown there ? Nahmean ?
Even how differently your local strugglerapper FL studio mixtape sounds compared to Dirty Sprite 2.
Finally. Use Youtube for inspiration. Check out videos of old drum machines, samplers and various hardware. See how they did it way back when, hardware sequencers and tape machines. Get to know the roots and basic ideas. Watch FACT Magazine's "Agains the Clock" series to see the workflow and approach of others. Forget about genres or the idea of wack music when learning. Every piece of music has a reason and can be inspiring when you open your ears.
Learn how to make music. Not just standard rap beats.
Be patient, read the manual, watch tutorials,and you're gonna live for those "aha!" moments.
Have fun.
p.s
freestuff - here you can get free drum machine samples that has been processed through expensive analog hardware.
Tutorials - Attack Magazine
Beat Dissected - Attack Magazine - Attack Mag has some great tutorials, articles on technique and beat contruction. Doesn't matter if it's Ableton, the same fundamental rules apply to FL.
10 Cool FL Studio Tricks You Aren’t Using
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@nikkahs B. Wildin I was playing around with the GMS sound, and I actually like it a lot. Prefer it over Nexus.
Appreciate this a lot, breh. I'll be using this thread to post some of my experiments. If you ever want to critique 'em, go right on ahead.Alot of helpful tips here
First off, respect your hearing. Write music on a low volume and take breaks. Unprocessed sound causes ear fatigue faster and can damage your hearing. Get familiar with levels.
Second, you are manipulating frequencies in order to make music. Don't just sit down to make a beat. Sit down and fukk with sounds. Load a sample, watch it through the Parametric EQ 2. fukk with Envelopes in the sampler channel. Attack, Sustain, Decay, Relase. Load it into Edison Audio Editor and fukk with it some more. After two hours you might not have a dope ass beat, but you might have sounds that no one has ever heard before. Be an artist from the getgo and develope your own style and sound.
Edison is also good for chopping samples and you can use your keyboard to play it like an MPC (without velocity tho).
Try searching "flp" or "remake flp" on youtube and download FL Studio projects from others. Reverse engineer that shyt to see how it is structured. Some are even decently mixed and come with samples.
Check out some basic drumming videos. Get familiar with rudiments and time signatures.
Try the swing function in the upper right corner of the sequencer or Check out the groove templates in FL. Sequence some hihats, open the piano roll, press ALT+Q and in the quantizer window you can open a folder that has pre-programmed groove templates. Load them shyts and hear the difference in the groove and see how the velocity and small changes in positioning on the grid plays a huge part there.
If you don't know chords or how to write melodies within a certain key then you should watch a few pianoplaying tutorials and some entry level music theory.
There is also a neat trick in FL Studio where you use "Ghost Notes" to help you stay on key.
Synths are fun and try editing presets. Also learn the fundamentals of synthesis by using 3xOSC that comes with FL. You can use that to make drums, bass, keys, whatever really.
When it comes to learning how to mix and add texture to your songs you can really watch any tutorial. Doesn't matter if it's FL, Logic, Pro Tools or Reaper. The same rules apply everywhere and the bundled VST's that come with FL are more than enough to get you going. Don't focus on presets, get to know what each function does and how. fukk with knobs. This is where you achieve that commercial/radio sound before it is mastered.
Listen to songs in different environment. Play a popular song in your car, then listen to it on your laptop speakers and you might even hear it at a club or at Footlocker. Notice how/if the song changes character. Does the snare sound louder here or does the hihat drown there ? Nahmean ?
Even how differently your local strugglerapper FL studio mixtape sounds compared to Dirty Sprite 2.
Finally. Use Youtube for inspiration. Check out videos of old drum machines, samplers and various hardware. See how they did it way back when, hardware sequencers and tape machines. Get to know the roots and basic ideas. Watch FACT Magazine's "Agains the Clock" series to see the workflow and approach of others. Forget about genres or the idea of wack music when learning. Every piece of music has a reason and can be inspiring when you open your ears.
Learn how to make music. Not just standard rap beats.
Be patient, read the manual, watch tutorials,and you're gonna live for those "aha!" moments.
Have fun.
p.s
freestuff - here you can get free drum machine samples that has been processed through expensive analog hardware.
Tutorials - Attack Magazine
Beat Dissected - Attack Magazine - Attack Mag has some great tutorials, articles on technique and beat contruction. Doesn't matter if it's Ableton, the same fundamental rules apply to FL.
10 Cool FL Studio Tricks You Aren’t Using
You can send me some of your work. I'd love to hear it.
everything sounds clean (drums, melody), the timing is on point. Continue to work with that track, add other elements and variables to make it a complete track if you can. Some times you just have to practice with loops, melodies and drums but then a little more time and more variables to that one can push you to discover things and push your limits.