Johnny Rash
May 18th, 2008, 15:36
Via : http://www.homebrewheaven.net
This is the basics tutorial to Fruity Loops Studio 8.
In this tutorial, I will teach you some basics in navigating through FL Studio and some of it's components and sub-menus.
Keep in mind that if you're using an older version of FL, some of the things taught in this tutorial will be different or in some cases, non-existent.
FL Studio is a very powerful tool in writing sequenced music and can be adapted to almost any form of music spanning from classic rock to classical music to heavy metal.
This tutorial might be seen differently by other musicians as the software is very versatile.
This is a music creation tool. It does not only make a single song.
And, from what I understand from other users, this software doesn't exactly have the nicest learning curve around.
This tutorial also assumes you have some sense of tone, rhythm, pitch, and harmony. If you ain't got that, go make sigs.
This tutorial DOES NOT teach how to compose/write/read music. It teaches how to operate FL Studio.
People already have a hard enough time with that.
Now, onto the software...
After opening the software you may be greeted by a splash screen and you will then see a screen that should look similar if not almost exactly like this:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/01.png
This is the main screen.
Your workstation.
All plug-in graphics, music pieces, audio clips will be on your musical desktop for convenient access for changeability and tweaking.
The Fruity Limiter is actually a plug-in that always loads at startup for me.
Nevermind that. I'll talk about it when I discuss mixing and equalization.
Looking at it intimidates people due to it's complex look.
But in all actuality, it breaks down quite nicely.
So...let's break it down. *No pun intended*
This is the top toolbar we're working with.
I will break it down was we continue down the list.
Also consider this a basic road-map.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/02G.png
Alright, let's do it.
1. Menu Bar
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/03G.png
I think every program in existence has this so no surprises except a choice few features sprinkled in there.
'File' and 'Edit' are basic save, open, copy, cut, paste business.
'Channel' is control for the channel panel. (Explained later).
'View' is to control which windows are open and how you want them view. Standard stuff, really.
You'll figure our 'options' out on your own as everyone's system is different.
I've never had to use the 'tools' thingy.
It's pretty useless as everything else is somewhere else anyway.
And 'help' is pretty self explanatory.
It tells you just about everything except how to compose.
To the right you'll notice two sliders.
The left controls song speed. (which effects the pitch unlike a tempo change).
The right controls the master volume.
Remember when rendering songs, the song will be rendered in the volume you left that slider on.
2. Time/BeatPos Readout
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/04G.png
This little readout shows either the time or the playlist position.
You may notice two small lighted whatever-they-ares on the left.
Those switch between the minute display and the beat position display.
The beat position display tells you where you are on the 'playlist'. (Explained later)
3. Play/Pause/Tempo Command
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/05G.png
Alright, it's a pretty basic setup here.
You got a sliderbar going horizontally. That's your seek bar.
You use to fast-forward or watch the progress of the song.
Of course, you can do that same in the playlist...but that comes later.
You got 3 buttons.
Play/pause, stop, and record.
Hitting record will give you several recording options including live midi play. (In-depth later)
There are two check box sorta' things on the left.
'Song' and 'pattern'.
Selecting 'pattern' will loop your current selected pattern off the playlist while 'song' will play the playlist which is ultimately, your song.
The other main attraction in this is that fancy tempo selector.
It's purpose is to control the Beats Per Measure (BPM).
Changing this factor alters how fast the song is played but does not affect the pitch.
Our selector has several useful options such as the 'tap'.
Right click it and find the option 'Tap...'.
With this you can tap how fast you want the song played. It's pretty cool.
Something I must forewarn about though.
When writing a song with live audio clips, make sure you don't have to change the tempo for a part you already played.
The tempo change won't affect the clip and it will be off sync.
Matter of fact, have your tempos planned ahead.
There is also a pattern selector in this box.
I rarely use that method of choosing patterns.
4. Peak Monitor
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/06G.png
This is a peak monitor.
Chances are your regular media player has something that looks like it to look cool.
But this one is here not just for show.
Most of us know that sound is a wavelength.
The width of the wavelength is a good estimate of the sound's decibel.
A decibel is a unit of volume.
The meter is here to watch for any spike in wavelength that might be audible or may damage audio equipment.
Frequencies detected by the meter often sound 'blown-out'.
They are too loud.
This meter also shows the decibel for both the left and right channels.
Make sure you didn't screw up your cross-fade work, noob.
5. Big Bar Of Behavioral Settings
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/07G.png
This bar comes in handy and controls the many behaviors of FL Studio.
Let's start from the top right icon.
This is the 'make your computer keyboard play notes like a musical keyboard' option.
Doing this sorta' allows you to play along with songs.
It's mainly pointless, but fun.
To the right is the '3-count before play after you press play' button.
It's function is to count 3 beats before the song plays so you can get ready to play along.
Rather pointless unless your recording live via MIDI or analog. Hahhah! Analog.
I really have no idea what the next two to the right do.
Probably nothing real important. To the next row!
This is the metronome!
Essential if you're a musician who uses live clips!
If you don't want jacked up timing, use either this metronome or a drum sample!
A metronome clicks the BPM out for you.
It's a guideline to the tempo.
Next up...I have no idea. Nor do I have an idea about the next one.
This next one, however, changes the setting if you want the playlist to scroll with the playlist cursor when the song is playing through.
I usually turn it off unless I'm monitoring for mistakes.
I don't know about the next icon though...
The bar that say 'line', is a selector.
It has the lock options for note positioning.
It's just there to make constructing the song without timing problems easier.
I'll explain more later.
6. Resource Monitor
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/08G.png
This one is pretty self-explanatory.
It's purpose is to report your PC's resource usage.
There is a line graph that displays your CPU's low work ethic. *shakes fist*
And there is a bar graph showing your RAM usage.
The keys to this is to make sure not to overdo it.
You PC can only handle so much and this nifty bar will notify you of it's breaking point.
7. Window Selecto-ma-bob Thing-a-majigger
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/09G.png
Here is one main component in FL.
You'll be touching this bar more than Micheal Jackson touches little boys.
It is the access way to the playlist, mixer, piano rolls, channel panel, and the browser.
It is key you get acquainted with both these buttons and those terms.
8. Copy/Cut/Paste/Save/Open Bar
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/10G.png
Title is pretty self-explanatory.
It's essentially the 'file' and 'edit' commands condensed into one fancy bar.
That's about it.
EXIT---
Alright, folks.
Join me next time on my next FL Studio tutorial as I get more in-depth about composing.
If you made it reading this far...and didn't skip a bunch of text like an @$$hole...you're on your way to being about to compose in FL.
Anyone can do it. It just takes a bit of skill and patience.
This is the basics tutorial to Fruity Loops Studio 8.
In this tutorial, I will teach you some basics in navigating through FL Studio and some of it's components and sub-menus.
Keep in mind that if you're using an older version of FL, some of the things taught in this tutorial will be different or in some cases, non-existent.
FL Studio is a very powerful tool in writing sequenced music and can be adapted to almost any form of music spanning from classic rock to classical music to heavy metal.
This tutorial might be seen differently by other musicians as the software is very versatile.
This is a music creation tool. It does not only make a single song.
And, from what I understand from other users, this software doesn't exactly have the nicest learning curve around.
This tutorial also assumes you have some sense of tone, rhythm, pitch, and harmony. If you ain't got that, go make sigs.
This tutorial DOES NOT teach how to compose/write/read music. It teaches how to operate FL Studio.
People already have a hard enough time with that.
Now, onto the software...
After opening the software you may be greeted by a splash screen and you will then see a screen that should look similar if not almost exactly like this:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/01.png
This is the main screen.
Your workstation.
All plug-in graphics, music pieces, audio clips will be on your musical desktop for convenient access for changeability and tweaking.
The Fruity Limiter is actually a plug-in that always loads at startup for me.
Nevermind that. I'll talk about it when I discuss mixing and equalization.
Looking at it intimidates people due to it's complex look.
But in all actuality, it breaks down quite nicely.
So...let's break it down. *No pun intended*
This is the top toolbar we're working with.
I will break it down was we continue down the list.
Also consider this a basic road-map.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/02G.png
Alright, let's do it.
1. Menu Bar
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/03G.png
I think every program in existence has this so no surprises except a choice few features sprinkled in there.
'File' and 'Edit' are basic save, open, copy, cut, paste business.
'Channel' is control for the channel panel. (Explained later).
'View' is to control which windows are open and how you want them view. Standard stuff, really.
You'll figure our 'options' out on your own as everyone's system is different.
I've never had to use the 'tools' thingy.
It's pretty useless as everything else is somewhere else anyway.
And 'help' is pretty self explanatory.
It tells you just about everything except how to compose.
To the right you'll notice two sliders.
The left controls song speed. (which effects the pitch unlike a tempo change).
The right controls the master volume.
Remember when rendering songs, the song will be rendered in the volume you left that slider on.
2. Time/BeatPos Readout
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/04G.png
This little readout shows either the time or the playlist position.
You may notice two small lighted whatever-they-ares on the left.
Those switch between the minute display and the beat position display.
The beat position display tells you where you are on the 'playlist'. (Explained later)
3. Play/Pause/Tempo Command
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/05G.png
Alright, it's a pretty basic setup here.
You got a sliderbar going horizontally. That's your seek bar.
You use to fast-forward or watch the progress of the song.
Of course, you can do that same in the playlist...but that comes later.
You got 3 buttons.
Play/pause, stop, and record.
Hitting record will give you several recording options including live midi play. (In-depth later)
There are two check box sorta' things on the left.
'Song' and 'pattern'.
Selecting 'pattern' will loop your current selected pattern off the playlist while 'song' will play the playlist which is ultimately, your song.
The other main attraction in this is that fancy tempo selector.
It's purpose is to control the Beats Per Measure (BPM).
Changing this factor alters how fast the song is played but does not affect the pitch.
Our selector has several useful options such as the 'tap'.
Right click it and find the option 'Tap...'.
With this you can tap how fast you want the song played. It's pretty cool.
Something I must forewarn about though.
When writing a song with live audio clips, make sure you don't have to change the tempo for a part you already played.
The tempo change won't affect the clip and it will be off sync.
Matter of fact, have your tempos planned ahead.
There is also a pattern selector in this box.
I rarely use that method of choosing patterns.
4. Peak Monitor
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/06G.png
This is a peak monitor.
Chances are your regular media player has something that looks like it to look cool.
But this one is here not just for show.
Most of us know that sound is a wavelength.
The width of the wavelength is a good estimate of the sound's decibel.
A decibel is a unit of volume.
The meter is here to watch for any spike in wavelength that might be audible or may damage audio equipment.
Frequencies detected by the meter often sound 'blown-out'.
They are too loud.
This meter also shows the decibel for both the left and right channels.
Make sure you didn't screw up your cross-fade work, noob.
5. Big Bar Of Behavioral Settings
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/07G.png
This bar comes in handy and controls the many behaviors of FL Studio.
Let's start from the top right icon.
This is the 'make your computer keyboard play notes like a musical keyboard' option.
Doing this sorta' allows you to play along with songs.
It's mainly pointless, but fun.
To the right is the '3-count before play after you press play' button.
It's function is to count 3 beats before the song plays so you can get ready to play along.
Rather pointless unless your recording live via MIDI or analog. Hahhah! Analog.
I really have no idea what the next two to the right do.
Probably nothing real important. To the next row!
This is the metronome!
Essential if you're a musician who uses live clips!
If you don't want jacked up timing, use either this metronome or a drum sample!
A metronome clicks the BPM out for you.
It's a guideline to the tempo.
Next up...I have no idea. Nor do I have an idea about the next one.
This next one, however, changes the setting if you want the playlist to scroll with the playlist cursor when the song is playing through.
I usually turn it off unless I'm monitoring for mistakes.
I don't know about the next icon though...
The bar that say 'line', is a selector.
It has the lock options for note positioning.
It's just there to make constructing the song without timing problems easier.
I'll explain more later.
6. Resource Monitor
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/08G.png
This one is pretty self-explanatory.
It's purpose is to report your PC's resource usage.
There is a line graph that displays your CPU's low work ethic. *shakes fist*
And there is a bar graph showing your RAM usage.
The keys to this is to make sure not to overdo it.
You PC can only handle so much and this nifty bar will notify you of it's breaking point.
7. Window Selecto-ma-bob Thing-a-majigger
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/09G.png
Here is one main component in FL.
You'll be touching this bar more than Micheal Jackson touches little boys.
It is the access way to the playlist, mixer, piano rolls, channel panel, and the browser.
It is key you get acquainted with both these buttons and those terms.
8. Copy/Cut/Paste/Save/Open Bar
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d89/Desertdarkwarior/10G.png
Title is pretty self-explanatory.
It's essentially the 'file' and 'edit' commands condensed into one fancy bar.
That's about it.
EXIT---
Alright, folks.
Join me next time on my next FL Studio tutorial as I get more in-depth about composing.
If you made it reading this far...and didn't skip a bunch of text like an @$$hole...you're on your way to being about to compose in FL.
Anyone can do it. It just takes a bit of skill and patience.