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welcome
in this tutorial we'll introduce you to
the key tools for writing hip-hop and
trap music
already included with fl studio
we'll show you the tools to make a beat
and edit drum samples
add tuned 808s from flex how to slide
their pitches around
how to tune your own samples use audio
tracks to chop loops into individual
one-shot samples
and flesh out a loop you've made using
these methods to create something like
this
of course there is also a download link
in the video information so you can
explore the project i'll make in
explore the project i'll make in tutorial
tutorial
so let's get into it let's start from
the basic 808 with limiter template
that includes four samples to sketch out
a trap beat idea
you can of course load your own samples
i'll also go ahead and set the temper to
140 bpm
right click the tempo display and select
type in value
now you can type your desired bpm
use the step sequencer to place drum
hits a left click
creates a new step a right click deletes
it
press the space bar to hear what you've
done
in the channel settings of the kick
there are lots of controls to tweak the
sound
one of the hidden power tools is the
pogo effect in the pre-computed effects
tab
in particular this radically transforms
kick drums as it affects the initial
transient or the initial punch of the
kick
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on the main tab there are sample start
and length controls
these will let you adjust where the
sample starts and ends with a quick
volume ramp to avoid clicking
the start offset influences where the
sample begins playing inside the range
defined by the sample start and length
controls
this has no volume ramping so it will
click when you start the sample at any
point other than
exactly on the center line which can be
very beneficial for drum sounds
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you can further customize your sample in
the envelope tab
there are envelopes for volume filter
cutoff resonance and pitch
i'll demo just the volume envelope for
brevity's sake
the curve represents volume from silence
to maximum output level
in the sampler this curve will play
every time a note is played
attack is the time it takes for the
volume to reach maximum
output level and decay is the time it
takes the volume to reach the sustain
point
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which is the level the envelope will
stay at until a note is released
the release is the time it takes the
volume to drop down to zero again after
a note is released
and the whole parameter defines the time
between the end of the attack stage and
the beginning of the decay stage
[Music] next i'll add some high hats a nice time
saver is right clicking the channel
button
to select fill each two steps this will
create a simple eighth note hi-hat
pattern
now we can customize that a little shift
the steps by right-clicking the channel
button and selecting rotate left
or right
now we'll open the graph editor and make
some variations to the velocities for
emphasis
you have access to a lot more parameters
here too let's add the pattern to the
playlist by clicking in the playlist
window
you'll notice i've painted it twice
that's because i'm going to open the
clip menu in the top left of the second
clip
and select make unique this will make a
new pattern with the same information in
it
allowing me to make variations without
messing up the first one
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after doing that to listen to your drum
beat in context
you'll need to switch fl studio from
pattern mode to song mode
up here fl studio will now play what's
in the playlist window
not just loop a single pattern
nice time for some bass the 808 bass
sound has been a mainstay of hip-hop
production for the last 40 years
and there's no sign of its popularity
waning however in recent years there's
been a trend to use the 808 as a pitch
baseline
accent it with pitch slides so let's get
some thumping 808s going
open flex and choose the mobile tuned
808 bass pack
these are also available in fl studio
mobile hence the
name
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perfect these are already tuned and
looped
so we'll sustain as long as a note is
held
as we noted pitch slides are a key part
of the trap sound
to slide an 808 from flex or a sample
use slide notes in the piano roll
painting slide notes works like it does
with standard notes
left click to paint right click to
delete
notes slide from the standard to slide
note pitch
over the length of the slide note
if you've already got your own 808
samples drop one on a playlist track
header
to make an instrument track
and drop a tuner on its mixer track to
see its pitch
cool you can now use that information to
change the root note of the sample
in the channel settings so notes on the
piano roll
are correctly pitched i've linked a
video in the info to a metro booming
video that specifically covers this
topic
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now let's write the baseline
once you have the base in the box it's
time for the rest of the drums
don't you wish there was an easier way
of cutting a top loop into pieces that
make sense
than doing it by hand well there is
drop your top loop on a playlist track
header to make it an audio track
this means all audio that is placed on
that track will be linked
to the same mixer track
now go to the clip menu in the top left
of the clip
and select one of the time-based
chopping options
this will slice your loop into equally
long pieces
you'll have a much easier time
rearranging the loop to fit the vibe you
have in mind
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let's rearrange this to fit the vibe a
bit better right click to delete slices
left click to paint the one you clicked
on last
you can also use fruity slicer to have
your loop automatically chopped
this will make every individual slice
playable in the piano roll
this loop has some swung notes in it
while my beat is perfectly straight
so i'll press alt and q to quantize if
you'd like to know more about
quantization check out
our video on the topic at four bars this
loop is also a little long for what i
need
so i'll select the last three bars by
right clicking and dragging in this area
up here
to make a time selection then i'll press
delete on my keyboard to delete those
notes
then i'll select the first bar and press
ctrl
and b three times to duplicate my
selection
okay now it's just a matter of adding
some keys or other interesting sounds
from flex to flesh out the tune
and you have a very solid core idea in
the box
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something's missing let's add an
instrument loop and arrange it using
slicex
slicex as the name implies can
automatically slice a wav file into
pieces
based on transients and play them from
the piano roll
this technique of triggering melodic
loop slices comes from the mpc days
when samplers were predominantly used to
create hip-hop
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as a final bit of spice let's add some
hi-hat rolls in
hi-hat rolls in we'll switch the channel rack to piano
we'll switch the channel rack to piano
roll mode here
then click the hi-hats piano roll to
open it
i'll draw a long note where i want a
roll to happen
select that note and then use the chop
tool in the edit menu
to set the speed of the rolls
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you can also quickly access this tool by
pressing alt and you
so
now that you've seen the basic
components and workflow of the hip-hop
sound there shouldn't be anything in the
way of you making your first hip-hop
beat