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A Guide through FL Studio Basics for Beginners of Music Production

FL Studio is a DAW used by hip hop and EDM DJs like Martin Garrix, Zardonic Boi-1da, Alan Walker, Southside, Dyro, Afrojack, etc., among many others. Therefore, we thought it would be nice to have a tutorial on the FL Studio basics for beginners of music production.

A Guide through FL Studio Basics for Beginners of Music Production 1

The digital audio workstation, FL Studio, formerly known as FruityLoops, is developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. It features a graphical user interface based on a pattern-based music sequencer. The program is available in four separate editions for macOS and Microsoft Windows, including FL studio Fruity Edition, FL Producer Edition, Signature Bundle, and All Plugins Bundle.

Not to mention that Image-Line offers a lifetime of free updates to the program to its customers. Image-Line has also developed FL Studio Mobile for iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

What is FL Studio?

FL Studio (previously Fruity Loops) is an unimaginably strong, flexible DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) that remains one of the most well-known, imaginative music creation programs available.

Assuming you’re simply beginning with music creation, or you’re a high-level maker hoping to explore different avenues regarding another DAW, FL Studio can appear to be quite scary. The point of interaction has a highly dim, practically unpropitious appearance, with various handles, sliders, and covering windows, which leads numerous novices to the inquiry: “how to use FL studio and where do I even begin?”

History of FL Studio

Didier Dambrin developed the first version of FruityLoops (1.0.0). It was partly released in December 1997. It was officially launched in early 1998 when it was still a four-channel MIDI drum machine. Dambrin became Chief Software Architect for the program, and it speedily underwent a sequence of significant upgrades that made it into a popular and multifaceted digital audio workstation.

FL Studio has undergone significant updates since its inauguration.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction to FL Studio basics for beginners
  • Transport Section of FL Studio?
  • Snap Section in FL Studio (Basics)
  • Browser in FL Studio for beginners (Basics)
  • Packs in FL Studio
  • Current Project option in FL Studio
  • Plugin Database in FL Studio
  • Channel Rack in FL Studio
  • Step Sequencer in FL Studio
  • Piano Roll in FL Studio
  • Tools in the Piano Roll in FL Studio
  • Arrangement in FL Studio
  • Mixer Channel in FL Studio
  • Inserting plugins in FL Studio
  • Plugins in FL Studio
  • Automation
  • Edison in FL Studio
  • How to download FL Studio for Free
  • Export

Introduction to FL Studio basics for beginners

fl studio basic

The first thing to know about FL Studio is that all the windows are adjustable/movable. That’s the beauty of this DAW; it’s infinitely customizable, especially in comparison to its arch-nemesis, Ableton Live.

Nothing is fixed beside the toolbar across the top of the screen, which we will look at first. Here you will find the File, Edit, Options, and much more on the top left.

Many of them are straightforward or just itemized versions of the various buttons and knobs that lay across the interface already, so don’t get hung up on these.

Transport Section of FL Studio

You’ll find the transport section at the center – play, stop, and record buttons for playback. Those should be self-explanatory.

In this section, you’ll see two options – Pat and Song. This allows you to switch between playing what’s in the Channel Rack and the Arrangement. Doing this makes it easy to stretch ideas and make songs smoothly.

You’ll see a variety of buttons and also a time counter alongside a few visual effects. This helps you visualize and time your music and tells you about the current load on your computer’s CPU.

Snap Section in FL Studio (basics)

snap

Underneath, you have a universal snap control (where it says ‘Line’ on the above image), which determines the snapping of the grids across the piano roll and Arrangement.

If that’s not making sense, it keeps everything quantized in time (to a specific interval) across your music. The snap control can be specified at those levels individually, too (piano roll, etc.).

Browser in FL Studio (Basics)

browser in fl

FL Studio’s Browser is where all your material comes from, whether it’s sampled, presets, or instruments. Browser is used to add a sample in the project, open old project files, fetch presets from the library, etc.

Packs in FL Studio

The Packs folder includes all of FL Studio’s default sounds. They are, in reality, not bad when you know how to use/utilize them.

If you check it wisely, you will see many drums, snare, claps, FX samples, etc. We’ll get into using these in the Channel Rack section (see below).

Current Project in FL Studio

Either by navigating to this folder or clicking on the paper icon at the top, you’ll arrive at the Current Project folder. This will show you all sounds, automation clips, actions, or anything done in the current project.

Plugin Database in FL Studio

Similar to, how Current Project works, you can the Plugin Database window in the main view or by clicking on the ‘plug’ icon at the top right of the browser window. This will show you all the effects and generator (a fancy way of saying instrument). Any third-party VSTs or plugins you add will show up here too.

Channel Rack in FL Studio

If the Browser is your toolbox and material, then the Channel Rack is your workbench. It forms an essential part of FL Studio. Here is where you can make patterns and bring ideas to life.

It is loaded up with four stock sounds. Now, you’re welcome to use these, but feel free to use your browser knowledge to find other good sounds.

channel

Step Sequencer in FL Studio

A critical part of the Channel Rack is the step sequencer, allowing you to sketch out ideas quickly.

To add a step, left-click on the box. You can also drag across to add multiple. To delete a step, right-click on the box (even with the option of also dragging).

Just left of the sequencer, you’ll find the title of each channel in a box, with a thin LED next to each. The current channel is selected when the LED is left-clicked or lit up. Clicking on the box with the name also selects that channel.

When a channel is selected, you can use relevant applicable menu settings we discovered earlier by revealing the dropdown menu options.

Piano Roll in FL Studio

Piano roll is one of the most robust and impressive features of FL studio. If the Step Sequencer isn’t enough for you, then the Piano Roll will help you write melodies, chords, and more complex rhythms and patterns.

piano

FL Studio is famed for its incredible Piano Roll and the smooth functionality it has to offer. Just try putting in a couple of notes, and you’ll be in love!

Tools in the Piano Roll in FL Studio

Beyond that, the Piano Roll has nearly enough functionality to be its program. We won’t go into much depth here, but we will unpack a few of FL Studio’s key features to get you banging out chord progressions in no time.

Firstly, the main tools on the toolbar:

  • Draw: Draw in notes and move them around
  • Paint: Paint in notes and repeat them (by dragging)
  • Paint (Sequencer): Paint in steps and repeat them (by dragging)
  • Delete: Remove notes by clicking on them
  • Mute: Deactivate individual notes by clicking on them
  • Slice: Break notes into multiple parts by clicking and dragging a line
  • Select: Click and hold to select a group of notes
  • Zoom: Click to zoom in on all notes; click and drag to zoom into a specific area
  • Playback: One of my favorite features allows you to hear what notes are playing at a given time by just clicking.

Arrangement in FL Studio

So, you’ve made some patterns in the Channel Rack and want to make them into a whole track? The arrangement view is designed to do just that.

arrangement

On the left, in the Picker, any patterns you create in the Channel Rack will be selected and dragged in. You can place these on any track.

However, the Arrangement is where you can use more than just patterns — a lot more.

You can drag in audio samples directly into the Arrangement and structure them however you want, without having to load them into a sampler and play them with notes first.

Additionally, any automation clips you create will appear here, which we will get into in the last section.

Like the Channel Rack, there are a variety of tracks you can drag clips onto. The height of these tracks can be resized, turned on and off by left-clicking on them, and soloing individual tracks by right-clicking.

Once again, the menu is in the top left, but we won’t get into all of those functions. Feel free to give them a look if you’re into that.

Mixer Channel in FL Studio

Once you have your sounds arranged as per yourself, the mixer is where all the magic happens with processing. Personally, the mixer is one of my favorite tools for creative sound design because of its processing and routing capabilities. So, let’s start with the main features.

mixer

As per the number we discussed earlier, each channel will be assigned to a mixer track from the Channel Rack. If not, you can select a number to route it to.

You can see all the mixer channels and the master channel on the far left on the main interface. The meter on the far left indicates the level of your entire track, whereas the small meters along the track indicate the level of each track.

For each track, you have a mute switch, a volume fader, pan controls (for moving a sound left and right), a stereo imager (for making things sound more stereo or mono), and other switches that are more advanced.

These are your main tools for mixing. Most of the mixing work will be on the volume faders, balancing the individual levels of sounds to make them blend nicely.

You’ll also see a bunch of green +lines down the bottom. This indicates the routing of each channel, which, by default, is straight to the master channel (the big one on the left).

Inserting Plugins in FL Studio

So, the inserts on the right are where all FX are added to process each mixer track. Down the bottom, you have a basic EQ to mess around with; but the slots above are where you can add some of FL’s built-in effect plugins or third-party ones.

inserting plugins

Left-click on the slot to open up a menu to select from various plugins. There are many here to use, but some of the main and more practical ones are:

  • Fruity Parametric EQ2 (EQ Effect)
  • Fruity Delay 3 (Delay Effect)
  • Fruity Reverb 2 (Reverb Effect)
  • Fruity Limiter (Limiter/Compressor Effect)

Each of these requires a lesson on how the various FX type of work, so click the above links to see some great resources.

Plugins in FL Studio

If you want to add plugins (and be wary of this if you are a new producer), follow the following steps to begin adding your Serums and your Ozone’s.

Firstly, you’ll want to head to the Options > File Settings again and click on Manage Plugins. This will bring up a new window with a variety of options.

Secondly, FL Studio knows how to find plugins pretty well, so click on the Find Plugins button inon the top left. Wait a bit while it scans through your computer (you might want to grab yourself a coffee if you have many plugins).

Once done, it will list out all the plugins you’ve got installed. If you’re super indie and need to add a custom folder to scan, click on the plus folder icon on the top right of the plugin search path area. Just navigate and choose a folder.

Moving ahead, leave the Plugin Manager and go to the Browser > Plugin database, and they will all be there. When you load it up, if you want it to appear alongside the free FL Studio plugins list, click on the menu in the top left and select ‘add’ to the plugin database.

They’ll all be there when you add effects in the mixer or generators in the Channel Rack!

Automation in FL Studio

Automation is one of the most powerful tools in the modern electronics music production arsenal. It allows you to add movement to sounds, influence the energy and tension, and fix up any mixing issues throughout your track, not just that but more.

If you find yourself playing around with any control in FL Studio or any native plugins, right-click on it and select ‘Create Automation Clip.’

A new clip will appear in the Arrangement with a line describing the control that you just automated.

Right-click on the line anywhere to add an automation point, and left click to move it around. Then, edit the automation by clicking on the automation line and dragging the inner line in automation according to the requirement of nobs in plugins.

Furthermore, if you right-click on a specific automation point, you can change the curve type, which is super fun to play around with.

Edison in FL Studio

Now, if you are familiar with other DAWs, you might ask where the bouncing and audio processing functionality is?

If you’re not, that last sentence must have left you confused.

Either way, let’s take a look at Edison and what it does.

Edison is FL Studio’s audio recorder, processor, manipulator, whatever you want to call it. You can load it up on a slot in the insert FX area of the mixer.

Note: Normally, it is best to put it on the master channel to avoid getting lost. Saying that, if you want to put it on an individual track, go ahead! By itself, it is not a typical effect and functions more as a way to record audio for resampling it back into your track.

Try dragging a sample from the Browser into the large sample area at the bottom or clicking record and recording something from the track.

How to Download FL Studio for Free

download fl studio
  • Click on the Download button on the sidebar, and another tab will open straightforwardly to the authority FL Studio download page.
  • Click on the download button that fits for your working framework.
  • Once the download is finished, click on the document to open the establishment wizard.
  • You should click Next a few times to travel through the establishment interaction.
  • Before FL Studio can complete the introduction process, you should allow the establishment of a program called ASIO4ALL, which further develops dormancy. When you click Next, it will introduce it, and the FL Studio establishment will be done.

Exporting

Now the last thing you probably want to know is how to export your track once done.

Because finishing the music produced is the ultimate aim!

Navigate to the top toolbar and click the save icon with the wave underneath it. After choosing where to export, the following window will come up.

There’s a lot to take in here, but let’s talk about the key things to remember.

  • Select the desired format in the second section. Make sure Mode is set to Full song to export the entire Arrangement.
  • MP3 exporting will give you extra options like bitrate, etc.
  • Make sure all the other settings are set like above for a standard export.
  • You may want to enable dithering if you know all about that.
  • Also, saving tempo information will write the BPM to the file tags.
  • After that, hit start and watch your masterpiece export like a boss.

Conclusion

So, hoping to have cleared up your doubts on FL Studio basics for beginners of music production. Now, go and start a new project on FL Studio and let us know in the comments below if you face any difficulties producing tracks on FL Studio. Furthermore, let us know if you want us to cover some other important topics. We would be happy to share!

If you find this blog helpful, you can read more about the best DAWs for music production and how to set up a home recording studio.

Keep hooked on this space for more informative music production basics for beginners.

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