FL Studio Cookbook

Table of Contents

FL Studio Cookbook

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

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Support files, eBooks, discount offers, and more

Why subscribe?

Free access for Packt account holders

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading color versions of the images for this book

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Configuring FL Studio

Introduction

Knowing your sound cards or audio interfaces

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Installing FL Studio

Getting ready

How to do it…

Building your digital audio workstation

Getting ready

How to do it…

Installing virtual instruments and effects

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

2. Using Browser

Introduction

Working with Browser

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Getting new sounds in Browser

How to do it…

There's more…

See also

3. Working with the Step Sequencer and Channels

Introduction

Gauging fundamental areas

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Exploring Channel settings

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Sending a channel to a mixer slot

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Working with the Graph editor

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using the Keyboard editor

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Working with patterns

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

4. Building Your Song

Introduction

Working with rhythm and percussion

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Adding virtual instruments

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Working with MIDI controllers and MIDI pads

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Comparing pattern and song mode

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Using the Piano roll feature

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

5. Using the Playlist

Introduction

Using patterns to build a song

Getting ready…

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also…

Comparing patterns and audio

Getting ready…

How to do it…

How it works…

See also…

Using markers and snap

Getting ready…

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also…

Viewing the playlist

Getting ready…

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also…

6. Using the FL Studio Mixer and Recording Audio

Introduction

Using send tracks in the mixer

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Recording external audio – keyboards, vocals, guitars, turntables and devices

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Adding effects and your effect chain

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Perfecting equalization

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Understanding master tracks and loud wars

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Getting the best out of your mixer

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Recording with or without effects

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

7. Sampling Using Edison

Introduction

Finding a sample

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Obtaining a seamless loop

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Embedding your tempo information

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Importing your new saved sample

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Time-stretching your sample to your project

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Fine-tuning your sample

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

8. Exporting and Rendering Your Project

Introduction

Exporting an MP3 or WAV file

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Exporting your audio stems

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Highlighting your song in the playlist

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Rendering files

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Exporting and reimporting a WAV file

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

9. Humanizing Your Song

Introduction

Humanizing with the OFS knob

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Humanizing with the Graph editor

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Humanizing with the Piano roll

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Humanizing with Playlist

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

10. Recording Automation

Introduction

Using automation for virtual instruments and effects

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Creating an automation clip

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

11. Rewiring Reason to FL Studio

Introduction

Understanding the host and the slave

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating MIDI out channels

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Sending Reason sounds to the FL Studio Mixer

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

A. Your Rights as a Composer and Copyrights

Music publishing, publishers, and performance rights societies

Key terms in publishing agreements – master recording and song

Quick artist blurb

What are ASCAP and PRS?

Things to consider when signing a publishing deal

Places to make a living with audio or music

Rights for new media, YouTube ads, streaming music, and satellite broadcasts

Index

FL Studio Cookbook

FL Studio Cookbook

Copyright © 2014 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: June 2014

Production reference: 1180614

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

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Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-84969-414-8

www.packtpub.com

Cover image by James Lyle (<[email protected]>)

Credits

Author

Shaun Friedman

Reviewers

Boštjan Cigan

Xavier Durand-Hollis Jr.

Rodney Hazard

Ansh Patel

Shant Rising

Jasper Staal

Commissioning Editor

Mary Jasmine Nadar

Acquisition Editor

Nikhil Karkal

Content Development Editor

Sruthi Kutty

Technical Editors

Pragnesh Bilimoria

Aparna Kumar

Copy Editors

Dipti Kapadia

Insiya Morbiwala

Aditya Nair

Project Coordinator

Mary Alex

Proofreaders

Simran Bhogal

Ameesha Green

Indexer

Mariammal Chettiyar

Production Coordinator

Nilesh Bambardekar

Cover Work

Nilesh Bambardekar

About the Author

Shaun Friedman is a music composer who has publishing contracts with FreePlay Music in New York City, Smashtrax Music in California, and Prolific Arts Music in Dallas, Texas in addition to working with music libraries in the United Kingdom and Italy. He has been composing music since the age of five and has a tremendous passion for creativity in the music realm.

Shaun's own production website is www.UnbelievableBeats.com, where you can find original music, lyrical covers, and remixes. The website that he provides music lessons on is called www.FLStudioTraining.com. He also offers WAV files for music production at www.GlobalHeatWave.com.

Thank you to Jacqueline Giliberti for her constant support and encouragement, along with Zak Edelman for his honesty and motivation. Thank you, Dad, for bestowing me the Casio SK-8 when I was just a young kid and inspiring me to make music. Thank you to Packt Publishing for believing in my valued insights. Thank you Grandma Bina and Grandpa Ralph, for encouraging my piano playing after family dinners. Thank you to those who believed in me when I was starting to seriously produce music in 8th grade and high school. A big thanks to James Creer for introducing me to Reason by Propellerheads and teaching me invaluable audio concepts. Thank you Mom, Brian, and Meghan, for cheering me on through the years.

About the Reviewers

Boštjan Cigan has studied at the Faculty of Computer and Information Science at the University of Ljubljana. After completing his BSc, he started pursuing his MSc at the same faculty. Encouraged by the course on Computer Sound Engineering, he started involving himself with FL Studio and Reason. Consequently, he began creating the piano and orchestra renditions of game compositions. He tries to find the best orchestra samples available and uses various masterizing techniques to make them sound as realistic as possible.

Currently, he works as a freelance web developer; he mainly develops WordPress plugins and themes.

I would like to thank Tjaša for encouraging me to take on this project.

Xavier Durand-Hollis Jr. is an aspiring video game developer who happens to make his own music on the side. According to him, while he's not the best producer out there, he has spent time casually working with FL Studio, enough to be familiar with most of its tricks.

As this book review is in process, he is working towards his degree in Computer Science at Michigan State University. He hopes to be developing some awesome video games someday, with equally awesome soundtracks.

Rodney Hazard is a multifaceted artist with a focus on art direction and music. His lucid production styles and astute design solutions are unlike anything seen or heard of in hip hop, to date. Some of his production credits include the artists AZ, Heavy D, and Joe Budden. Drawing from a wide range of inspiration, he had expertise in creating an enhanced musical experience that is guaranteed to keep listeners intrigued. His ability to distort and recreate sounds is incomparable. Rodney's work is a direct reflection of his left-field way of thinking.

Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Rodney began his journey into music at an early age. Starting out as a DJ, he felt the need to express himself as an artist and began to experiment using the Virtual DJ program. The son of a Haitian mother and an American Indian/African American father, he fused the rhythms of these cultures with the futuristic sounds of bands such as Radiohead, Mount Kimbie, and As Tall As Lions. He is a founding member of OBSG (a group of musical and visual artists) and works at VICE Media as a designer. Rodney stepped out from behind the boards and showcased his talent as a gifted emcee. After graduating high school in Worcester, Rodney relocated to New York City and attended St. John's University. It was in New York City that Rodney would develop his signature sound and grow from an aspiring beatsmith to a full-fledged producer.

Over the past three years, Rodney has released multiple projects with OBSG Collective. His notable releases include: HZRDS RSNS, State Of Mind, Crown(s), Same Season, and Guns x Gold. Rodney stepped out from behind the boards and showcased his talent as a more-than-capable emcee. He is currently preparing for his biggest release to date—Victim | Volunteer—which is due to come out in 2014.

I would like to thank my family for always pushing me to pursue my passion and develop my craft. I would also like to thank Blind Barber (Andrew Kelly and Halley Hiatt) for helping me touch the sky and spread my wings as a musician. Lastly, I would like to thank my rock—Lauren Espejo—and Packt Publishing for this opportunity!

Ansh Patel is an experimental game developer, writer, and occasional pop culture critic who works under the moniker of Narcissist Reality. Most of his works are highly influenced by real-world issues, and he hopes to make whatever positive changes he can through his work. He has a deep passion for music, and this often extends into him creating music for his works or just for the sake of it.

I would like to thank my parents for constantly supporting me through whatever creative and offbeat ventures I took up for my career and for believing in me and in my skills, even when I wasn't confident about them.

Shant Rising is a writer, futurist, minimalist, and artist from Los Angeles, California. He grew up playing live music with his friends while in high school only to later adopt the art of electronic music and producing as an activity to help balance the stress of his educational goals. Currently, he is studying medicine and working on his degrees in neuroscience and neurology. More information about him as well as his contact details can be found on his website at www.ShantRising.com.

Jasper Staal is a Dutch beatmaker from the city of Groningen. Born in 1986 as the sixth son of a musician, he started producing hip hop in 2004 to follow in his father's footsteps. His first tracks were produced on Fruity Loops 2, and his passion for Fruity Loops (now FL Studio) has always remained.

Post 2010, his musical focus shifted to EDM/Trap production, drawing inspiration from everything, whether it was Motown soul or video game music. His first official single Nippon Slip was released on Darker Than Wax (a record label from Singapore) in 2014.

Apart from making music, Jasper is also pursuing a career in graphic design and fine arts, and he occasionally dabbles in video editing and rhyme writing as well.

You can enjoy his music at www.soundcloud.com/jasperstaal and go through his art at www.cargocollective.com/jasperstaal.

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Preface

FL Studio is directly related to composing and producing music from scratch. This is similar to a painter who creates a work of art with a mix of colors and a blank canvas or a writer who forms a novel or story with a pen and paper. FL Studio lets you create a music production in whatever genre you are comfortable with. You will be able to create a drumbeat, percussion, or rhythm track. You will be able to add virtual instruments and harmonies. You will have access to the mixer, where you can add well-known effects such as reverb and delay. You will also be able to use equalization, compression, limiting, and other effects such as flangers and filters. You will be able to manipulate and arrange your musical components to create a song. You can also include external audio and record into FL Studio.

This means that you will be able to record into FL Studio using a microphone for vocals, with an analog keyboard, with a bass guitar, with a drum machine, using a microphone to record the output of a guitar amplifier, and any other instrument that requires you to place a microphone close by (violin, banjo, keyboard, and so on). You can also record from a vinyl record player and then use that recording in FL Studio. You will also find ways to sample other music if desired. Edison, an audio editing tool within FL Studio, will teach you how to time-stretch any sample to fit the tempo of your project in FL Studio. You will be able to seamlessly use sampled material in your own music production. You will also learn how to master your project and make it sound good in multiple playback formats, including entertainment systems, CDs, online streaming such as YouTube and Vimeo, smartphones, and e-mail attachments.

FL Studio stands for Fruity Loops, but the name is a little bit confusing because you do not have to work with premade loops at all. The reason for calling it Fruity Loops was because it started as a powerful drum sequencer. As far as creating music quickly and intuitively goes, there is arguably no other software as powerful as FL Studio. There are many digital audio workstations (DAWs) in the market, but FL Studio has the most features and also offers free updates for a lifetime. This means that you will never get shut out of an upgrade, and you will always be able to update your version for free.

When FL Studio updates their software to FL Studio 8 to FL Studio 9, it will be free. Even when they update to FL Studio 10, it will be free, and so on. Music productions made with FL Studio are now all over the charts worldwide. It is used heavily by electronic and hip hop producers. It is also used for orchestral music, rock, pop, and jazz. There is no genre of music that it cannot create; there is no genre of music that gets shut out. The tools are present, and it is up to the creator/user to manipulate the sounds to form whatever feeling and song they want to communicate. You can use the WAV and MP3 formats inside of the software, so it is also user friendly across many file formats.

Since FL Studio has become the standard for music production, many people who learned other DAWs feel a little bit threatened by it and are upset. They may have learned a program such as Pro Tools only to discover a couple weeks, months, or years later that FL Studio has better capabilities. They may also shrug it off because it's not an industry standard, but that is quickly changing.

Though FL Studio is extremely intuitive, the driving force behind its output is the people who use the software. It's not so much the software, but how you use it. You should be creating music that inspires both you and hopefully the people who listen to it. Musicians should not be fighting with each other over DAWs. They may believe that certain DAWs are inferior, but that is simply not the case, and sometimes, based on marketing beliefs, they may use something such as Pro Tools because they have no real talent and it is a crutch for them. The DAW doesn't matter as much as how you use it. That being said, it certainly helps that FL Studio is extremely easy to use, allowing your creativity to flow quickly and naturally.

During the music-making stages, you need to get your ideas from inside your brain to inside the FL Studio software. This can happen very quickly when using FL Studio.

The FL Studio technology is invaluable. You can produce music simply using your laptop or computer. You can set up FL Studio as the hub of your music productions at the place where you live or the studio you work at. You can be sitting at a coffee shop and producing music wearing headphones. For some, it will be a creative outlet that they can enjoy. Others will use FL Studio to make radio-quality productions and sell their music across the globe. You can easily create many variations of the same song, which can help you if you are a live performer. Perhaps your song is completely finished with vocals on it. You can make an exact version of that song but remove the lead vocals because you know that you will be performing it at a live venue. The FL Studio software is continually being upgraded, and if there are any bugs in it, the administration staff are quick to fix them. Perhaps, the biggest reason for creating music is