Go to the “Programs” folder on your computer. Double-click the “Image-Line” folder. Double-click the FL Studio engine application. FL Studio will open.
Go to the upper menu. Click “File.” Open a new session. Name the session for identification purposes. You can dedicate a folder to the session and all subsequent material. This will keep all files for the particular session organized and easy to find.
Click “Options” in the menu bar. Select “Audio Settings” to check your primary soundcard. It should be the same as your equipment. If you have an internal soundcard, it will remain as the “Primary Sound Driver.” If you have an external soundcard, select that option.
Choose your instruments and place them in the “Step Sequencer.” In the Step Sequencer, “channels” are used for placement. Each channel can hold one sound or instrument. Also, each channel has 16 blocks by default, each representing one 16th note (”1-e-&-a,” “2-e-&-a").
Set each instrument to dedicated “tracks” (channels) within the program’s mixer. Click on the “Mixer” icon. Right-click your desired channel. Scroll to “Link selected channels.” Select “To this track.” The instrument will appear in the selected track. Use the mixer for any added effects. Set the session’s tempo. Save the session.
Test the sounds you have chosen. Click on the blocks within the Step Sequencer. Every fifth block can be recognized as a quarter note or 1-count (“1,” “2,” “3,” “4"). Perform various modifications to the blocks. Continue until you find a rhythm that fits.
Create a different pattern for each instrument or change of beat or melody. The pattern icon is located beside the tempo icon, along with the playback and record options. The pattern is the set of instructions in the Step Sequencer telling FL Studio which instruments and what block (16th note) syncopations to execute. Recognize which pattern is in-cue; failure to do so creates the risk of adjusting the pattern of another instrument unknowingly.
Save the session as an alternate name, keeping the original in case of changes. Click the “Playlist” icon. This brings forth the area where one arranges the song with all the patterns created in the Step Sequencer. Place all patterns in the playlist, respectively. Adjust the song to your preference, but still maintain the potential hip-hop artist’s lyrical stance. Save the session.
Click “File” in the menu bar. Scroll to “Export.” Select “WAV file.” Save the WAVs as the project’s name.
Enable “Split Mixer Tracks” in the export’s “Options” area. This will export each instrument simultaneously as an individual WAV file. Remember to disable it after it is finished exporting. WAV files have high megabyte usage. “Normalize” the WAV files so there are no spikes in velocity and everything is at a certain level.
Open a new session. Load each file in the playlist as an audio clip. Click on “Channel” in the menu bar. Scroll to “Add one.” Select “Audio clip.” Do the same for each instrumental file and save the session. Send them to individual tracks within the mixer. Adjust the levels and panning, accordingly. Save the session.
Click on “File” in the menu bar. Scroll to “Export.” Select “WAV file.” When the export screen comes up, keep “Split Mixer Tracks” disabled. On this export, the tracks should be exported as one “mixdown,” not separate tracks. Once you have exported, you have successfully read, understood and created a Hip-Hop beat on FL Studio (“Fruity Loops”).