Start composing
your own beats
1
READY TO GO
The first thing we are going to do is create a new workspace
within Fruity Loops 20. In our previous tutorial, we worked
our way around this application and got to grips with where
things are, what the sections do, and an outline of how to piece
sounds together. If you haven’t checked that out, it’s a good place
to start familiarizing yourself with Fruity Loops 20 [Image A].
>> Think of the beat in the song as the main foundation upon
which the rest of the music sits. It communicates with the
instruments, keeping everything organized and in sync. Many
different instruments and sounds can be used to keep the rhythm
of a song flowing. The most typical of course is the drumbeat,
which we will be experimenting with within this tutorial.CREATING MUSIC IS SOMETHING a bit out of the ordinary for us here at Maximum PC, although it
certainly ties in with many aspects of the computing world. Particularly over the past couple of
decades, digital production has become an integral part of making music. Without computers,
it’s fair to say that music would certainly have evolved at a much slower rate.
Sure, the digital age has brought us some dreadful music—yes, we still have nightmares
about the Crazy Frog theme tune—but computers have also made it easier than ever to produce
a track of your own. No longer do you need to learn Debussy’s Clair de Lune on the piano with
your eyes closed. Armed with a powerful PC, the right software, and a modicum of talent,
anyone can learn how to compose digital music. So, then, how do you get started?
Research is key—know what you will need, how to approach it, what elements come together
to produce a track, and how they piece together to make a well-rounded sound. Before you
start, it’s a good idea to learn the basics of how music works. YouTube is a great place to start,
with plenty of resources, including video tutorials and lessons on theories of music.
In our tutorial, we will learn how to make a basic drum beat, what goes into it, and how to
develop it further. Fruity Loops is our tool of choice, a great digital audio workstation (DAW) for
beginners that also has the scope to extend your work much further. –SAM LEWISYOU’LL NEED THIS
FL STUDIO 20
http://www.image-line.com>> First, we need to head to where our samples are
stored, in the browser on the left-hand side of the
screen. Of course, you can rearrange the program to
suit your needs but typically, it sits there. Head into the
Packs section to find the drum pack, as we will be using
these to create a typical drum beat.2
BANGING THE DRUM
A simple drum beat can consist of a kick, snare,
hi-hat, and bass. Go through the packs, try them
out, and pick the one you like from each of the types of
drums by dragging them over to your channel rack. Once
you are happy with your selection, we will take a look at
how the channel rack works [Image B].
>> By default, Fruity Loops 20 works on a 16-beat loop.
Your instruments are numbered and named, and next to
this you can add your beat along the dotted line. Simply
click on a space and right-click to remove it. This is
where we will be creating drumbeat patterns.
>> As you can see in our example, we’ve laid out a
simple drumbeat using some instruments from the
drum packs found in the browser. To listen to this loop,
head to the top, where you will find the play button. Next
to that, you should see that it has a little option for ‘PAT’
or ‘SONG’. Make sure ‘PAT’ is selected and hit the play
button, and this will cycle through your loop. You can
also drag out the channel rack to create longer patterns.BA© FL STUDIO 2060 MAXIMU MPC MAR 2022
R&D