Maximum PC - USA (2022-02)

© FL STUDIO

1. BROWSER
   This is the place to find samples,
   beats, instruments, and your imports.


2. CHANNEL RACK
   The channel rack holds all of your
   chosen instruments and is where you
   can make loops and sequences.
   3. PIANO ROLL
   Use the piano roll to create unique
   sequences. You can also connect your
   MIDI controller to this to play an endless
   array of instruments.
   4. PLAYLIST WINDOW
   This is where you piece together all the

elements of the song to create a finished

track. It works in a similar way to the

piano roll.

5. MIXER
   All audio in FL Studio passes through
   the mixer, this is where you can alter the
   quality and levels of the audio signal.

FL STUDIO 20 USER INTERFACE

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track. This is where the layering of the patterns you create will

be orchestrated.

>> To listen to what this window sounds like, we need to head

back up to the top and select the ‘song’ button instead of the

‘pat’ button next to the play and stop function. So now we will

be taking what we have created and applying it to the playlist

window, similar to how we created layers in the piano roll.

>> Click in the track 1 row and draw out the pattern four times.

Then to listen, hit the spacebar to hear this sequence. We

were testing too, don’t slate us for our purely experimental

patterns. To help with organization and pattern naming, in

the channel rack press the F2 key to rename a pattern.

This will help you when things start to get messy.

>> As we mentioned earlier, songs are made of layers.

We have our drums (kind of) so to add a new layer, press the

‘+’ icon next to where your pattern name is in the top window

bar. This will create a blank new pattern and you will notice that

the channel rack is now empty.

>> Here we can add in a new ‘sound’, for example, a guitar riff

or piano keys. This is where you will start to layer your song. You

can also drag audio files straight from the browser to the playlist

window to add them directly if no tweaking is needed.

>> The arrangement will be done in the playlist

window, but the construction of the riffs and melodies

is created in the channel rack and piano roll. Music

production certainly isn’t a quick and easy thing to do.

>> The key is to have fun with what you are doing and

to keep practicing over and over again—experimenting

with layering different sounds together, mixing samples,

and splicing instruments together until you have some

form of song at the end.

>> This guide might not help you become a

successful music producer overnight, it’s simply a

basic overview of how the main sections of a DAW

work, in this case, FL Studio 20. If you are serious

about learning to compose digital music, you could

do some research on music theory before diving right

in to get an understanding of how songs are written.

There are a plethora of videos and tutorials online about

how to construct basic melodies and rhythms, and piece

together all the elements to create a track.

>> Once you get used to how these applications work,

with some practice and a bit of patience, you should be

able to compose a basic tune.

ANOTHER

MUSIC

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FEB 2022 MAXIMU MPC 71