In this FL Studio basics tutorial, we’ll cover what FL Studio is, how it works, which parts do what, and how they all interact to help us make great music. But first, a few words… If you’re just starting your music production journey, it can be an extremely overwhelming experience. The amount of technical know-how that goes on behind the scenes is a real eye opener for many, and deters thousands of would-be musicians from chasing their dreams, forcing them to settle for the average life that so many people have already lived. It’s complicated… If this describes you, don’t let the 1000’s of technical words, knobs, buttons, and sliders scare you. Instead, I invite you to establish an undying curiosity for each button, each confusing word, each setting, and each plugin that you don’t understand. Rather than turning away from the things that confuse you, become curious. How can this help me become a better musician? How can I use this to up my game, to be unique, and to improve? Can this knowledge be an asset to me? With this mindset, you’ll be unstoppable. And because of the internet, you now have access to limitless knowledge. Don’t pass up on this amazing opportunity! Your new best friend! FL Studio is a DAW (digital audio workstation) developed by a company in Belgium called Image-Line. A DAW is a special software package that musicians and producers use to create, edit, record, arrange, mix and sample audio. Within the DAW, there are other 3rd party pieces of software called VST plugins. These can be things like reverb modules, compressors, samplers, synthesizers, equalizers (like Fruity Parametric EQ 2), and the list goes on and on into infinity… VST plugins in FL Studio fall under two categories: Let’s take a look at some of the basics of FL Studio. The top toolbar has a lot of buttons and indicators. Some are pretty self explanatory. Some are more complex. Don’t worry if you don’t understand some of the terms yet. Check it out: The Browser/Plugin picker is a directory that links files on your computer to FL Studio. From here, we can import audio samples into FL Studio and choose the plugins and presets we want to use (which are all just files on your computer, too). It’s important to know where we should drag each type of item in the Browser/Plugin picker: The Step sequencer/Channel rack is the place where audio signals originate from within FL Studio. Each channel can hold either a sampled audio file, a generator plugin, or an automation. The Channel rack can only hold generator VST plugins – they generate an audio signal. Some examples of generator plugins are Sytrus, Harmor, Harmless, Spire, Massive, and Serum. These are all synthesis plugins. Again, we can drag audio samples and generator plugins from the Browser/Plugin picker to the Channel rack. This will create its own channel which can then be routed to the Mixer. We can also change overall swing settings (knob at top right), mute and unmute individual channels (green button), route channels to Mixer tracks (numbers next to channels) and change individual channel panning and volume (knobs next to channels). You may be wondering what all of the red and gray buttons are. Those are steps and they make up the Step Sequencer. The Step Sequencer is a virtual drum machine and one of two ways we can make Patterns in FL Studio, the other being with the Piano roll. When a step is lit up, that means the sample in that channel will be triggered during that part of the Pattern. The Step Sequencer is great for programming drum loops. The Mixer is a virtual mixing console where all of the signals from your audio samples and generators in the Channel rack meet up. This is also where all of the routing and signal processing like compression, EQ, and sidechaining takes place. The samples and generators are considered internally generated signals because they originate from within FL Studio. The Mixer also has the ability to bring in externally generated signals. These are audio signals coming from an input on your audio interface and can be generated by things like a guitar or a condenser microphone. Here we can see the two audio sample channels and the two generator channels in the Channel rack have been routed into tracks #1 – #4 in the Mixer using the number slot (target Mixer track) next to each channel. FL Studio generated these signals internally. Mixer track #5 is the mic input from my MXL 990 going into my audio interface. Use the drop down menu at the top of the FX slot panel to link externally generated signals to the selected Mixer track. The Mixer FX panel slots are where we drag Effects plugins to. Effects plugins can be reverb, delay, compressors, EQ, and other things that alter the signal previously sent there by samples or Generator plugins in the Channel rack or by an external device like a microphone. Above, we can see Fruity Reeverb 2 in Slot 1 of Mixer track 5. This is adding reverb to my mic input signal in real time. Take a look at the full-blown FL Studio Mixer tutorial for a deeper understanding of how the Mixer works. The Playlist is where we arrange all of the pieces of our track. These pieces can be: FL Studio plays the clips, patterns, and audio in the Playlist from left to right as the time sweeper moves over everything. Remember that button in the top toolbar that toggles between Song and Pattern playback? Well, Song mode plays everything that’s staged here in the Playlist. The Piano roll is where we input MIDI data in the form of notes to be played by the associated generator plugin. Each channel in the Channel rack has its own Piano roll and its own set of steps in the Step Sequencer from which we can make Patterns to put in the Playlist. To open the Piano roll, press F7. Then, select the target channel from the drop down menu, and click to start adding notes. Be mindful of what Pattern you are working in! I covered the inner workings of the Piano roll in this tutorial. Check it out if you want a deeper understanding of how the Piano roll works. OK, if you just read 4 times over that and you’re still confused as all hell, I have a secret weapon for you. Take a look at this diagram. It shows how most of the basic FL Studio components come into play and interact with each other in the DAW. Click on it to zoom in. Even though this is just a basic FL Studio tutorial, it’s a lot of information to digest at once. It’ll probably take more than one read to really grasp what’s going on here. If you haven’t been, I suggest going through the tutorial with FL Studio open and running. Click around and experiment while you read and learn. For now, let’s recap what’s been said: That about covers the basics of FL Studio. I hope you learned something here, or are at least less confused and a little more confident in that it’s not as hard as it looks. Thanks for reading!FL Studio Basics
Getting Started: The Journey
What is FL Studio?
Top Toolbar
The Browser/Plugin Picker (Alt+F8)
The Step Sequencer/Channel Rack (F6)
Step Sequencer Patterns
The Mixer (F9)
Routing to the Mixer
The Playlist (F5)
The Piano Roll (F7)
Piano Roll Patterns
FL Studio Basics – The Big Picture
FL Studio Basics Summary
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Thank you Fam!
No problem!
Thanks alot for this great info…
Great info, thanks a lot!