We’ve used the ‘Newstuff’ demo song to show you some of the features, and next time around we’ll look at making a tune from scratch. The following workshop will show how these five main areas interact in a lot more detail so you can understand the FL Studio way and how you can quickly start making music. Finally, once the Patterns created in the Channel Rack are arranged on the Playlist, they can be mixed with the final element, the Mixer, which can be adjusted in size, track colour, you name it. If you want to play melodies, you still use the Channel Rack but then employ the fourth important element, the Piano Roll, to play notes in traditionally across a virtual keyboard (or draw then in as you might on a conventional DAW).

The difference is that this song arrangement is put together with individual Patterns, created in the Channel Rack, and these can exist on any track – they are not tied down to one track as in most DAWs.īeat Patterns tend to be created in the Channel Rack using a traditional step sequencer – just highlight the beat you want to play as it cycles around. These Patterns are arranged on the Playlist, the large central area of the GUI and one other DAW users will recognise as being where the song arrangement comes together. The second is the Channel Rack that contains Patterns of these beats and notes which, when put together, make the song arrangement. The first is the Browser which contains all of the ingredients – samples, sounds, instruments, effects and so on – that you will use in your song. Hover your mouse over each and the information about it will be displayed top left of the screen but we’ll run through them here as they are the very heart of how you make music in FL Studio. So if you are a used to using any other DAW, we’ll explain how FL Studio relates to those and how its unique approach will have you making music in minutes, so let’s get going! The grand tourįL Studio 20 comprises five main areas, each switched on and off using five icons (the first five of the 10) in the centre of the top part of the screen. It’s not necessarily aimed at newcomers to DAW music making – although they will get benefits from following the workshop – but more at people cross-grading from other platforms. But that’s why we’ve put this guide together. At first it might seem like a difficult DAW to get your head around, because it does things in rather different ways to other similar software.

Not only that, but FL 20 represented the DAWs first introduction to the Mac platform so there will be a lot of Mac owners considering the jump too.Įither way, if you are new to FL then you have come to the right place. We’ve just reviewed FL Studio 20 and believe that it’s so good that there will be a great many more users interested in adopting it.

Fl studio 12 requirements