written by: us33
his site: mp3.com/US33


This is a guide to make beats with fruity loops. I will try to be basic and not get too complex. Hopefully this will get you on your way to making beats!

Now first off try familarize with the display. What each thing does and how it looks. I have a picture with everything circled telling you what each thing is. I will now give you some basic definitions on what each thing does.

Browser:
The browser is where you can find your samples, and load them up into Fruity. Most samples have to be in wav. So when you find samples off the net, or such put them in your "fruity loops" directory. Then you can load them up off the browser.

Step Sequencer:
This is the main part of fruity. This is where you make your "Beats" or melodies. Each square, when clicked will trigger the "sample" to play at that certain spot.

Keyboard:
When clicked it loads up a little thing similar to a keyboard. In this it is exactly like the step sequencer but now you can add "pitch" changes to make a beat. Just like when you play the keyboard. If you click higher on the scale the notes pitch will be higher. The lower you go the deeper they are.

Tempo:
This allows you to adjust the tempo. Most hip hop beats are between 75-120 BPM. I usually use a 85-95 bpm. This depends on the person.

Pattern:
This is how you can change patterns. Each pattern is like a seperate step sequencer. You make one pattern say on drums, the 2nd on a main melody etc. Later on you can mix them all together to make a wonderful beat!

Playlist
One the right side of the picture you see is the "playlist". This is where you can trigger each pattern. So if you want to start with just the melody. Make a click on the box by the melody. I won't get into the musical lingo. But the more boxes you check the longer the beat will be. If you want to add the drums over the melody then click on the box that is the pattern of your drums. You can rename the patterns as I did.

Now to make a beat
Simply load up some samples. Usually it's some kicks, snare, hi hats and some other instrument. For this example we will say it is a piano. Once you load them up start playing around. Make a melody out of your main instrument on pattern 1. Once you like what you hear, switch to pattern two. Now make a drum pattern. Continue to do this until you are satisfied.

Once you are completed it is time to use the "playlist". Here you make your choice when to trigger each pattern. Remember not to play the same melody over and over again as it tires the listener. Once you done that and you like what you hear. Save it as a MP3 or a Wav or anything you want!

Congratulations you have finished your first beat.