Hello there, welcome to this tutorial! Let's get a general overview on
the newest Fruity Loops Studio 20 by Image-Line!
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video guides dedicated to this software!
FL Studio is one of the best professional Digital Audio Workspace
software available on the market, used to create customized audio
projects, make beats and recordings, and apply outstanding adjustments
and effects you like most. In this video we are going to see how to
start with its important features, but you may need additional practice
and experience to start creating advanced projects.
FL Studio opens on its main workspace, divided in several parts. At
the very top you have the Tool bar, showing the main options, the
Player, and basic information on your project. On the left you have
the Browser panel, collecting samples, effects, plug-ins and ready
templates to use. The rest of the workspace is totally free and welcomes
all the windows used to edit and preview your project, that can be moved
and placed where you like. In case you have any of these windows closed,
you can reopen these by using the buttons on the Tool bar.
In addition, you can check the Hint panel placed in the top left corner,
for more help and information on any tool or button you hover with your
cursor. This is quite useful when you start as a beginner.
Before we start creating a new project, let's understand how this
works.
An FL Studio project is made by several compositions called Patterns,
placed, repeated, and edited inside the Playlist window. Then, each of
these Patterns is a collection of channels arranged in rows, which can
be audio samples, melodies, beats or voice recordings. All the Patterns
with their channels are managed and edited inside the Channel Rack
window.
To realize the project, you usually start with the creation of the
first Patterns, and then check how the project is going by placing these
Patterns and the following ones into the Playlist window, until the
final output sound looks good and is ready to be exported.
Now, let's see all you need to start with your first project!
To create a new project, go to File and then to New. This starts with
a single pattern called Pattern 1, shown on the Channel Rack, with four
default channels used to make beats: Kick, Clap, Hat and Snare.
Each of these channels shows its name on the left, and several buttons
called Steps on the right, that you can turn on by clicking on these,
and turn off by right-clicking. In this way you decide when the channel
should play without losing the basic rhythm throughout the project.
To check the output sound from the Pattern in progress, you can
playback by using either the Space key, the play button at the top
of the Channel Rack, or the other play button on the main player on
top, with the orange Pattern mode button enabled. All the channels of
the Pattern are played in loop, which is quite useful to check the
effect of your changes live and rapidly.
The main player measures time in Bars, Beats and Ticks, according to
the standard music format. You can change it in seconds by clicking on
it. Whereas, the speed rate of your overall project is set by the
Tempo, measured in beats per minute.
To learn more about the standard music format and the Tempo, check out
our dedicated links in the video description!
You can also use the Swing bar on top to adjust the channel hits,
especially when you get Steps very close to each other.
By default the Pattern is one full Bar long, made by sixteen Steps in
total. Groups of four Steps create a Beat, with alternated colors.
You can increase the Pattern duration by clicking and dragging its
right edge first, and then enabling at least one Step on the new region.
You can add other channels by using the plus button below, and then
choosing the plugin to use. These can be interactive generators or
synthesizers, used to set and adjust the channel sound. Some of these
are a single hit, such as the percussions; some others are sound loops
one full Bar long.
Moreover, you can use the Browser panel to look for several ready
samples to use inside your Pattern. Under Packs and Misc you have ready
samples and loops; under Impulses you find everything for the beats;
under Channel presets generators and synths to create your own
customized channel sound; and, under Speech, several amazing vocal
recordings.
You can also add new channels by dragging and dropping any of your
audio files from your computer directly to the Channel Rack. In this
case the single Step enabled plays the whole file entirely, so make
sure not to have close Steps enabled or you would get sound overlapped.
Now, let's see how to edit each channel inside the pattern.
Right-click on a channel name to rename, color, give a proper icon, or
delete it.
If you click on the channel name, you can check its sound waveform and
adjust any of its properties. Pay attention that the interface can
change deeply depending on the sample or plugin used for the channel.
On the left side, you get a green light, used to mute or unmute the
current channel. Close to it you have two knobs: the first one adjusts
the panning, used to balance the left and right stereo outputs;
whereas the second knob is used to set the channel volume.
An entire project is made by several patterns, each collecting different
kinds of sound. Usually there is one dedicated to vocals, others to
the beats, and others to the melodies.
To create a new pattern, just click on the plus button below the player,
and type the name for it.
The Channel Rack shows just one Pattern per time, that you can choose
from the Patterns list inside the right arrow below the player.
Remember that all the Patterns inside a project do share the same
identical channels list. What changes between them is the channel
steps are on and off, and the overall Pattern duration in Bars.
You can rename, clone or delete the selected Pattern right next to the
Patterns list below the main player.
The direct Steps from the Channel Rack are a very easy and fast way to
create Patterns from channels, but in case you need to adjust the tone
and the properties for each single Step, you have to use the Piano Roll
window, that you can open through the second button on top.
This window opens the selected channel, shown on top, in a more extended
workspace, that allows to choose the proper tone (or note) for each
channel hit, including its properties, its time duration and also allows
to apply overlapping hits.
You have a keyboard on the left, with rows representing each note, and
then columns separating Bars, Beats and Ticks through time. For some
other channels made by synthesizers, the keyboard can change, showing
several instruments composing the channel sound. We won't see these in
this beginner tutorial.
Steps turned on from the Channel Rack are shown as short impulses at
the row note C5, taken as default, which plays the whole channel sound
until it lasts. These assume a light green color if these are related
to the selected channel on top.
You can click and slide each impulse where you like through time or
on different rows to change the tone according to the note chosen.
In addition, you can use the Draw Tool to place notes with a defined
duration in time. In respect to the impulses, the notes play the
channel as much as they last in time. You can adjust their duration by
clicking and dragging from their edges, holding down the ALT key to
avoid snappings to the columns.
Click and drag them to move in time or change their tone, shown through
a letter representing the note, and a number indicating the octave.
To remove impulses and notes, just right-click on them. To zoom in and
out use your mouse wheel while holding down the CTRL key.
Once you add notes on the channel, the Channel Rack changes its preview,
showing the Step impulses as green triangles, and notes as rectangles.
While composing with the Piano Roll, it can be useful to playback
specific parts in loop. If you right-click and drag on the timeline on
top, you will create a red Loop Region that highlights and selects the
part of the Pattern to playback.
The Piano Roll is also used to customize the audio output of each
Step, note or the whole channel with the Control section below.
Click on Control to pick the property to customize. If you choose under
Note properties, you can use the Draw Tool to adjust the property value
for each Step or note. You can also double-click on these to open the
full set of properties directly.
If you choose under Channel controls, use the Draw Tool to set the
property over the whole channel Tick after Tick, or without snappings
by keeping the ALT key down.
While working on your project, remember to save it often with CTRL+S.
FL Studio projects are saved as .flp files storing anything, from
Patterns to properties and Step positions.
Once the first Patterns are made, you can put them together and create
your project with the Playlist window. Here you have the main timeline
on top, in Bars and Beats, and several rows (or Tracks) overlapping in
time.
First of all, choose the Pattern either from the list on the left, or
at the top, and then enable the Draw Tool to paste it. This shows up
with a great preview of all the notes and Controls applied from the
Channel Rack or the Piano Roll.
As seen on the Piano Roll, you can click and drag the Patterns to move
them, stretch their edges to adjust their duration, and right-click
on them to delete them. You can also move multiple Patterns together
by selecting them first and then dragging them. You can select all of
them by holding the CTRL key down and clicking and dragging on the
workspace until you cover all the Patterns to select.
The Playlist content is indeed your final project content. You can
playback by using either the play button on top, or the main Player
directly, this time in Song mode. You can also use the red Loop Region
to loop a selected part continuously.
On the Playlist window, you can also turn on and off each Track with
its content by using its green button. You can also use the Playback
tool to playback just the interested Pattern.
You can also adjust the overall output volume and pitch of your
whole project audio by using the two knobs next to the player.
The Browser window does not collect just useful samples and loops to
import, but also lists the full content of your project, such as all
its patterns, effects, channel generators and even all the actions
made under History, that can be used to undo and go backwards.
Another fundamental window is the Mixer, that is used to balance all
the channels inside the project, add effects and apply audio filters.
Check out our guide to discover more about the Mixer!
Once your project is ready, you can export it by going to File, Export,
and then choosing the file format. Then type the name and the
destination folder, and use the render panel to adjust all the
remaining options. Under Mode, choose whether to export the selected
Pattern or the whole Playlist content with Full song. More below, set
the file format, bit depth and quality options.
Moreover, if you open the render panel with a red Loop Region built,
you can choose Song selection under Mode to render just the selected
piece in red color.
When you are ready, start rendering by clicking on Start!
Thanks for watching this tutorial! Check out our full and free guide
dedicated to FL Studio 20 to discover more advanced features!