Forbidden Fruity

How to make music (Welcome)

2020-06-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Forbidden Fruity, a new FL Studio blog – magazine style - that aims at teaching you how to compose cool electronic music (dance, trance) with nothing more than your computer, FL Studio and a little creativity.

"I found that composing electronic music with FL Studio is a great way to express myself and/or to wind down after a stressful day. While composing I truly relax and you know what? Anyone can do it! No knowledge of music theory is required. You do not have to be able to read notes. No way!"

If you have a computer, enjoy listening to music and always thought that composing yourself was utopia, you arrived at the right place!

I suggest you check out the menu on the right. There are many tutorials ranging from simple to advanced. At the bottom of the list of tutorials you find some you could call the ‘getting started’ articles. They are specifically aimed at the beginner and will quickly set you up for some serious composing.

Another suggestion is to signup by following Subscribe in the menu. If you enter your email address you will receive my posts in your inbox automatically!

Happy composing and feel free to leave comments!

FL Studio Tutorial: Slice Your Beats With Fruity Slicer

2010-08-08T07:45:00.001-07:00

FL Studio Tutorial explaining the Fruity Slicer.

The Fruity Slicer is a neat little plugin for slicing (beat) samples/loops into segments that are independently playable from the Piano roll or a controller. With a little creativity you can achieve really cool results.

For example, in addition to slicing beat samples you can also use it to create stutter and other effects for vocals or to slice and re-arrange entire songs.

I will not be able to explain everything in a single tutorial, but I do hope that reading this article will inspire you to do something different next time and spice up your composition with the Fruity Slicer.

Fruity Slicer

You can add the Fruity Slicer plugin via the Channels menu in the Main Menu Bar.

Once you have added the Fruity Slicer, you can add a sample via the Load sample… option in the Sample menu. See below:

Browse to the sample of your choice and load it. For the purpose of this tutorial I will load a beat (dance) sample. Later I will load some vocal samples and even and entire song. But let’s not rush. First we need to understand some of the basics.

Note that you can also add a sample directly to the Fruity Slicer, by right-clicking the sample in the Browser and choosing Open in new Fruity Slicer channel. See below:

The sliced sample

Immediately after you load a sample, Fruity Slicer will slice it into segments (slices) and dump a score to the Piano Roll. See below:

To play the score in the Piano Roll, simply click the Play/Pause button on the Step Sequencer:

On the Fruity Slicer plugin, you can play each slice individually by selecting the slice in the slicer preview screen (1) and then clicking the slice in the slice properties view (2). Even simpler, you can right-click the slice in the slicer preview screen (1). See below:

You may now understand that you can program a completely new groove based on the individual slices. For example, have a look at the Piano Roll og the Fruity Slicer channel below:

You can see that each slice (from #1 to #8) is triggered by a different root note. Given this, I programmed a new beat pattern that uses the beats from the original sample. I suggest that you try this yourself. Load a sample and play around a bit with the individual slices and program a new beat.

Now, let’s talk a bit about how the Fruity Slicer determines where to slice the sample.

Fruity Slicer uses a beat detection algorithm to slice the sample into pieces so that you can play the beats independently in the Piano Roll. If the sample contains slice/region data, however, the sample will be sliced automatically without the use of the algorithm. Either way, it is possible to ajust the slicing afterwards. We can remove and split slices manually in the slice properties screen (2) or we can select a method to (re)slice the sample from the Beat slicer button.

Remove/split slices manually

You can remove and split slices by selecting the slice you want to remove or split in the slicer preview screen (1) and then right-clicking in the slice properties view (2). See below:

Removing a slice (e.g. the third slice in the example above) will have the following effect:

In other words, the third slice is merged with the second slice.

Now, adding a slice is done in a similar manner. Select the slice you want to split and then – in the slice properties window – right-click at the exact position where you want the slice to be split. In the menu choose Split slice.

Note that any change is automatically reflected in the Piano Roll as long as the Auto-Dump feature is enabled. See below:

Be careful with this. You may have programmed something cool in the Piano Roll, but any action in the Fruity Slicer plugin will immediately influence the Piano Roll pattern (and maybe completely reset it) if this option has been enabled.

Slicing via the Beat slicer menu

We can also let Fruity Slicer add slices using a specific method. This is done via one of the options in the Beat slicer menu. See below:

The first three options (Dull auto-slicing, Medium auto-slicing and Sharp auto-slicing) are the options for auto-slicing the sample with three predefined values for the slice thresholds (they affect how fine grained the sample is sliced). To understand this select each of the three options and look at the settings for the Low and High threshold knobs at the bottom of the plugin.

In the screenshot shown above I selected the Sharp auto-slicing option. As you can see, the Low and High threshold knobs have changed position (compared to the default Medium auto-slicing settings). Now, you can also affect the slicing yourself by simply turning the knobs. Doing this will immediately affect the slicing in the slicer preview screen.

The next five options (1/6, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 beat and Beat) will divide the sample in beat quantized slices regardless of the content (beat detecting algorithm is not used). For instance, selecting 1/6 will have the following effect.

To remove all slices (no slicing) use the No slicing option.

Adjusting slices

Individual slices can also be adjusted via the pitch (1), time stretch (2), attack (3), decay (4) controls. See below:

Instead of explaining this in detail, I suggest you simply play around with these controls a bit and listen to the effect that they have. Try this in combination with the stretching method options in the Beat slicer menu (Fill gaps, Alternate fill gaps, etc.).

Naturally, the pitch is something that you will really need to use if you slice vocal samples (for example).

Adjusting the tempo

More often than not, you have a song with a specific bpm (beats per minute) and a sample with a different bpm. To adjust the bpm of the original sample, use the BPM/Beats controls on the Fruity Slicer plugin. See below:

Simply move your mouse over the control until it changes into a double arrow, then left-click and move the mouse up or down (holding down the mouse button).

Using the Fruity Slicer with vocal samples

Ok, I think we have come to the point where we should have some fun with a vocal sample (merely summing up menu options is a bit boring in the long run, isn’t it?). Also, it will further illustrate what you can achieve with the Fruity Slicer.

A cool vocal element in your composition can really spice up your song. For example, the repetative (stuttering) vocal effect (with optional delays and reverbs) is quite a common element. To illustrate how you can achieve something like this with the Fruity Slicer, I load the following vocal sample in the Fruity Slicer plugin:

Now, immediately upon loading, the sample is sliced (and dumped to the Piano Roll) as shown below:

Via the Dump beat to piano roll button we can re-arrange the pattern in the Piano Roll.

Try for example the Reverse, Random and Flatten options. They rearrange the pattern to play the slices in reversed order (Reverse), create a random pattern (a different pattern each time you select the Random option) and a flat pattern (Flatten) respectively. I guarantee you instant inspiration when you use those - and other - options in this menu. Of course, you can use those on beat samples as well and not only on vocal samples.

No matter how crazy it gets, you can always get back to the normal pattern by selecting the Normal option.

But I want to show you something different.

You can drag and drop indiviual slices onto the Step Sequencer. Simply select the slice you want to drag and drop in the Slice preview screen (1), left-click the slice in the Slice properties view (2) and drag (while you hold down the mouse button) the slice to your Step Sequencer (3). Release the mouse button when you are hovering over the Step Sequencer (4). See below:

What this does is create a new Audio channel with the slice as the sample. In the screenshot below you can see that I have dumped all six slices onto my Step Sequencer.

The cool thing about this is that I can assign each Audio channel to a different mixer track. This opens up a whole range of new possibilities, don’t you agree? To make a long story, a bit shorter, look at the Step Sequencer below:

In a matter of minutes I programmed my vocal patterns, effects, basic groove and a pad. After a bit more tuning, I came up with the following:

Ok, I know it is not a full blown composition, but I think you get my point. Slicing vocal samples using the Fruity Slicer and then dumping them onto the Step Sequencer gives you some really cool options.

Slicing and re-arranging an entire song

Now, what applies to a small loop/sample, applies to an entire song as well. In other words, you can load one of your existing compositions (e.g. in MP3 format) in the Fruity Slicer and re-arrange the different bits and pieces.

But I will save that for another tutorial.

That was all for this time! As always, there is much more to tell, but my main objective is to give you some new insights and inspiration, not to describe every little feature in detail. A second reason is that my eyes hurt. Anyway, happy composing and see you hopefully in the next tutorial :)

The Best Online Music Sources

2010-08-05T13:59:00.001-07:00

The best tools and sites for free streaming music.

In this article I’d like to list some of the best music sources on the Web. The number of sites that offer streaming music has really exploded in recent years – as the online music revolution is unfolding with lightening speed. It is easier than ever to start your own radio station. Quantity does not equal quality so to say, but I found some really cool sites and tools.

But rather than being an exhaustive list (creating such a list would be a daunting and sheer impossible task), the list illustrates the various ways streaming music is made available. You may know some of the sites and tools already. Others may be new to you. Anyway, if you know a cool site or tool for free streaming music, feel free to contribute by leaving a comment.

Streaming music comes in various flavors. You have the online radio stations where you just tune in and out like a convential radio station. Then there are the on demand music sites where you simply search for songs and play them when and in the order you like. Also, you can distinguish between visiting the station’s actual website or accessing online music through a dedicated music player (that you have to install on your computer) or online directory of stations. Some sites show advertisements, others don’t. Some require payment whereas others (most) don’t.

www.grooveshark.com

Grooveshark is an internationally available free music search and recommendation website. Users can search, stream, upload and share music. Songs can be played immediately or be added to a playlist. As such, Grooveshark is an on demand music service, but they have a really cool ‘radio’ feature. This is actually not an online radio station, but a recommendation system that streams music according to your music taste. For example, if I start a playlist with trance songs, then pressing the radio button will make Grooveshark stream one (trance) song after another to me. While listening I can cast a vote (whether i like the song or not). Also, I can add the song to one of my playlists.

I found Grooveshark to be one of the coolest and easiest sites for on demand music. The interface is very user friendly. Your favourite songs are very easy to find and you have created your first playlist in a matter of minutes. And then you just press the radio button and sit back and relax. And if you want to download (buy) the music there is an easy link to either Amazon or iTunes.

Also, you can search (and connec to) other people, play their playlists, etc.

www.shoutcast.com

Shoutcast is not a radio station or a website that offers on demand music. It is a directory of shoutcast servers. Shoutcast is the cross-platform software for streaming music over the internet and enables the creation of internet radio stations.

Shoutcast is so interesting because it gives you access to a huge number of stations (more that 40,000) via a single web interface. Actually, some of the stations I mention further down this list can be accessed and streamed directly from Shoutcast (somafm and pulsradio).

What I also like about Shoutcast is the fact that they list the number of listeners (you can sort on that). Also, the search function is simple and fast.

www.somafm.com

Somafm is a classic internet radio station. It is quite unique in that it is a listener supported broadcaster. Based in San Fransisco they offer 19 channels of commercial free, underground/alternative radio.

I really recommend that you visit this website. Alternatively, find them on Shoutcast via this link: http://www.shoutcast.com/Internet-Radio/somafm

www.radiosure.com

RadioSure is neither an on demand music site nor a radio station. Instead it is a free dedicated music application that allows you to search for and stream radio stations (they say there are more than 12,000). What makes this application special is that you can record the streams directly to MP3 files, neatly split up by station and song. It really works remarkably well. You simply tune in to your favourite station and press the record button. Come back 4 hours later and you have your harddisk full of MP3’s.

From their website you can download and install skins to give your RadioSure player a fresh new interface.

www.meemix.com

You all know the ‘hot or not’ rating system right? Those where you can rate pictures of people on – let’s say – a scale from 1 to 10. Meemix is similar in a way, but here you cast your ‘hot or not’ vote for the streaming music.

It is an interesting concept. What Meemix allows you to do is create one or more channels – e.g. based on music style. They then start streaming music. Your ‘hot or not’ votes are constantly used to adjust the music that is streamed. You can also affect the music by adjusting a few parameters, such as ‘pulse’ (relaxing music or party time beats), ‘atmosphere’ (from dark to light) and ‘surprise me’ (the higher you set this the more suprises Meemix throws into the mix).

In this way you really create your own personal radio station that only streams music according to your personal taste. Sites like Grooveshark have similar features of course, but Meemix has given it a nice twist. The site’s whole community network feature is centered around these user created channels. In other words, people can subscribe to eachother’s channels. This means that Meemix has a large selection of channels to choose from – for every taste.

As far as my personal taste is concerned, the interface is a little too much Nintendo Wii-like for me. But I am sure Meemix will appeal to some people.

www.pulsradio.com

Pulsradio is a non stop Dance and Trance site. It’s french, but I really enjoy listening to it. Rather than visiting the site, I usually access it through Shoutcast here: http://www.shoutcast.com/Internet-Radio/pulsradio

Alternatively you can download (and install) a dedicated music player: http://www.pulsradio.com/pulsplayer.exe

Other populare sites

Rather than describing all stations one by one, here’s a list with some other popular music sites:

www.last.fm – popular site centered around bands/artists and fans. You can create a libraries, playlists, connect with friends, join groups, check out people with similar music tastes, etc.

www.spotify.com – only available in select countries

www.pandora.com – only available in the US.

Conclusion

As I said in the introduction, the online music revolution is unfolding with lightening speed. There is so much music available in so many different ways. And the landscape changes constantly. Who knows where we are in just five years from now?

Again, rather than providing an exhaustive list of stations, I hope this article is interesting for some of you. At least I hope it shows what is available on the Web as we speak.

I am absolutely sure I have missed some things here. So, if you think ‘hey dude..how could you have missed this and that station, site or tool’ then please leave me a comment.

Thanks for reading! It was not the usual FL Studio tutorial this time, but more of those later.

FL Studio Tutorial: Noise Reduction

2010-07-29T10:50:00.001-07:00

FL Studio tutorial explaining how to hide noise.

Hiding background noise from sounds and samples is an important step towards a clean, crisp sounding mix. Even if you do not or hardly notice the little bit of noise in your sounds, it is simply good practice to remove it as the problem is quickly magnified when dealing with multiple tracks. The accumulated noise can go well beyond the audible and turn your mix into a muddy, blurred blend.

By utilizing so called noise gates, we can manage the noise on a track. The purpose is not to remove the noise from the sound (once noise is part of a sound it is hard to remove it), but rather to hide it during quiet sections where the track would otherwise only contribute with unnecessary noise.

Simply put, a noise gate allows a sound to pass when it is above a certain threshold (the noise gate is open). If the sound is below the threshold, the sound is not let through (the noise gate is closed). See the illustration below:

The red line represents the input signal. As long as it is below the threshold value (the gray line), the noise gate is closed (see the green line for the output signal). When the input signal exceeds the threshold, the noise gate opens. How fast it opens depends on the attack setting. Similarly, when the input signal falls below the threshold value, the gate closes. How fast it closes, depends on the release setting.

In FL Studio you have a few options when it comes to noise gates, most notably the Fruity Limiter. But also the fruity Love Philter can be used for this purpose.

Fruity Limiter

To illustrate the Fruity Limiter noise gating capabilities, first add an Audio clip to the Step Sequencer and load the FLS_OhYeah.wav sample, which you find in your FL Studio folder under Data\Patches\Packs\Vocals. See below:

Next, place a few clips to the Playlist and play the song.

You will clearly hear a noise at the end of the sample (where you hear the word ‘yeah’). Make sure to listen to it a couple of times so you know what I am referring to.

Now, this is the unwanted noise that we will attempt to suppress using the Fruity Limiter. Go to the Mixer and add the Fruity Limiter to the first FX slot of the master track. See below:

Note: It is better practice not to use the master track unless you want an effect to be applied to all sounds in your project (all sounds are routed to the master track). For simplicity’s sake, I use the master track here.

The Fruity Limiter is a compressor, limiter and noise gate in one. What we will focus on is the basic noise gate functionality that it offers via the controls shown below:

If the Thresh (threshold) control is turned entirely to the left (no threshold), the noise gate function is effectively switched off. If you play the song, the Fruity Limiter will show something like this:

Note: Make sure the Loudness Gain and Ceil (Ceiling) controls are set to similar levels as in the screenshot to avoid the limiter function to kick in.

In this state, you will still hear the noise at the end of the ‘yeah’. But let’s increase the threshold a bit and play our song again. See below:

Note: Make sure to turn the Noise gate Gain control entirely to the left (as shown above).

If you use a similar threshold as in the above screenshot you should really be able to notice the reduction in noise at the end of the vocal clip!

The Rel (release) control will also have an effect. As discussed, the release controls how fast the gate closes when the input signal falls below the threshold. If you set this too high, you will still hear the noise in the output signal as the gate simply does not close fast enough. If it is low the gate will close abruptly giving a less smooth transition.

Finally, with the Gain control you can adjust the signal passing through the gate when it is closed, but for our noise reduction exercise we are not really interested in boosting the signal. We want to suppress it completely.

Fruity Love Philter

The Fruity Love Philter is a feature-rich filter plugin that allows for creating really complex filtering and gating effects (it has 8 filter units, where each unit can feed its output into the next). What we will discuss here, however, is how to use the plugin as a basic noise gate.

Add the Fruity Love Philter in the second FX slot of the master track in the Mixer. Also, make sure to disable FX slot that contains the Fruity Limiter. See below:

Next, select the ‘Basic noise gate’ preset from the FX slot options menu.

The Fruity Love Philter will show the following:

It would go (far) beyond the scope of this tutorial to discuss every feature and control of the plugin. Nevertheless, let us have a look at some of the relevant aspects.

First of all, let’s talk a bit about the IEF (input envelope follower). IEF is a feature where the input signal is converted into a controller signal. Simply put, the louder the input signal the bigger the IEF signal. While not giving any visual feedback (unfortunately), the IEF controller signal moves up and down the horizontal scale you see at the bottom of the filter. See below:

Now, the interesting thing is that this IEF can function as a modulator source of a modulator target. In other words, we can let the level of the IEF control a target, such as the volume. See below:

As you can see in the screenshot above the IEF has been selected as the source and Vol (Volume) as the target.

But how exactly does the IEF affect the volume? Well, that depends on the graph above the IEF scale. As you can see, the line starts at 0% (volume of the output signal is reduced to 0) and quickly rises to 100% (volume of the output signal is unaffected). The way to interpret this is that at low input (IEF) signal levels the output signal is muted. When the input (IEF) signal exceeds a certain level (threshold), the output signal is unaffected. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? This is a noise gate effect. See also below:

Listen to the song and determine whether the noise gate has the desired effect. Most likely, you want to tweak things a bit and for this we have threshold, attack and release at our disposal.

With respect to the threshold, you can change this in two ways. By changing the graph or by changing the Envelope Follower Level slider.

Let’s first have a look at the graph. The way that you can manipulate it is very similar to the way you manipulate automation clips. You can move control points, add and delete control points, etc. In the screenshot shown below you can see that I have moved the threshold up a bit (I also added one control point to make sure the change in volume is abrupt).

With respect to the Envelope Follower Level slider (the rightmost slider on the plugin labelled IEF), what this one does is transpose the IEF scale to higher or lower dB ranges. Now, with a fixed graph, transposing the scale up or down will effectively be the same as changing the threshold (the threshold in the graph will be at a different dB level if you change the position of the Envelope Follower Level slider. Try this out while you play the song.

From the introduction you know that attack and release determine how fast the gate opens and closes. The controls for this can be found on the right side of the plugin. See below:

The best way to learn how the various settings influence the noise gate is by trying. Unlike the Fruity Limiter, there is no visual feedback so you have to do it by listening carefully to the output sound (which is actually the preferred way to work on your sounds).

Conclusion

We have seen that removing noise from your sounds is important in order to achieve a clean mix. Noise gates can help us to do this.

Both the Fruity Limiter and Fruity Love Philter offer a noise gate. Which one you want to use is first of all a matter of taste, but either way, make it a habit to reduce the noise in your compositions!

Free MIDI Chord Progressions

2010-06-27T13:04:00.001-07:00

Check out www.midichords.com, a cool new site where you can browse, play and download free MIDI chord progressions. Once you got them on your computer you are pretty much free to do whatever you want with them (even use them commercially). In addition to downloading progressions, you can share your own progressions with other members, comment on chord progressions, add them to your favourites, email them to your friends, etc.

In other words, a great resource for chord progressions. Check it out!

By the way, in FL Studio you can import such MIDI files easily using the File | Import | MIDI file… option.

The Sensitive Female Chord Progression

2010-04-25T08:59:00.001-07:00

FL Studio tutorial explaining the Sensitive Female Chord Progression.

Ever heard of the Sensitive Female Chord Progression? The Sensitive Female Chord Progression (SFCP) is a chord progression that starts with the minor six (vi) and then moves to the major four (IV), the major one (I) and the major five (V). For example, the progression in C-major would be:

You probably wonder, why on earth dedicate an entire article to a single chord progression? Good question. I just find the name intriguing and did some research. Now I simply want to share on Forbidden Fruity what I have learned.

The progression was noticed in a number of songs by Boston Globe columnist Marc Hirsh. He named it SFCP because he claimed it was used by many members of the Lilith Fair – a traveling music festival with solely female solo artists and female-led bands. Now, the progression is quite popular (one of the most common in pop and rock music today) and not only used by (sensitive) females - also angry old men use it. If you want to see a list with artists who use it, see http://sixfouronefive.blogspot.com/2009/01/song-list.html

Basshunters "All I Ever Wanted" is also on the list. I wrote about this song and the chord progression used in it in this tutorial: Composing chord progressions (like Basshunter)

In that FL Studio tutorial you can see the following progression (based on E-major):

Indeed, this progression starts with a minor six (vi) and the moves to the major four (IV), the major one (I) and the major five (V).

For fun, I created a small intro (far from complete, so bear with me) that uses the Am, F, C, G progression. You can listen to it using the player below. You’ll clearly hear the progression 40 secs into the song.

Note that the progression uses chord inversions to make the chord transitions as smooth as possible. I’ll not explain about chord inversions here, but you can download the MIDI file of the progression via the link below. Simply import it into your project (File | Import | MIDI file) and voila, you can have some fun with it!

Download Am-F-C-G (MIDI)

10 Cool FL Studio Tricks You Aren’t Using

2010-04-24T08:35:00.001-07:00

FL Studio keeps amazing me. It’s an intuitive, easy to use DAW. But even after years of using it, I keep discovering neat and cool features that make things even easier! In this article I’ve collected some of the most useful features pertaining to the general interface (so not those related to specific plugins). You may know some of them already, but I hope that there’s something in the list for everyone. I could easily have written ‘100 Cool FL Studio Tricks You Aren’t Using’, but that is not really practical (apart from the fact that the sun is shining today and that I want to go for a walk). If you have some tips/tricks to share then do not hesitate to drop me a comment. I will definitely keep posting about these often overseen features that make life easier once you master them.

Ghost Channels

If you check the Ghost channels option in the Piano roll options menu, you will see the (greyed out) patterns from other channels that are in the same track. I find this especially useful when programming chord progressions using a specific scale as well as programming leads over a chord progression.

For example, if I load/program a scale in one channel (reFX Nexus)…

…open the Piano Roll for my second channel (reFX Nexus #2)…

…and then select Helpers | Ghost channels in the Piano roll options menu, the Piano Roll view will be like this:

In other words, I can now ‘draw’ my pattern on top of the greyed out note events. In this way I know I stick to the notes that are ‘allowed’.

Adjusting note events

You can quickly adjust the horizontal position of your note event by moving the mouse pointer close to a note event and then using SHIFT + scroll wheel (or mouse wheel).

Likewise, by using ALT + scroll wheel you can adjust the currently selected note property (like velocity, panning, etc.).

Note that you can apply the same to a selection of note events.

Rescaling scores

You can rescale a score by selecting the pattern in the Piano Roll and resizing while holding down the SHIFT key.

This is an excellent trick for making a recorded score fit .

Using color groups

You can assign a color group/MIDI channel to note events. Once you have done this you can easily select all notes with a certain color group/MIDI channel.

First, select the note events you want to assign a color group:

Then, pick a color group:

Press ALT-C and the selected note events are assigned the color group you picked.

Now, to quickly select the note events with a given color group, select the color group (as shown above) and press SHIFT-C.

Undo

Just in case you wondered guys, CTRL-ALT-Z can be used for sequentially undoing multiple changes (CTRL-Z is only for undoing/redoing the last change).

Browser Snapshots

Open your favourite folder(s) in the Browser:

In the Current snapshot menu, select Frozen:

If you want you can rename the snapshot by right-clicking the snapshot name (Snap 1 in the screenshot) and entering a new name:

Now, regardless of the state of your Browser, if you press 1..5, the Browser shows the state assigned to that snapshot.

Selecting/deselecting note events

I am sure you know how to select note events. Using the Select tool you can simply draw a box around the notes you want to select or you can simply click a single note event to select it.

By holding down the SHIFT key while selecting you can add note events to your already selected note events.

To deselect (subtract) note events from a selection, simply click on a selected note event (the one that you want to remove from the selection) and start drawing your box – still holding down the SHIFT key.

Transposing a score

There are several methods that you can use to quickly transpose a score. The most obvious one is simply selecting the score (or the note events you want to transpose) and move them vertically.

To move an entire score up or down one semitone, use SHIFT + UpArrow/DownArrow. Using CTRL+UpArrow/DownArrow will transpose the score up or down by 1 octave.

Using Markers

To create a marker select a number of bars…

…press ALT-T (adds a marker to the beginning of the selected area) and enter the marker name:

To jump between markers, simply press ‘.’ (dot) on the numpad.

To jump between markers and select the bars between the selected marker and the next, use CTRL+’.’ (again on the numpad).

Trick #10

This one is still open. If you have a good tip/trick to share, drop me a comment.

The Best FL Studio Tutorials

2010-04-18T08:07:00.001-07:00

The Best FL Studio Tutorials

Ok guys and girls, I need a bit of help. Forbidden Fruity is all about FL Studio tutorials…and tutorials…and tutorials… The more the better I would argue. But it is not only about quantity. Quality counts and relevance as well. Talking about relevance, I’d like to ask you to participate in a little poll. It is simply a tool for me to find out what type of tutorials and articles you would like to see more of on the blog. Looking at the blog’s stats, I notice that there is quite an interest in music theory related articles – i.e. articles about notes, scales, chords and chord progressions, melodies and motives, etc. But also in tutorials that explain on board plugins such as the granulizer, arpeggiator, fpc (fruity pad controller), etc., are read quite frequently.

Rather than making conclusions based on those stats, I’d like to ask you directly. If you enjoy Forbidden Fruity and have a few minutes to spare, you’d do me a favour by participating in the poll you see below. Note that you can select up to 3 lines and that you are allowed to add your own suggestion as well (and feel free to add comments if you need more space). With your input Forbidden Fruity will continue to grow with only the best FL Studio Tutorials!

Music Theory for Computer Musicians

2010-04-16T02:37:00.001-07:00

OK, aspiring composers, if there is one book I recommend reading it is ‘Music Theory for Computer Musicians’. This excellent book gives you essential insights in music theory.

Personally, I started composing using my favourite DAW (which happens to be FL Studio, but that is beside the point) without much knowledge of music theory. Sure, I had heard of notes and chords and I also knew by experience that some notes, when combined, sound pleasant while other combinations seem to have descended from h*ll. Everytime I started to compose a new song I pseudo randomly places notes and started to move them around until I got something I liked. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing woring with composing music this way. I know some people who compose amazing music without any grasp of music theory.

Frustrated and curious as I was, I started to read bits and pieces of music theory and it really opened up my eyes (and ears for that matter!). With knowledge of music theory in my back pocket, I now understand why certain notes sound well together and why others don’t. Also, I now know how to create effective chord progressions and melodies that adhere to a specific mood that I want my songs to express. I know about scales, and keys and sharps and flats and triads and inversions and all those things that once kept me scratching my head. But believe me, it is worthwhile to learn some of the basics and it really isn’t all that difficult. If I can learn it, then you can too! By the way, I only know the basics (music theory is very broad and covers many different aspects of music) – but it has revolutionized the way I compose.

Also, when I now listen to the likes of Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk, Deadmau5, Ferry Corsten, Sander van Doorn – any trance song – I understand some of the simple rules they used to create that unique trance groove and atmosphere that I have come to love so much. Again, it isn’t all that difficult. Naturally, to become a top trance producer you need more skills. You need skills, talent, the right gear and tools and you need to work hard to constantly push your own bounderies. But somehow, understanding some aspects of music theory, gives me the confidence to continue and keep working on improving my music.

Back to the book, it really is a great source and reference. It starts with explaining the characteristics/properties of sound (what is sound?). It then introduces notes, scales (major, minor, etc,), rythm, tempo and note lengths, chords, melodies and motives and much much more. What is useful is that every chapter ends with a few exercises that can really help you remembering the things you’ve read.

If you are convinced and want to buy the book, you can do that on Amazon.com. Just click on the book cover shown below.

Visit the Forbidden Fruity Store for more cool products!

FL Studio Tutorial: The FL Studio FPC (Fruity Pad Controller)

2010-04-11T07:26:00.001-07:00

FL Studio tutorial explaining the FPC

One of the most ignored on board plugins is the FPC (which stands for Fruity Pad Controller). Ignored by me that is. I’ve looked at the plugin several times, but usually - after fiddling with it for some time - I deleted it from my project and moved on to ‘easier ways’ to program my beat. ‘Easier ways’ does not necessarily mean ‘better ways’, so once again I decided to leave the path of least resistance and have a close look at the FPC. Maybe it had some hidden features that – once revealed – would benefit me when composing songs.

This tutorial is an introduction to the FPC. While it does not discuss every single control or feature, it should give you a good grasp of what the FPC is and how you can use it in your projects.

What is the FPC

FPC is a multi-layer/velocity drum machine for creating, editing and swapping drum kits. It supports 16 multi layered patches (bank A and B). That’s what the help file says. In my own words, the FPC allows you to collect and combine percussion samples (in so called drum kits) and it effectively enables you to program your entire beat using a single channel. For instance, in a single drum kit you could have matching samples (patches) for the kick drum, snare drum, open hihat, closed hihat, crash, shakers, etc. In the piano roll you can then program the entire rythmic groove for your composition using those samples. See the screenshot below:

Now, the good thing is that the FPC comes with a few presets (drum kits that contain samples for kick drum, snare drum, etc.) so you can get started right away. To make things really really easy, the FPC has loads of percussion patterns (for every possible genre) that load directly into your Piano Roll. The pattern you see in the above screenshot is one of those percussion patterns that ship with the FPC.

It is also possible to download additional drum kits, some of which are free of charge. Others require you to swipe your credit card (figuratively speaking).

You can also create your own drum kits, which allows you to combine your own preferred samples into one kit. It is especially this last option that opens up for some interesting possibilities – as we will see later in this tutorial.

Anyway, let’s dig a bit deeper.

The Interface

See below for the main interface of the FPC.

Adding the FPC

To add the FPC, choose FPC under Channels | Add one in the main menu. See below:

The FPC plugin will now load in a new channel.

By default, the drum kit that is loaded is the one with the name ‘Default’ (yeah, that makes sense). To switch between drum kit presets, use the Plugin options menu as shown below:

Default, Gretch Full and Tama have samples, Empty gives you an empty FPC with no samples (a good starting point for creating your own drum kit).

Cool, let’s play around with it a bit.

The Pads

If you click on a pad, it will turn blue and you will hear the sample.

Now, the vertical position on the pad determines the samples velocity. See below:

Try clicking several times at different vertical positions and you will understand what I am talking about. Now, the FPC supports multi layered samples that play dependent on the velocity. For example, if you left-click the upper left pad (in the Default drum kit), you will see the following in the Layer Properties:

What this means is that there are 3 different samples for the same pad. Those samples play at different velocity ranges – which is controlled by the sliders. I suggest you try to click the same pad again, at different vertical positions. You will see and hear that different samples play depending on where you click. Also, feel free to adjust the sliders and see what effect it has.

Much more can be said about the Layer Properties, but I will save that for some other time.

You can see that every Pad has a few buttons.

These buttons allow you to switch between (and load) different Pad presets (sample/layer presets) – if available. This means that every Pad within a single Drum Kit can have multiple sample/layer presets. Only one Pad preset can be loaded at any given time however.

To summarize:

In the FPC you can have one drum kit loaded
A drum kit has 16 pads in Bank A and Bank B
A single pad can be multi layered, which means that multiple samples can play at different velocities
A single pad can have multiple pad presets, which are sample/layer settings. Only one can be loaded at any given time.

Patterns

The cool thing with the FPC is that it is very easy to get some patterns to play in the Piano Roll. To achieve this, simply use the Pattern Manager:

You can use the Previous MIDI drum loop (left-arrow) and Next MIDI drum loop (right-arrow) buttons to walk through all the patterns. Alternatively, you can click the Open MIDI drum loop (file open) button to load a patters or click the Loop options (arrow-down) button and select a pattern from the enormous menu:

Selecting a pattern will immediately dump the pattern in the Piano Roll. I suggest you Play your song (in Pattern mode) and select different patterns to understand the effect of it.

Naturally, you can also program your own pattern directly in the Piano Roll, but I think the predefined patterns are a great help in program the groove that fits your composition.

Downloading Drum Kits

To download additional drum kits, use the Download additional drumkits button (arrow down – Download Manager).

In the screen shot shown above you can see that I downloaded some (free) drum kits (from the Online drum kits). I am not going to explain in detail how it works, as it is pretty self explanatory. Just browse through the Online drum kits. If you see one that you want to download, just double click it. If it is a free drum kit download will start immediately. See below:

Creating your own Drum Kit

There are a couple of different drum kits that you could create. I’ve baptized them ‘horizontal drum kit’ and ‘vertical drum kit’. The vertical drum kit contains samples for the most common percussion instruments, such as kick drum, snare drum, hihats, crash, cymbals, shakers, etc. In other words, such a drum kit allows me to program my entire rythmic groove in a single FPC channel (as I have all the samples I need right?). The Default drum kit is such a vertical drum kit.

A horizontal drum kit contains many different samples of the same percussion instrument (such as the kick drum). In other words, it will not allow me to program my entire rythmic groove, but has many different versions of a kick drum that I can switch between. With horizontal drum kits, I would need multiple FPC channels to program the entire groove (one for the kick drum, one for the snare drum, one for the close hihat, etc.).

Now why on earth would I go through the hassle of having multiple horizontal drum kits if I can collect all samples I need in a single drum kit? That’s a good question. The thing is that ‘what samples I need’ is typically determined when I am programming and listening to my groove. Being able to switch quickly between different versions of a kick drum (or open hihat, snare drum, etc.) makes it much easier for me to quickly find the matching timbres and create that absolutely vital groove for my composition.

Let me illustrate. Below you can see that I am loading a horizontal drum kit that I created (ForbiddenFruity-Kicks):

I will explain how you can create your own drum kits in a minute, but with this drum kit loaded, have a look at the piano roll.

I’ve programmed my kick drum pattern and by shifting the pattern up or down I can choose the kick drum sample that I want to use directly in the Piano Roll! This makes it really easy to walk through the different samples while I am playing my song – to find the matching kick drum.

I find this so easy and straightforward that I am not only collecting and creating my own percussion samples (WAV files), I have actually started to create horizontal drum kits in the FPC. Every time I want to program a rythmic groove, I create several FPC channels, each loaded with its own horizontal drum kit (kick drum, hihats, snare drum, etc.). From there I only work in the Piano Roll to switch samples, program my patterns.

Every drum kit has 32 Pads (bank A and B), so there is quite some space for loading your most favourite samples.

Create a drum kit

Ok, after this monologue (isn’t every post one big monologue), let me show you how to create a drum kit.

The easiest is to start with the Empty preset. See below:

This means that no samples have been loaded for any of the Pads.

Next, left click a pad and then click the Load sample button in Layer Properties:

A File Open dialog appears allowing you to find and load a sample (WAV file):

Select a sample and click Open. The sample will now be assigned to the Pad.

Next, you may want to change the name of the Pad. You can do this by right clicking the Pad name (Rim in the screenshot shown above) and entering a new name (press Enter when you have entered a new name).

Now, to assign samples to other Pads, left click them first and then follow the same procedure as described above. Again, you have a total of 32 Pads (bank A and B) to work with.

Note: You can also drag and drop samples (on a Pad) from the Browser.

To save the drum kit, use the Save preset as… option in the Plugin options menu. See below:

Give your drum kit a name and voila, you have your very own FPC preset for next time you start a project!

That was all for today. I hope this FL Studio tutorial has given you some new insights and ideas for your future projects. Happy composing!

Learn how to produce Trance with DMP’s Trance Producer Pack

2010-04-10T06:49:00.001-07:00

How to compose Trance music? Ever since I am proud owner of FL Studio, this question got me googling for books, articles and videos that would disclose the magic rules to me. There had to be loads of resources on the theme I figured.

I have to acknowledge, there really are a lot of bits and pieces out there, bits and pieces that have been (and still are and always will be) absolutely vital in becoming ever more skilled in composing music with my favourite DAW. If it were not for the online communities, the numerous blogs and online videos, I would never have mastered some of the methods and techniques I may now consider obvious and simple, but that once kept me scratching my head.

Having said that, I had a hard time finding resources that walked me through the entire production process of a trance track, from initial idea to the final mixing and mastering stage. I did have the bits and pieces, but nothing that glued everything together and showed me how to get from A to B.

Not long ago, however, I stumbled upon and purchased the ‘Trance Producer Pack’ from dancemusicproduction.com, which consists of two DVD’s with video sessions during which Rick Snoman and Jon Froggatt from Phiadra walk you through the entire production of their trance track ‘Sunset’, from initial idea to full blown production.

The first DVD (Trance) shows the production process of Sunset from blank sequencer to full blown production, after first discussing the ‘tools of the trade’, i.e. Phiadra’s preferred toolset as far as effects and processors are concerned.

Phiadra then shows you how they – fairly quickly – program their initial ideas. The reasoning behind this is that creativity comes in short waves or bursts, so during such creative moments you want to record as many ideas as possible without worrying too much about how things sound or the overall arrangement.

Now, with the initial (and quite simple) ideas in the sequencer, Phiadra then shows you that they spend a considerable amount of time on programming the drums and bass to create that absolutely vital groove for the composition. Subsequently, they work on getting the right sounds for the lead and the chords.

The DVD is never showing you exactly how to get this or that particular timbre using this or that generator or effect. But that is not its intention. What Phiadra does – and they should be applauded for that - is demystify the whole process of producing a trance track (there is no magic formula or secret guys!). They allow us to look them over the shoulder as they program their song.

After the hard work of getting the sounds for the bass, lead and chords right, they move on and add some more creative elements, such as the main lead and a catchy motif. Subsequently, with all the elements in place, Phiadra focusses on the arrangement and pre mix stages.

The second DVD (Mixing and Mastering) picks up where the first DVD ended. It starts with a look at the arrangement of Sunset before moving on to the mixing and mastering stages.

Conclusion

The DVD’s have many hours of material (filmed during the seven days it took for producing, mixing and mastering the track), and I consider it a ‘must have’ for everyone interested in the production process of trance tracks.

It would be incorrect to say that following the DVD’s will make you a professional trance track producer, but it can give you new insights and ideas. That’s what it did for me. Again, the purpose of the DVD’s are to show you the process rather than to explain you everything from A-Z (as Phiadra says ‘it is not paint by numbers’). Therefore it is highly recommended to have Rick Snoman’s The Dance Music Manual within reach as well (which can be obtained from dancemusicproduction.com as well), which discusses many aspects of dance music that are not further explained in the DVD’s.

While Phiadra uses Logic, the material is universal. As FL Studio user I had absolutely no problem in following along and grasping what they were doing. In fact, most of the time you are looking at Logic’s Piano Roll view. I am not familiar with Logic’s on board generators and some of the plugins Phiadra uses, but again, the DVD’s are not about giving precise instructions on how to get a particular sound. What you can easily follow however is how Phiadra layers their sounds and throws in certain effects and processors (delays, reverbs, filters, etc.) to get that professional timbre. I started doing some of the same things, carefully crafting each timbre with whatever I have available. And I have to give Rick and Jon the credit. The quality of my music already went up several notches.

You can find DMP’s web shop here: http://www.dancemusicproduction.com/shop/

Forbidden Fruity Link Buttons

2010-04-01T07:59:00.001-07:00

Ever since the dawning of Forbidden Fruity (sounds like the blog is really old, but it is still to celebrate its first year), popularity has been rising slowly but steadily. Being a private initiative, it is great to see that so many people enjoy the tutorials and use them to their advantage.

To make linking back to the blog as easy as possible, I’ve created a set of small headers (or buttons) that you can use on your own blog, website, in forum signatures or in any other place you like. So, if you enjoy forbidden fruity’s tutorials and would like to support the blog, then linking to it with one of the buttons shown below will be greatly appreciated.

To include a button, simply copy the html snippet under it and paste into your own html. That’s all! Thanks for your support!

FL Studio Tutorial: Composing Chord Progressions (like Basshunter)

2010-03-27T09:58:00.001-07:00

FL Studio Tutorial explaining chord progressions

An essential part of virtually every song is a so called chord progression (also called a harmonic progression). A chord is composed of harmonically related notes that (are perceived to) sound at the same time. Just play some random notes on your keyboard simultaneously and you have a chord. I am not claiming it sounds good though, but that is what we will work on in this tutorial: To find some good sounding chords and play them in a sequence (and repeatedly). These chords and the chord changes over time (the chord progression) are very important elements that contribute to the songs overall mood, rythm, etc.

In this tutorial I want to give you an introduction to making cool chord progressions.It does require some basic knowledge of music theory, but I hope that won’t scare you ;) We’ll keep it simple.

Before we continue, I would like to give you an example of a chord progression – in one of Basshunter’s songs.

The famous producer and singer-songwriter Basshunter (Jonas Erik Altbeg) from Sweden has been using FL Studio for many years. And with great success! His singles and albums stormed international charts, most notably the album ‘Now You’re Gone – The Album’, which topped the UK Album Charts for two weeks. The single ‘Now You’re Gone’ from the album even stayed at #1 in the UK Singles Chart for 5 weeks. His latest album is called ‘Bass Generation’.

Basshunter refers to his music as Eurodance. A style that is characterized by its strong beats and bass rythm, powerful melodic synths and vocals. And indeed, these are the elements that make Basshunters’ compositions so recognizable. His beat and bass rythms as well as the melodic synth leads tend to be simple, but are extremely effective with a strong sense of key, repetition and balance. And of course, Basshunter picks his chord progressions wisely.

Watch and listen to ‘All I Ever Wanted’ below (don’t get too distracted by the bikini clad babes though ;) Focus especially on the first 20 seconds where you clearly hear 4 piano chords (played twice).

(If you cannot see the video, then click this link All I Ever Wanted )

This skillfully crafted song is based on quite a simple chord progression. Now, it does not mean you constantly hear the progression, but lead vocals and synths are played over this progression and largely adhere to the notes of the individual chords. For the entire duration of the song.

Scales

Before we jump to the subject of chords and chord progressions, let’s talk a bit about scales. There are many different scales, but the most popular ones in modern western music are the Major and Minor scales. You can read more about it in the tutorial Scales, modes, chord progressions and lead synths - part I. I strongly recommend that you read that tutorial first if you are not familiar with the term ‘scale’.

Now, let’s focus on the major scale - C-major to be keep it simple(simple because it only involves the white keys – the naturals).

The notes in this scale are: C, D, E, F, G, A, B. See below:

After the 7th note B, the 8th note C marks the beginning of the next octave.

A more generic way to describe major scales is in terms of the whole-steps and half-steps between the notes (also explained in the tutorial mentioned above): W(hole) W(hole) H(alf) W(hole) W(hole) W(hole) H(alf). See also below:

Two half steps (or semitones) makes one whole step (or tone). The cool thing is that the W W H W W W H pattern/formula applies to every single major scale. So whether you start with C, D or A#, etc., it does not matter. As long as you follow the formula, you have your major scale.

Intervals

We have seen that a scale can be described in terms of:

The notes in the scale – e.g. consider C major, which has the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B.

And more generically:

The number of whole-steps and half-steps between the notes – e.g. the formula W W H W W W H for major scales.

Now, another concept that is used to describe scales (and chords and chord progressions) is the concept of Intervals. Intervals are defined by the major scale. For example, in the C major scale, the intervals are C=1, D=2, E=3, F=4, G=5, A=6, B=7 and the octave C=8 (octo means 8, this is where the name octave comes from). What applies to C major applies to other major scales as well. In other words, they consist of the intervals 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 - 7 and 8.

This numbering of notes is what is called the formula and the major scale is simply the reference point (it is the only scale that has 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 - 7 and 8 as its intervals). Other scales are described in terms of intervals that vary in structure compared to this reference.

I’m sure you wonder how and when such interval formulas are used.

Chords

As explained before, chords are notes that sound simultaneously. While any note may be combined with any other note, the most common chords are the so called triads, which are three note chords. Such triads consist of:

- The Root

- The Third (a third interval above the root)

- The Fifth (a fifth interval above the root)

Hey, that’s interesting. Chords seem to be described in terms of intervals. If we apply that principle to the first note of the C-major scale - note C - we get: C (root), E (a third above the root) and G (a fifth above the root).

You can take any note in the C major scale as your root note for such a triad. For example, if I were to start on note F, my triad would be: F (root), A (a third above the root) and C (a fifth above the root).

Given the 7 notes in scale, you can build exactly 7 of those triads:

C E G (called the tonic triad)
D F A
E G B
F A C
G B D
A C E
B D F

The above principle (root, third and fifth) applies to any major scale you happen to pick. What applies to C major also applies to D major, E major, etc. The only difference is that – depending on your scale – you have a different first (tonic) triad and your other triads may look different as well (different notes).

Major and minor triads

Triads can be major and minor. Major triads are triads where the third is 4 half-steps (semitones) from the root. Minor triads have a third that is only 3 half-steps (semitones) from the root.

Consider the tonic triad in C major: C E G. E is exactly 4 semitones above C. Count the number of red arrows (from C to E) in the illustration below.

Because there are 4 half-steps between C and E, the triad C E G is a major triad. Compare this with the number of half-steps between D and F. As there are only 3 of them, the triad D F A is a minor triad.

Now, the triads in the major scale are given the following roman numerals:

C E G = I
D F A = ii
E G B = iii
F A C = IV
G B D = V
A C E = vi
B D F = vii

Uppercase roman numeral if it is a major triad, lowercase if it is a minor triad. It follows that triads I, IV, V are major. Triads ii, iii, vi and vii are minor.

Minor triads tend to sound more solemn and sad than major triads and I suggest you simply try it out by playing all the triads listed above.

Chord progressions

Now, if I tell you the following…

For the song ‘All I Ever Wanted’, Basshunter picked the E major scale. He then created the following chord progression: vi –> IV –> I –> V

…then this should ring a bell.

Let’s see what notes we have in the E major scale and list the available triads, shall we?

The notes are: E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, and D♯

The triads:

E, G♯, B = I
F♯, A, C♯ = ii
G♯, B, D♯ = iii
A, C♯, E = IV
B, D♯, F♯ = V
C♯, E, G♯ = vi
D♯, F♯, A = vii

Interesting, Basshunter picked the chord progression: C♯, E, G♯ -> A, C♯, E –> E, G♯, B –> B, D♯, F♯. In other words, he starts with vi (minor triad), moves on to IV (major triad), continues with I (major triad) and finishes with V (major triad). And this progression is repeated throughout the song! See below for a screenshot of the Piano Roll in which I have drawn the progression on top of the (greyed out) E major scale:

I invite you to program the above and compare with the song on YouTube. Pretty close right? Then, add some kicks, bass and pads and voila! You have your own Basshunter song in FL Studio. You can experiment a bit with a lead as well.

Common chord progressions

Good chord progressions are not random. The main principle is that the tonic chord is the most important chord – built on the first degree (note/interval) of the scale. This tonic chord is the ‘home’ chord so to say and good chord progressions tend to arise from it and return to it in the end.

Another chord is the so called dominant chord and is always built on the 5th degree of the scale. Therefore, in the C major scale, the dominant chord is the G major triad. Yet another important chord is called the subdominant chord, which is built on the 4th degree of the scale. In the C major scale this is the F major triad.

Some common major scale chord progressions are:

The natural minor scale

The principles that apply to the major scale can also be used for the minor scale. One thing to realize though is that the generic formula (half-steps and whole-steps between the notes of the scale differs from the major scale).

Consider A minor for exampe (the so called relative minor of C major). It shares exactly the same notes as C major, but starts with A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G.

As you can see the generic formula is: W H W W H W W (as opposed to the W W H W W W H from the major scale).

The triads in A minor are:

A C E = i
B D F = ii
C E G = III
D F A = iv
E G B = v
F A C = VI
G B A = VII

As you can see, the same triads as in the C major scale, but with a fundamental difference. Look for example at the 4th and the 5th triads. In the natural minor scale they are minor triads as opposed to major triads in the major scale.

Hmmm, but this means that a popular progression like i –> iv – v – i only covers minor triads. Remember, in the major scale the progression is: I –> IV – V – I.

And that’s exactly why songs based on the minor scale tend to sound more somber and sad! Because the Tonic, Dominant and Subdominant chords are all minor chords.

Ok, I think I’ll call it a day. Much more can be said about scales, chords and chord progressions, but I hope that this tutorial helps you on your way. Pick your scale and carefully program some chord progressions using the principles explained above. And remember, listen, listen and listen – every chord and progression conveys its own unique atmosphere. Once you start understanding that, you can build some really beautiful and cool progressions. Happy composing!

FL Studio Tutorial: How to create impressive piano flourishes in FL Studio

2010-03-13T07:34:00.001-08:00

FL Studio tutorial explaining how to create great piano flourishes/melodies

I love listening to beautiful, dramatic piano flourishes. Sometimes I wish I could play like a real virtuoso and could compose the most magical pieces by letting my hands dance on the keys. Well, I guess I would not be sitting here writing the next tutorial if I was that good. But did you know that there is an easy way to achieve quite impressive and realistic sounding flourishes in FL Studio? Not? Neither did I, but then I came across a technique which is really easy. Some may call the technique cheating, but who cares? So let’s have a look.

Chord progression

First, we make a chord progression. I discussed a technique for doing this in the tutorial Making a chord progression and lead synth, so you may want to read through that first. I will go over it here as well though.

An easy way to make a chord progression is using the scale overlay technique (see the tutorial mentioned above). The scale I am going to work with is D-minor and below you can see this scale in the Piano Roll, drawn across two octaves (D-minor is composed of the notes D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C).

Now, after drawing the scale, make sure to check the Helpers | Ghost channels in the Piano Roll menu. See below:

Your Step Sequencer now looks like this (or similar):

Note that I use my Nexus plugin for this tutorial, but any other generator with a decent piano sound will do for our purpose. Also, make sure to turn down the volume completely (turn the Channel Volume know entirely to the left).

Next, insert a new generator.

Now, open the Piano Roll for the second generator (make sure you are in the same Playlist track). You will see the following:

Next, draw a chord progression, sticking to the (greyed out) notes in the scale. You see my progression below:

You can listen to the progression via the player below:

Next, insert another generator and copy your chord progression. An easy way to do this is using the Edit | Copy option the channel options menu (right click the channel with your chord progression). See below:

Subsequently, choose Edit | Paste in the channel options menu of the channel to which you want to copy the pattern. See below:

Open the Piano Roll for the third channel and duplicate your chord progression a number of times by first selecting it..

…and then pressing Ctrl-C (copy), Ctrl-V (paste) and Shift-ArrowUp/ArrowDown (move up/down) until it covers the next or previous octave. If all goes well, you should end up with the following:

If you now play this pattern you should hear the same chord progression as before, just a bit heavier than before. You can listen to it below:

Slicing note events

Next, click Slice in the Tools menu:

Now, the cool thing with the Slice tool is that you can cut note events. Simply position the Slice tool, hold down your left mouse button and draw a line through the note events you want to cut. You can slice vertically and diagonally. See below:

The moment you release the mouse button the note events will be cut where the (blue) line crosses the note event.

Now, for our piano flourish, you should slice multiple times (8 times to be precise) as illustrated below. Later on you can try slicing in different ways, but for now try to stick to the tutorial.

After slicing, your pattern should look like this:

Now, make some variations in the note velocities as illustrated below:

Take especially note of the low velocity of the first note event for every bar. You want to set this low to avoid the first chord to dominate too much. Again, you can make variations the the above.

So, what we have now is our original chord progression and one that we sliced up into smaller note events. Play them separate and together and I think you get the picture. For the purpose of the tutorial I spiced my song up with some other sounds, but using the same chord progression. Listen to it below:

By using this method you can create some really awesome results. While the piano flourish we created in this tutorial is rather simple and quickly done, the sound is really interesting and inspiring. I am definitely going to experiment more with this technique to see how far I can go in simulating the piano virtuoso in me!

That’s all for today :) I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you will use it to your advantage and create your own masterpieces! Happy composing!

Out now! Forbidden Fruity’s FL Studio Tutorials - I

2010-03-11T03:11:00.001-08:00

Here it is, Forbidden Fruity’s online FL Studio tutorials (+ a brand new tutorial) bundled into one monster document with more than 170 pages! While every tutorial can be read online as well (except for the brand new one on Noise Removal), I hope the document is a welcome addition. Now you can easily print (I recommend printing it in color) and read the tutorials while you’re offline. The price tag is US$ 7.50, which I hope you appreciate and see as a fair deal for what I’m offering.

This is what you get:

A nicely designed MS Word document (non protected) with 20 FL Studio tutorials and 1 interview
179 pages of material

The document contains the following tutorials:

NOISE REDUCTION (brand new tutorial)
LAYER YOUR SOUNDS
CONVERT YOUR EDISON SAMPLES TO PIANO ROLL SCORES
THE FRUITY GRANULIZER
SCALES, MODES, CHORD PROGRESSIONS AND LEAD MELODIES – PART I
INTERVIEW WITH JON KRASHENNINIKOFF SKARIN
SIDECHAINING IN FL STUDIO
FATTENING YOUR BEATS/MAKING YOUR OWN SAMPLES
THE FL STUDIO ARPEGGIATOR
THE FL STUDIO VOCODEX PLUGIN
HOW TO RECORD EXTERNAL AUDIO SOURCES IN FL STUDIO
MAKING A CHORD PROGRESSION AND LEAD SYNTH
HOW TO LINK AN EXTERNAL MIDI CONTROLLER
RECORDING AUTOMATION EVENTS
FL STUDIO MIXER
GATING TECHNIQUES IN FL STUDIO – CREATING A GATED SYNTH
COMPRESSION EXPLAINED – PART I
THE FL STUDIO PIANO ROLL
WHAT IS AUTOMATION?
INSTALLING VSTI PLUGINS
STEP SEQUENCER, PLAYLIST AND PIANO ROLL

Here are some screenshots:

Purchase and download

To purchase and download the document, click the link below:

Buy Now

FL Studio Tutorial: Layer your sounds

2009-12-02T11:38:00.001-08:00

FL Studio tutorial explaining how to layer sounds

In a previous tutorial I explained that layering sounds is an effective technique for making fatter , punchier beats. See Fattening your beats/making your own samples. In this tutorial I will also discuss layering, but by means of a special layer channel. With this channel we can create complex, rich sounds by combining individual generator channels. Also, we can achieve some really nice effects by using a crossfade feature. Let’s have a look, shall we?

Layer channel

To create a layer, add a Layer channel to your Step Sequencer. See below:

In the screenshot below you see my Step Sequencer. All I have at this stage is the Layer channel:

Now, the Layer channel itself is not a generator. You can hit the keys until dawn, it will not make any sound. What it can do however is trigger sounds in so called child channels (which are the generators). To demonstrate this, let’s add a few channels. See below:

The channels that I added can be found in the Browser under Packs Legacy Strings. See below:

Next, we will make our two new channels child channels of our Layer channel. You can do this by first selecting the Layer channel, right clicking the Channel selectors for the channels you want to assign…

…and subsequently clicking the Set children button on the Channel settings dialog of the Layer channel. See below:

And that’s it! You have created your first layer. If you now select the Layer channel and hit some keys, you will hear the combined sound of the two channels. Also, you can create a pattern in the Layer channel, see below:

If you play this, you will hear the combined sound of the two channels.

Now, in case you want to adjust the sound you can adjust the indivual child channels including their channel volume and panning. For example, in the screenshot shown above you can see that I turned down the channel volume of the String patch 1 channel a bit. If you make changes to the Layer channel (e.g. the channel volume), then these changes are global and apply to the combined sound.

Layer channel settings

The Layer channel settings dialog is quite simple, yet has a few very interesting features. Via the Set children button you can assign channels to the Layer channel as explained above. Be careful with this button however. Each time you will click it the currently selected channels will be made child channels. Any other channel will not be part of the layer.

Via the Show children button you can see what channels are currently assigned to the Layer channel, in case you forgot.

If you select the Random switch only one of the child channels will be triggered at random. This is especially useful in case you have layered beats to generate a more dynamic result.

Selecting the Crossfade switch allows you to crossfade between the child channels via the Fade knob.

To illustrate the latter, add 5 channels with the following samples (you can find them under Packs Drumkit 3 in the Browser) to the Step Sequencer and assign them to your Layer channel:

Now, select the Crossfade switch as shown below:

If you now turn the Fade knob one child channel will fade into the other. Turning the knob from left to right will fade the channels from top to bottom. And because of the samples we have chosen the sound changes from a closed hi-hat to a more open one. Try this out by turning the knob and hitting some keys at the same time.

Now, the cool thing is that you can automate this knob as illustrated below:

Layer presets

FL Studio also comes with a number of layer presets, ready to drop into your projects. You can find them under Channel presets Layers in the Browser. See below:

Simpy drag them over to your Step Sequencer and you are ready to go!

Extra layer functions

There are a few addtional options available in the Extra layer options menu. See below:

When using Split children, child channels are assigned to individual keys on the keyboard, starting from the root key of the Layer channel. This means that depending on the key you hit, a specific child channel will play. This is especially useful for creating drum kits or instruments where you have a different sample for each key.

When selecting Group children, the child channels will be assigned to a group for which you are asked to enter a name. I find this quite useful as the group remains even if you happen to mess up the layer. Via the Step Sequencer you can quickly filter channels to only show those that belong to a specific group.

Finally, Delete children will delete the child channels from the Step Sequencer.

That’s it for today. I hope you appreciate this feature and use it to your advantage for creating cool sounds. Happy composing!

FL Studio Tutorial: Convert your Edison samples to Piano Roll scores

2009-11-13T01:42:00.000-08:00

FL Studio tutorial explaining how to convert Edison samples to Piano Roll scores

In my search for useful features I came across one that is not so obvious. If you have a nice melody in your head (or perhaps you have a cool (vocal) sample) but do not quite know how to program it in the Piano Roll, let Edison do the job for you.

Now, I’ve written another tutorial on how to record audio, which also discusses the Edison tool. If you do not know how to record audio and/or have never heard of Edison, I suggest you skim through that tutorial first. You can find it here: How to record external audio sources in FL Studio

Using an existing (vocal) sample

Let’s try it out with one of the vocal samples that comes with FL Studio. First, start a new empty project and load Edison in the first FX slot of the Mixer. See below:

Choose Load sample in the File menu:

And navigate to the Vocals folder as shown below:

Select FLS_DontStopMeNow_02.wav and click Open. See below:

Before we convert this short sample to a score, open the Step Sequencer (F6) and add a channel to your liking. See below:

I added the Autogun plugin, but any other (non percussion) generator will do. Now, the trick is this. Go back to Edison and choose Convert to score and dump to Piano Roll in the Tools menu. See below:

After this, have a look at the Step Sequencer and the Piano Roll for the channel.

Play this pattern and you will notice that it resembles the pitch and pitch changes in the sample fairly good. And now that you have the melody in the Piano Roll, you can manipulate it the way you like! This is usually necessary as you may want to shift the note events in time and pitch, adjust the length of indivual note events, etc. But the point is that you now have the ‘raw material’ to work with.

Recording a sample

What applies to an existing sample, applies to a newly recorded sample as well. This means that you can actually ‘hum’ your melody into Edison after which you can convert it into a Piano Roll score. For those of us who walk around with melodies in their heads but find it hard to convert them into scores, this is surely an interesting feature. So let’s try it out!

First, we need to setup the Mixer for recording using Edison. See below:

Select the appropriate input source in the External mixer input drop down box (next to ‘IN’) and select the Edison tool in the first FX slot. As you can see I’ve done that for Insert track 1.

Now, make sure you have selected ‘On Input’ as your recording option and click the Record button. Edison will now start recording when it detects an input signal.

It is now time to hum or sing (or ‘ta’ or ‘la’) our melody and I suggest you do this slow and fairly loud (you may need to experiment a bit with this). When you are done, click the Stop button. Not that it matters, but for the purpose of this tutorial I did a simple do-re-mi backwards.

You can now playback your recording directly from Edison using the Play button. When you are happy, select Convert to score and dump to piano roll in the Tools menu – just like before. See below:

The sample will now be analyzed and coverted to a score.

I must admit that I have not used the desribed method extensively yet. I am sure it has its flaws and difficulties. For example, if you have a lot of noise in the input signal it is difficult to get a good result. But here a noise gate to eliminate noise during quiet sections of the input may offer some relief.

Regardless, it offers a nice alternative to getting your melody programmed, roughly that is :)

I hope you enjoyed this short tutorial and that it is another building block in your understanding of FL Studio and its richness in features. Happy composing!

FL Studio Tutorial: The Fruity Granulizer

2009-10-31T10:07:00.001-07:00

FL Studio tutorial explaining the Fruity Granulizer plugin.

Do you know that? When starting a new project you tend to follow the same route, use the same (VST) plugins, the same effects, the same stuff that you know how to operate. While this path of least resistance is often the easiest and quickest way to results, it has a drawback. You forget to explore unknown territory to develop new skills and insights. Changing your habits and leaving the road of least resistance may also help cure writer’s or composer’s block. We all suffer from that every now and then, trust me (especially the writer of this article, which would be me).

To make a long story short, I decided to take a detour and have a look at the Fruity Granulizer – a plugin I had ignored for a long time. That was a mistake. It has some really cool features, which I will explain you a bit about in this tutorial.

What does the Fruity Granulizer do?

The Fruity Granulizer slices samples into small pieces ('grains', hence the name Granulizer), allowing for pitch shifting and morphing your sounds.

Real time pitch shifting

What the Fruity Granulizer can do is shifting the pitch of a sample without changing the tempo (lengthen or shorten the sample). This is because the Granulizer applies a pitch shift algorithm to each grain individually. If the grains are played back with proper timing and in the right order, the length is unaffected yet the sound has changed pitch. To illustrate this I first droppped the vocal clip FLS_DontStopNow_02 onto the Step Sequencer. See below:

You can find the vocal samples under Packs | Vocals in the Browser. Note that you can use another vocal sample if you do not happen to have the one I used. This does not affect the tutorial.

Now, if I play this sample at different pitches the length of the sample changes. Try this yourself either by hitting some keys on your keyboard (select the channel on the Step Sequencer first) or opening the Piano Roll and pressing keys on the keyboard. See below:

Ok, let’s add the Fruity Granulizer:

After I added it I just dropped the same vocal sample (FLS_DontStopNow_02) on top of this new channel. See below:

If you select this channel and play the sample at different pitches you will notice that the length of the sample stays the same – yet the pitch has changed.

Note events

Another cool thing when using the Fruity Granulizer is that the sound plays for a duration that corresponds to the length of your note events. If you have an ordinary sampler channel, the entire vocal clip plays when you trigger it by a note event. This is not the case when using the Granulizer. Try making a note event pattern as shown below and I am sure you will appreciate this feature.

Morphing samples

Most fun can be obtained by morphing your samples. First, let’s have a look at the Fruity Granulizer controls:

Under the section Grains, you find the following controls: Att(ack), Hold, G(rain) Sp(ace) and W(ave) Sp(ace).

Let’s start with grain space and wave space. These 2 knobs operate very much in tandem, one controlling the space between grains (G. SP) and the other the width of each grain (W.SP). The smaller the value of the latter the more grains you will have. The smaller the value of the former the faster the grains will follow eachother (less space between grains). If both are set to the same value the length of the sample is unchanged.

If I for example reduce the wave space from 100% to 50% (this means I will have double the number of samples), but keep the distance between samples the same (grain space), I effectively double the length of the sample. See also the illustration below:

In the first example the grain space and wave space are the same. The length of the sample will be unchanged. In the second example, the wave space has been cut in half, so now we have double the number of samples, but because the grain space is unchanged the length of the sample has been doubled. In the last example, the opposite happened as the grain space was reduced relative to the wave space. This compresses the length of the sample.

As usual, the best way to grasp this is by playing around with it. Load a sample of your own and start turning those knobs! Don’t forget to turn Att(ack) and Hold as well. With those you can affect the attack and length of grains respectively.

With the 4 buttons, you can achieve some amazing effects.

Effects

As if the previous 4 buttons weren’t enough, you also have an effects section. I am not going too much in detail, but quote from the FL Studio help file:

Stereo Separation wheel (PAN) - The more you turn it to right, the more even grains are panned to right, and odd ones panned to left. To disable the effect, turn the wheel maximum to left.
Effect Depth wheel (FX.D) - This setting determines the amplitude of the LFO applied to the wave spacing value. Turn to right to increase the amplitude. To turn the LFO off, turn the wheel maximum to left.
Effect Speed wheel (FX.S) - This wheel determines the speed of the LFO applied to the wave spacing value. Turning to right makes the LFO faster, while turning it to left makes it slower.
Randomness wheel (RAND) - Applies randomness to grain playback. Turn the wheel to right to increase the effect. To disable the effect, turn it maximum to left.

Key to feature

A very handy feature is the Key to feature in the Time section. Try setting this to Percent as shown below:

What this does is that the keys C5-C7 will correspond to 0-100% of the sample. It simply allows you to start at different positions in the sample. Now, this opens up some possibilities of its own doesn’t it?

For example, imagine you loaded a long sample (e.g., ‘I love you baby, won’t you come home with me tonight’ – hmmm I guess you figured out what’s on my mind right now). By using the the Key to Percent feature (and different note event lengths), you can simply play different parts of this sample (by using different keys). I haven’t actually tried this myself, but it seems to me that it is an alternative to creating different samples. And then you can morph every piece individually – e.g. using automation? Wow, the sky seems the limit.

I hope this tutorial was helpful for you and has given you some inspiration for exploring this versatile plugin. More in general, I hope it has shown you that leaving the path of least resistance can lead to nice discoveries :) Happy composing!

Support Forbidden Fruity. Buy the PDF with this tutorial for only US$ 0.99:

FL Studio Tutorial: Scales, modes, chord progressions and lead melodies – part I

2009-10-21T06:26:00.000-07:00

FL Studio tutorial on aspects of music theory.

For quite some time, I’ve been composing (e.g. chord progressions and playing lead melodies over them) by ear without having any grasp of music theory. There is nothing wrong with that as I see it. Composing that way is great fun and a technique that is accessible for everyone and to all ages. It simply is a fun – yet challenging – way to create music. Also, I know someone who creates amazing songs without a ‘music theory background’. He cannot read notes yet I have tears in my eyes when I listen to his music. What I am trying to say is that knowledge of music theory is not a must in order to learn how to compose (great) music.

Having said that, I am beginning to appreciate the fact that some knowledge of music theory is a great tool when composing. I’ve begun to understand what ‘works’ and what doesn’t and for what reason. Also, I’ve started to see what combination of notes can invoke what kind of emotions in listeners.

In this series of tutorials/articles I will attempt to sum up some of the things I have come across. I will keep it simple and spice it up with various examples – as I would like to show you the practical applications of the theoretical understanding. I do risk that some people who really have an in-depth understanding of music theory find flaws in what I will explain. In that case, I invite them to drop comments so I (and we) can learn and make the necessary corrections.

Let’s start our engines.

I’d like to suggest you read the tutorial on composing chord progressions and lead synths (if you haven’t already done that): Making chord progressions and lead synths. What I am undertaking now partly overlaps what I already explained in that tutorial (as far as the theory is concerned), but with this new series of tutorials I will take it a few steps further.

What is music theory?

Music theory defines the set of conventions (e.g. notations) and rules (mathematical) that are used to describe how music works, e.g. related to rythm, melody, harmony, etc.

Notes and scales

The western music scale consists of 12 notes (the so called chromatic scale). These notes are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet, being A, B, C, D, E, F and G (referred to as the naturals). Between those notes, except for B-C and E-F, there are sharp/flat notes, which are designated by the symbols # (sharp) or b (flat). Let’s write them all down, starting with C:

C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, which corresponds to C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G, Ab, A, Bb, B. See also the piano keyboard below:

Why start with C, you might ask. It is a good question, but music theory really starts with the key of C – so I’ll often take that as a starting point.

As you can see, the notes A, B, C, D, E, F and G correspond to the white keys on the keyboard. The sharps (#) and flats (b) correspond to the black keys. Also, C# is the equivalent of Db. Likewise, D# is the equivalent of Eb. This double naming of one and the same note is referred to as enharmonics.

Note also that the scale (with the 12 notes) is repeated, where each group is called an octave. That’s interesting. Why does everything start with C again after one has walked through all the 12 notes in a scale? Well, one thing to realize is that each note has a so-called pitch which is determined by the fundamental frequency of the sound. Now, in terms of pitch an octave is the interval between one pitch and another with half or double its frequency. I know it is a bit technical and not really something you have to remember, but C in a particular octave has double the frequency of the C-note in the octave before that, but only half the frequency of the C-note in the next octave. To our ears, they all sound like the note C though. Above all, this is a natural phenomenon.

Back to earth. In the Piano Role view FL Studio you can easily switch between the piano keyboard view and the note names using the keyboard view buttons. See below:

So, each note is designated by a letter, either with or without a sharp/flat symbol.

Another important concept is that of whole-steps (tones) and half-steps (semitones). A half-step is the distance of any two notes in the scale. So, play a note – let’s say E – and then play either F or D#. Both these notes are a half-step away from E. It follows that the distance between E and – let’s say F# – is a whole-step. Check the screenshots shown above.

More on scales

Ok, let’s think for a moment. We now know that we have a total of 12 notes and that they are half-steps and whole-steps apart. I know another thing and that is that playing all 12 notes at the same time sounds horrible. Picking some notes randomly and playing them at the same time sounds horrible too - usually. But not always. This is where the term scales comes in again.

While a loose definition of scale would be any combination of notes, a more strict definition is that a scale defines a well-sounding combination of notes (what notes are allowed). Ok, let’s think again. What sounds good and what doesn’t is quite a personal or cultural thing isn’t it? Well, that’s true. That’s why there are hundreds of them. But some scales are more popular than others, depending on culture and music style.

Major scale

The mother of all scales is the Major scale. As I explained, music theory starts with the key of C (instead of A) so this is the note we will start with.

If you start on C (root note) and only play the naturals (the white keys) until reaching the next octave, you will arrive at the notes that make up the C major scale. So this would be:

C major = C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C

And on the piano keyboard:

The major scale is a very popular scale. Compositions based on this scale induce a positive and happy feeling in the listener. Why? Well, that has something to do with the relative positions of the notes in the scale (and of course the way our ear/brain perceives them).

Instead of naming the notes that are in the major scale there is a more generic way to describe major scales. See below:

(W)hole W(hole) H(alf) W(hole) W(hole) W(hole) H(alf) = W W H W W W H

Here the major scale has been described in terms of the whole-steps and half-steps between the notes. And you know what? With W W H W W W H in your head you can construct any major scale for any root note (rather than remembering exactly what notes are in what major scale). Let’s give it a try and construct G major. Following the W W H W W W H formula, I get:

G major = G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G

Let’s try one more. D major this time:

D major = D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D

Knowing the W W H W W W H formula makes it really easy to construct your major scales.

You may have noticed that C major has only naturals, G major has one sharp (#) and D major has two sharps. What you may not have noticed though is that I picked the 5th note from the C major scale (G) to construct my next major scale. Likewise I picked the 5th note of the G major scale (D) to create the next.

This is also a very interesting phenomenon. If you pick the 5th note from any major scale and construct a new major scale based on that, you will have one more sharp than in the previous major scale (#). The number of sharps/flats in a scale is something that is referred to as the key signature of the scale. The method of taking the 5th note of one major scale to construct the next major scale is a handy tool to travel from one key signature to another.

Actually, this method is called the circle of 5th’s. I guess you understand the ‘5th’ in the circle of 5th’s. It is called a circle because if you continue taking the 5th note of a major scale to produce the next, you will eventually arrive at where you started (for example C major if that is where you started).

Ok, cool down period. Where and how would you use this when composing? Well, this with the circle of 5th’s is not something I use on a daily basis, but one thing you should be aware of is that when you compose a song it is important you choose your scale (for example C major, C minor, etc.). Whatever you do next (chord progression, melody), you stick to the notes in this scale. However, it is also possible to change the scale in the middle of your composition (not sure how common this is though). The smoothest transitions – when you change scale in your composition – happen between scales that differ only one sharp (#) or flat (b). This is where our circle comes in handy. I am not at all convinced you will use this often, but at least you cannot claim anymore you have never heard of it ;)

Minor scale

Another important and popular scale is the minor scale. Compositions based on this scale are said to be more solemn, sad and mysterious than compositions based on the major scale. The reason is that the notes have a different relationship to eachother than in the major scale.

Now, if I tell you that the formula for minor scales is W H W W H W W, then you should be able to construct all minor scales. Let’s take A minor for example:

A minor = A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A

I will not go through more examples here as I think you get the point, but I’d like to make you aware of one other thing. If you take the 6th note of a major scale and take that as the root note of your minor scale, then this minor scales uses the exact same notes as the major scale. This is what we call the relative minor of the major scale. In the example above A minor is the relative minor of C major (and C major is the relative major of A minor).

In the following screenshots you can see some scales (across two octaves) in the Piano Roll view in FL Studio.

C major

G major

A minor

You can also download a series of major and minor scales (as .fsc files) by following this link: Major and minor scales for making chord progressions

What’s next

In part II, I will go over intervals, modes, as well the fundamentals of chords and chord progressions. So, make sure to come back soon!

I realize this tutorial/article may be somewhat heavy to digest, but nothing prohibits you from reading through it a couple of times. Do not forget to compose though! Hope to see you back soon!

Interview with Jon Krashenninikoff Skarin

2009-10-19T08:05:00.001-07:00

Introduction

Jon Skarin is a 25 year old electronic music composer from Denmark who creates enchanting, mesmerizing songs, blending a variety of styles such as dance, new age, classical, celtic/irish. He has no albums out, but wherever you come across his music online, listeners posted reviews that leave no doubt as to what they think of Jon’s music. I'm amazed! What a talent... , Jon, this is beautiful… , Love at first sight… , Music soundtrack stuff! Beautiful composition, develops nicely, great piano playing, This is great stuff! Mastering is awesome, sound are so clean! This song makes me feel sad and happy at the same time - wonderful job! Absolutely great track Jon! To list a few…

Forbidden Fruity wanted to know more about this talented composer and his music, so we asked him for an interview. So here we go…

Jon, to begin with some of the things I wrote in the introduction, how do these positive online reviews make you feel? Is it important to you that people let you know they like your compositions?

Most artists (whether they are visual artists or composers) love to receive feedback regarding their work. But for me it is more a question of being understood. If I only get a little bit of praise or none at all does not matter, as long as I am satisfied with my own work. Since I have never been strong verbally or with written language, it is a great pleasure to read that people can understand one's musical language. That they even write they love my music is absolutely fantastic. For every day that passes I learn more about myself and at the same time my music keeps developing. And it also means that I can be understood more clearly through my music. Beethoven once wrote: "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." I could not agree more.

So yes, I think it is important because it gives me the courage and the desire/joy to continue, but I will never stop even if only got negative or no feedback.

What strikes me in many of the reviews is that people refer to emotions. I guess this is what you – as an artist – hope to achieve. That people are moved?

I love to be understood. If I've made a track and was maybe a little bitter that day, so will the mood of the music automatically become a bit bitter. That people then write that they perceive and feel the joy or pain in the music is quite amazing. This means that I'm on the right track as far as music is concerned. I have always said that I find it fantastic that we can be influenced by “sounds”.

We all have a "Favorite track" and the song is often associated with a personal feeling or experience. Being able to recreate the feeling or experience for a brief moment through some music is absolutely fantastic.

Music can make us remember, cry, laugh, dance, etc. etc. and that is simply amazing.

So yes, I love that people write what they feel so I can work on becoming even clearer in my expressions. No musician, visual artist, writer or singer is perfect so you can always evolve. That is fantastic because I love working with music.

"There is no rule that must not be severed to create something better and prettier."

I read somewhere that you started to compose/play piano from a very early age, but that you actually never learned to read music. Is that true?

Music has always had a tremendous impact on me. I have, as far back as I can remember, always loved music. There were always some special tapes or records my mom or dad would let me listen to just before bedtime. I've always felt most comfortable when I was "surrounded by sound."

My mother has and had a piano in the living room that I composed music on. I was not very old but can still remember some of the themes I made back then. Back then I was not aware of what music would actually come to mean to me but I do remember how much I enjoyed it even though it was only play. I've never learned to read music, everything I've learned is "learned by ear"

When I was about 13 years old I was involved in an accident which resulted in that I got deaf in my right ear. It ruined my career as a hockey player (I was on Denmark’s youth team). At the same time I stopped being involved in music. I simply could not tolerate the loud sounds. But after a few years I slowly developed the desire and joy to make music again. I suddenly discovered one can make music with a computer, which was the beginning of my musical career.

Listen to Jon Skarin – Era

Have you ever experienced this to be a problem?

On one hand, I really would like to learn how to read music. It can be quite annoying not being able to write down my ideas as I have 100,000 different melodies in my brain every day. Some days I have a full orchestra in my head - 24/7 - but cannot write any of it down because I cannot write down notes. So then I must just hope that I can remember it when I get home.

But on the other hand, I have always had some strange idea that if I was taught music it would change my view on music and influence my perception and mindset regarding music. It might be nice, but I am just not interested in it. I like the challenge and the way I perceive music.

An example. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that if you are a film lover and suddenly decide to become a director or might even produce, that it would change your perception and sense of adventure in the universe created in a movie. It is not certain but I think you will find it more difficult to relate to something if you constantly think of it as fiction. Everyone dreams of adventure or has fantasies and whenever I watch my favorite movies, I enter a completely different world. Sometimes I can relate so much to a movie that I feel a part of the story (I am exaggerating a bit, but just to make my point). But if I started to think about how the movie was made and how they are making that special effect, then I would not get the same kick or enjoyment from the film.

So yes and no.

In connection to the above – and in your opinion - is musical training essential to learning how to produce music in areas such as chord progression?

No, I certainly do not think that musical training is crucial for learning how to compose chord progressions or for composing in general. No composers are equal and all composers have a different perception of music. Emotions are crucial for melody or theme. There is no one in the world who will be able to complete Mozart's unfinished works, because no one can put himself 100% into his thinking. But one can try to emulate him by sensing emotions, etc. Only one person can finish his work and that is himself. But these days one can remix without limits and as crazy as you want and there have been many with proposals for how he possibly could have completed a work or perhaps could have changed it.

But the question was whether musical training is crucial to be able to compose harmonies and I really do not think it is. If you go with a melody in your head which you have not really heard before yet keeps sounding in your head, then perhaps there is little composer hiding inside. Then it is just a matter of sitting down at the piano and get started. Play, play, play. I am not saying people should not follow musical training. I just think it is not strictly necessary for being able to compose. Everything is a matter of emotions! Learn to express them and you're well on your way. A music school, however, can be a very good start to get going.

While many composers stick to a specific style of music, you cover a whole spectrum of musical styles. As mentioned in the introduction, you produce dance, classical music, music with new age and celtic influences - and you seem to be really at home in all of them. Can you explain us a bit about that? How come you have such a broad interest?

I love a wide variety of music genres. I love the hard bass giving me a wild adrenaline-rush, but at the same time I also love a gentle piano piece that can make you feel like you are floating on a cloud.

The songs that I composed as Smaasten (Jon Skarin’s earlier bandname) were more or less play. It was not 100% serious though I have put many hours into it. Much of it is fun but there are also a few tracks that are a little gentler. I look at it as an important part in my development.

As Smaasten, I played a lot with mixing trance and classical music, and I think the result of various songs is pretty good. I do not plan to continue my work as Smaasten, but I am about to start a new band. I will not reveal the name yet.

I also have a band on www.bandbase.com called "De Første Følelser" (the first feelings, see http://www.bandbase.com/Defoerstefoelelser/). Under this name you will find themes I have had in my head from when I was little until now.

As Jon Skarin (the band), I am much more emotional. I try to really express my feelings and my world. "Jon Skarin" is a very young band, so there are not so many songs yet, but I assure you there will many more songs under this name as well as under my other new band. It will be anything from Celtic to progressive.

Besides some jazz and the genre "noise" I listen to most music styles and think most of it is quite fascinating. Again, it is matter of expressing yourself, but it is up to each artist to choose the method/genre to best express his or her "emotions".

Is there any particular style of music you like most? And why?

I love and prefer Celtic music. Irish, Scottish, English medieval music. I think it is because it produces the greatest joy in me. The sound of the bagpipe has always given me goose bumps and I can never get enough of a gentle "bagpipe-sonata".

But it depends very much on what mood I am in. Some days I prefer Irish folk music, other days I want some sixties rock n roll.

Can you tell us a bit about your sources of inspiration? What makes you feel like to make a particular song in a particular style? Does your local environment and background play a role in that?

I am never planning ahead to make music. When the desire and the idea are there, I start to produce or compose. However, I have just had a 2 year break from music.

Inspiration can come from many things, love, joy, sorrow, etc. When I am in some specific mood, melodies will usually pop up.

The past and my hometown Kastrup on the isle of Amager (near Copenhagen) also play a special role when we're talking music. It is the place where I grew up and am living today and it is the foundation for who I am today. All the good and negative things I've seen around here really are an important inspiration in my work.

Listen to Jon Skarin - My Sad Secrets

What does your home studio look like in terms of software (sequencer/DAW) and hardware (computer, keyboards, etc.)? Do you use pure digital synths and sequences, analogue hardware or a mixture?

I am a Reason 4.0 user. It is installed on my laptop, which is connected to a keyboard and an amplifier. In addition I have Recycle, Adobe Audition and Melodyne installed, but I’m mostly using Reason as it is in here all the magic happens. I try to create all my sounds using the available synthesizers, but I also have synths that should be used through a digital sampler. For example, piano sounds.

Have you ever used FL Studio? Do you consider using it?

I have never used FL Studio but I really consider investing in it because many of my "music-friends" use this program.

Do you have any favourite synths/VST’s?

I have no VST’s as Reason does not support VST plug-ins. I do have a few refills which I like very much: "Sonic Reality Volume 1-20”. Other than that, I have nothing exciting to mention as most of my sounds are home made.

How long did it take you to learn your DAW and how to make music with it? I can imagine that learning all the technicalities of a software program was a hurdle you had to overcome.

I've tried a variety of MIDI sequencers and I found Reason more or less straightforward. I did not really have anyone who could teach me the basic functions of Reason so I just practiced myself. There are a lot of techniques that I still don’t know how to do, but I am getting more skilled in using the software for each day that passes. Each Reason user has his or her own method when it comes to using and utilizing the program. Personally I have learned some tricks via YouTube.

It took me a while to learn but once you understand the basic functions it will not take long before you are well on your way to produce music.

In connection to that, what was the hardest aspect to learn regarding making music using a computer?

Hmm, what I struggle with most when it comes to music production, is the overall arrangement of the song as well as the mastering.

How much time a week do you dedicate to composing?

I have only just started composing music again, after my 2-year break, but normally I would say that I can use from a few hours a day to an entire day. It differs a lot. But when I really get started I can easily use a full day.

Can you tell us a bit about the mixing and mastering process? Is this something you spend a lot of time on? Can you say anything about how much time you spend on the actual arrangements on one hand and the mixing/mastering process on the other hand?

It can range from a day to many weeks of work. Melodies have always been the easiest for me. My problem is more the arrangement and the mastering.

I am just trying and then suddenly, it is there. Usually, I also do the mastering in Reason.

Do you think there's any disadvantage to composing electronic music rather than playing real instruments?

Yes and no. I think it depends on the genre. Some of today's greatest composers make their music using known DAW's. I am sure that many of the big electronica composers easily could sit down and play an instrument (and many of them certainly do) but it all depends on personality. Who are you as an artist and what is it you want to express. Many believe that music that has been composed on computers is silly and too easy. But I found it amazing and I love the endless possibilities to create your own sound.

Back to these great online responses to your songs, do you ever consider to approach things more professionally? Do you have the ambition to make music your living?

It's definitely a dream. Right now it is as much play as it is serious. I do not think I am quite ready. But I do have dreams and they keep me going.

Do you have any words of advice for our readers who want to compose music, but who are maybe a bit overwhelmed by what the professionals and people like you compose?

Well, play, play, play and practice, practice, practice. You need to start somewhere to find out whether it is what you want. Record your ideas, write them down, put them into the computer and go full speed ahead. I wish you all good luck! Believe in yourself and believe that you can become skilled in the style you want to work with.

Finally, do you have any composing tip/hint to share with our readers (e.g. something related to arranging, mixing or mastering)?

I could write a lot of ideas and proposals down but no composer/artist is the same and everyone has his/her own way to compose. Simply keep playing and practicing to find your way. Find your very own style. Something that works for you.

One possible tip might be to find your favorite song. Try to do an imitation of that track. By doing this you will already learn a lot.

How has the track been arranged?

What can I do to get a purer sound?

As I said previously, when I started making music on my computer, I did not have much. So how did I get started? I tried to make an imitation of a song and it was incredibly helpful. It gave me an idea of what a song meant and what it could contain. I did this until I felt fairly confident. Then I tried to make an arrangement with my own melodies and have done that ever since.

FL Studio Tutorial: Sidechaining in FL Studio

2009-10-13T11:47:00.001-07:00

FL Studio 9 tutorial explaining sidechaining.

Sidechaining is the technique where one sound is used to affect another. A very common application is to sidechain a compressor or gate in order to avoid that multiple sounds in the same frequency range clash, for instance the kick drum and bassline. As such sidechaining is not new, but the exaggerated effect has become quite popular in Dance music - the characteristic pumping sound is achieved with this technique.

In this tutorial I will discuss the options you have in FL Studio.

Fruity Peak Controller

The Fruity Peak controller generates an automation signal based on an input sound. This automation signal can be used to automate virtually any other control, but a very common application is the sidechaining compression effect.

To illustrate the sidechaining effect using the Fruity Peak Controller I use the following simple setup:

As you can see, I have added a kick drum and created a bassline. When I play this, the bass and the kick clash. This affects my kick - it is less punchy than I want it to be.

Next, I route my channel with the Kick to Insert channel 1 in the Mixer and add the Fruity Peak Controller to the first FX slot. See below:

With the Fruity Peak Controller you can control the automation signal via the controls in the Peak section and the LFO section. With the former you can control how the input signal maps to the automation signal. The controls are (and I quote):

Base wheel (BASE) - Sets the base value (offset) of the peak controller.
Volume wheel (VOL) - This wheel sets how the volume peaks affect the peak controller. The value you can set ranges from -200% (maximum to left) to 200% (maximum to right). When using positive values for this setting, higher volume means higher value for the peak controller. Negative values result in the opposite effect.
Tension (TNS) - Drag up and down to alter the shape of the curve used to map the volume peaks to peak controller values. You can think for this parameter as peak's "tension".
Decay wheel (DEC) - Turn to right for faster decay of the peak. Turn to left for slower decay.

The LFO section allows you to apply an LFO (low frequency oscillator) to the automation signal, but this is not essential for our sidechaining effect, so we will not bother with that. Make sure, however, to switch off the Mute switch (lower right corner).

Note also the three meters in the upper right corner, labelled I(nput), P(eak) and L(fo). These show you the levels of the input signal, the automation signal and the LFO respectively.

Ok, let’s move on. What I do next is route my channel with the bassline to Insert track 2 in the Mixer, right click the level fader and choose Link to controller. See below:

In the Internal controller menu I choose Peak ctrl (Insert 1) – Peak. See below:

As you can see, the Fruity Peak Controller signal(s) are now available for automation purposes. In the Mapping formula menu I choose Inverted. See below:

Click Accept and voila, you have automated the volume of bassline based on the volume level of the kick! Note that you may need to tweek the Peak controls a bit (in the Fruity Peak Controller) before you get the desired effect. However, pretty soon you will discover how cool this sidechaining effect is. The kick has room to breathe and the song gets this nice, characteristic trance groove.

Fruity Limiter

The Fruity Limiter (in FL Studio 9) has a sidechain compressor feature. As before, I will start with the same two channels. One for the kick and one for the bassline.

The channel with the kick is still routed to Insert track 1 in the Mixer, but I’ve removed the Fruity Peak Controller from the previous section. But what I do is select Insert track 1 and then right click the Enable send switch (the gray arrow above the FX switch) of Insert track 2 and choose Sidechain to this track. See below:

What this does is route the sound from Insert track 1 to Insert track 2 as a sidechain signal. Next, I select Insert track 2 and add the Fruity Limiter to the first FX slot. See below:

Make sure to select COMP(ressor) as the target. See below:

As you can see, at the bottom of the plugin is a selector labelled Sidechain. I right click it and select Insert 1 as the sidechain source:

Note that you can sidechain as many Insert tracks to the Insert track containing the Fruity Limiter, you can only select one as the sidechain source.

What the above means is that the signal from the kick (Insert track 1) now functions as the input envelope rather than the signal of the bassline (remember to route that channel to Insert track 2). In other words, if the volume level of the kick exceeds the threshold, the compressor kicks in and compresses the sound….of the bassline.

In the screenshot below you can see the sidechaining in action:

The bassline sound is compressed only when the kick sounds! Take note of the Thres(hold) and Ratio as well as the Att(ack) and Rel(ease) controls. The sidechaining effect depends on what you do with these knobs ;)

This was all for now. I hope you enjoyed it and are on your way to do some serious sidechaining. Happy composing!

FL Studio Tutorial: Fattening your beats/making your own samples

2009-10-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Fl Studio 9 tutorial explaining how to create fatter beats

Numerous times I have received the constructive criticism that my beats are a bit weak and that I need to make them fatter and punchier (same goes for my basses). When I started investigating how this could be done I got a few advices. The one that really stands out is that you should get some good samples. If you want a fat beat, then get samples of fat beats and start from there. It really makes things a lot easier. While it is definitely true that you can combine less than perfect samples into better sounds, having a good set of quality samples in your library allows you to focus more on the actual composing and arranging. Point taken. Get yourself samples, samples, samples. You are doing yourself a favor ;)

Then again, knowing how to enhance/fatten your beats and basses is actually very useful knowledge in my opinion. If not for making the sound fatter, then for simply making new sounds alltogether (maybe you are bored with using the same sounds over and over again, maybe you do not have that many samples in the first place).

In this tutorial I will illustrate a few techniques for fattening beats and how to sample them off for your own library, so you do not have to go through the same process each time.

Compression

Using compression is one of the most common suggestions when it comes to fattening beats/giving them more punch. This is understandable. What compression can do is compress volumes above a certain threshold while preserving (or rather bringing out) the lower volumes and frequencies that give the kick its thump. I discussed compression in another tutorial by the way. See: Compression explained - part I

But compression needs to be used with care as you risk affecting too much of the dynamics, resulting in a duller sound.

Layering

A very useful technique is referred to as layering where you for example mix the original (dry) sound with the same (but processed) sound. This will often results in a better, distinct sound. See the illustration below where the original sound is mixed with a compressed version:

Doing this will allow you to preserve the original dynamics while also giving the beat more thump. You know what, let’s put it to the test and try to make our beat fatter using this technique.

As the basic kick I use FLS_Kick_07, which you can find in the Browser under Packs | Drum Kit 07. Maybe not the best sample, but I merely use it for illustration purpose. See below:

Note that I added it twice. This is already a decent kick, but let’s try to fatten it up a bit. As you can see in the screenshot, I’ve muted the first channel with FLS_Kick_07. This is the original sound that I will not compress. The second I route to Mixer insert channel 1. See below (the FX box is set to ‘1’):

Now, in the Mixer I add the Fruity Compressor to Insert channel 1. I play the sound and tweak the compressor controls until I am happy. This is quite an individual thing, but what you want to emphasize is the thump of the kick. As a starting point you can copy my settings. See below:

Next, I listen to both kicks combined. See below:

Note that I’ve adjusted the volumes for both channels a bit. I suggest you play around with this a bit. Listen two both channels individually and combined (also disable/enable the compressor to understand its effect). Notice the (somewhat subtle) fattening of the sound when you play both kicks at the same time.

To be honest, I did not really like the combined sound (to my defence, the goal of this tutorial is not to produce the best beat, but to show you techniques). Anyway, I continued to work a bit on it.

First thing that came to mind was using a noise gate on the original kick to remove some of the trailing noise I think I was hearing. I routed it to another Mixer Insert track and added the Fruity Limiter. This plugin has a straightforward noise gate function (a noise gate closes when the input signal falls below a threshold value). I chose my threshold and release settings (on the right side of the plugin) until I liked the kick a bit better. See below:

The effect of the above is already quite remarkable. Simply doubling my kick, one original (ok, I did add a noise gate) and the other compressed, gave me a better, fatter kick.

Adding a delay

I continued to layer my kick, this time adding one with a (very small) delay. See below:

And again, the sound has been altered. It has more punch, is fatter and fuller than the original sound I started off with. Now, what this (combined) beat could use is a bit of EQ’ing (using an equalizer to affect the frequencies of the sound). It’s a bit too bassy to my liking, but that’s a bit beside the point.

This is the layering technique in a nutshell. The sky is the limit here because you can layer as much as you want, using the effects that you want. However, it is probably wise to start off with compression, small delays and tiny reverbs and see where this leads to.

Making new samples

Once you have made a good, fat beat you would like to save it for later use, right? I use Edison for this purpose. If you do not know what it is you can learn a bit about it in this tutorial: How to record external audio sources in FL Studio

First, add Edison to a free Insert track in the Mixer. In the screenshot below you see I’ve added it to channel 15.

Make sure the ‘On input’ recording option has been selected (recording starts when an audio signal is received). Next, click the Recording button. That’s the rightmost button in the row with black buttons (upper left corner).

The next thing we will do is make sure that our sounds that form the layered beat are routed to this Insert channel. In my example I routed the 3 channels in the Step sequencer to Insert channels 1, 2 and 3. So it is Insert channel 1, 2 and 3 I will need to route to Insert channel 15. The way to do this is by selecting the Insert channel you want to route (1 in the screenshot below) and subsequently right clicking the Send track enable switch. That’s that little arrow above the FX (Enable FX slots) button on the track (15 in the screenshot below).

Do this for all the Insert tracks to which you have routed your layered sounds.

Insert track 1,2 and 3 (in my example) are now routed to Insert track 15 (and not to the Master). The output of Insert track 15 is routed to the Master track. You may wonder why we don’t put Edison in the Master track instead. Then we wouldn’t have to reroute our insert tracks. Of course, this is possible. However, in that case we must make sure to mute all other sounds (if we have them) and make sure only our layered sounds reach the master track. A second reason is that once you have routed the Insert tracks with your layered sounds to one and the same Insert track, you can apply common processing to the combined sound (e.g. EQ).

Anyway, let’s continue. We already set Edison to record on input, so the next thing to do is simply play to song. Edison in Insert track 15 will detect the sound and start recording. After a number of beats stop the recording in Edison by clicking stop (in Edison – The button next to the Record button). See below:

I’ve now recorded my new beat. By clicking in the red area I can select exactly one beat. By using the Play button I can listen to the area that I have selected. See below:

Once you are happy, select Trim in the Edit menu (button with the pair of scissors). See below:

Trim deletes the regions outside the selection, which implies we now have a single beat in Edison:

Once you are happy with it you can save the recording as a WAV file using Save sample as… option in the File menu. See below:

Give the sample a name, click Save and voila we have a sample of our new beat! No need to repeat the layering again.

If you want to use it, simply drop an Audio clip channel in your Step sequencer and load this file!

Layering sounds to create richer, deeper, fuller, fatter sounds and the option to record and save them as new samples gives you endless possibilities. Even if you already have a good set of high quality samples you can still use layering to create entire new sounds and build a library with your own personal samples.

That’s it for now. I hope you found this tutorial useful. Feel free to drop a comment. It’s your feedback that keeps me going ;) Happy composing!

Major and minor scales for making chord progressions

2009-09-26T05:07:00.001-07:00

I’ve zipped and uploaded number of major and minor scales that you can use when making your chord progressions.

In the tutorial Making a chord progression and lead synth I explained how you can have these scales as greyed out note events by enabling the Ghost channels option – which is very useful for making chord progressions and lead melodies. For more information, check out the tutorial.

You can download the zip file via the link below:

Scales.zip

FL Studio Tutorial: The FL Studio Arpeggiator

2009-09-25T15:05:00.001-07:00

FL Studio tutorial explaining the arpeggiator tool.

An arpeggio is a type of broken chord where notes are played in a sequence rather than simultaneously – with notes going up or down along the notes of the chord. It is quite a common technique in the electronic (trance) music world. Knowing how to create a great arp (short for arpeggio) will allow you to add wonderful layers to your compositions.

While the standard generators as well as many VST plugins have real time arpeggio features, I always like to play around with FL Studio’s arpeggiator. It gives me so much control and flexibility.

Anyway, let’s get started. See below:

Here you can see the original chord progression (greyed out note events) and the arpeggiated version (green note events). While you can always create an arpeggio manually – by simply placing, copying and pasting all necessary note events, FL Studio also offers a neat little tool – the arpeggiator - that you can use to create great arpeggio’s. Let’s have a look.

Chord progressions

One thing that I usually (not always) start with when composing a song is a chord progression. Deciding on the scale(s) and the chord progression(s) is an excellent foundation on which you can build your composition and add the various layers - in our case an arpeggiated melody.

For this tutorial I use a chord progression – based on a D minor scale - which I also used in another tutorial (see also screenshot above). If you want to know more about how to make chord progressions, I suggest you read: Making a chord progression and lead synth

First I place the chord progression in two channels. See below:

Next, make sure you switch on Ghost channels in the Piano Roll options. See below:

If you do this you will see the note patterns of other channels greyed out when working in the piano roll of some channel (only applies to patterns that are in the same pattern track in the Playlist). This is what you see in the first screenshot of this tutorial – which I will repeat here to make my point.

Ok, back to our two channels with the chord progressions. To make things even more confusing, let’s add another channel. See below:

The Arpeggiator

I will use this third channel to make my own arpeggiator pattern. But more about that later. Let’s first have a look at the arpeggiator tool. First you want to make sure to mute the first channel with the chord progression (I want to see the greyed out notes, but not hear them). Next, simply play the pattern track. You should now hear the chord progression of the second channel only (reFX Nexus #2 in my example).

What you do now is open the Piano Roll for the second channel with the chord progression and select Tools | Arpeggiate from the Piano Roll options. See below:

Beware, this will have an immediate effect on your chord progression. See below:

Your chord progression has been instantly arpeggiated based on some default settings. You may see another pattern though, dependent on what arpeggiator pattern has been selected. For the sake of this tutorial I suggest you select the Default pattern under Pattern – simply click the folder icon and load the Default.fsc file.

It’s as easy as that. Hmm…but how exactly does it work? To clarify things a bit, have a look at the illustration below:

The arpeggiator pattern controls the way the chords are chopped up – in terms of the bounderies and lengths of the individual note events. The pitch is determined by the pitch of the source notes and the relative pitch of the arpeggiator note, starting from C5. Instead of explaining this in words, have another look at the illustration above. I believe it is clear how the arpeggiator pattern translates into the arpeggiated chord.

To illustrate this further, close the Piano Roll Arpeggiator by clicking Accept. In the Step Sequencer you will now see something like this:

Next, open the Piano Roll for the third channel and choose File | Open score in the Piano Roll Options. See below:

You should see the following dialog:

Open the Arpeggiator folder and select Default.fsc (fsc files are FL Studio score files):

Click Open. This will load the score into the Piano Roll. See below:

Do you see the arpeggiator pattern (starting at C5)? Moreover, you see the original chord progression as well as the arpeggiated chord - greyed out. All in one view!

Ok, let’s try to arpeggiate our chords with some other pattern to see what the effect is. Go back to your Step Sequencer and copy the chord progression from the first channel back into the second channel. See below:

Open the Piano Roll for the second channel and arpeggiate the chord progression with a pattern called Chemichloe (can be found in the folder Arpeggiator\4 notes). See below:

Next, load Chemichloe.fsc in the Piano Roll of your third channel. See below:

Now have a good look at how the arpeggiator pattern arpeggiates your chord progression. Take special note of the relative positions of the notes in the arpeggiator pattern and how they translate to notes in the arpeggiated chord. Can you see how it works?

There is one interesting thing about this pattern and that is the yellow/orange note event that stretches from start to finish of the arpeggiator pattern. This note event is used to mark the length of the pattern – handy in case the pattern does not extend to the end of the bar. The color (each color indicates a separate MIDI channel) makes sure that the Arpeggiator ignores it when chopping up the chord (changing colors of note events is done by selecting the note events you want to change, picking a color in the Color group selector and pressing ALT+C).

Making our own arpeggiator patterns

Let’s make some changes to the pattern to see what effect it has. See below for an example:

Next, I save this pattern as MyFirstArpeggiatorPattern.fsc in a new folder that I created for this purpose (My patterns):

I now repeat the procedure, copy my chord progression from the first channel to the second and arpeggiate the second progression with my own pattern this time. See below for the results:

The nice thing is that you can apply your new arpeggiator pattern to any chord progression you have – the notes will always be placed where they need to be (on the notes of the chords).

Now, I suggest you try to make some other patterns yourself. Try for example to vary the length of some note events in the arpeggiator pattern and see how this translates to the arpeggiated chord. It is really worthwhile to play around with this a bit. Remember, once you have a cool sounding pattern, you can always use it to arpeggiate any chord progression instantly. Success guaranteed!

Arpeggiator controls

You may have noticed that I skipped discussing some of the other controls on the Arpeggiator dialog, but let’s have a look at them now.

In addition to the actual arpeggiator pattern, which you can select by clicking the folder icon (FL Studio comes with a number of predefined arpeggiator patterns), there are a few other controls. I will discuss them briefly below.

Pattern – You can choose between Normal, Flip and Alternate. Normal uses the pattern as defined, Flip reverses the order of the notes in the pattern and Alternate switches between them. See below for the pattern when selecting Flip:

The notes of the pattern have simply been flipped

Time multiplication – With this knob you can stretch or compress the arpeggiator pattern – which will affect the speed of your arpeggiated chord. See below for an example (note the position of the Time mul knob):

Range – The range of the arpeggiator in octaces.

Sync - Selects the event that determines the end of the arpeggiator loop. Your options are Time, Block and Chord. This setting affects the way the arpeggiator pattern is sync’ed with you chord progression. In the example above each setting has the same effect because my arpeggiator pattern has the precise length of one chord and is therefore in sync by definition. Many times, however, your pattern has a different length, so you need to determine what controls the end of the arpeggiator loop. In any case, the best way to understand this is to try out the different options.

Gate - Shortens the length of the arpeggiated notes by the specified amount to create a gating effect. See below:

Levels - Mixes the per-note levels (pan, volume, pitch, etc.) of the current score with those of the loaded pattern (turn right to mix more of the levels in the pattern).

Group notes - Groups chopped notes (horizontal grouping chopped pieces). I usually uncheck this so I do not have to ungroup later.

I would like to give many more examples, discuss more options, explain things even more clearly, but I think I call it a day for now. I am tired and it is already a quite a decent tutorial as it is. I hope you enjoyed it. Happy composing!

FL Studio Tutorial: The FL Studio Vocodex plugin

2009-09-13T12:32:00.001-07:00

FL Studio 9 tutorial explaining the Vocodex plugin

Vocoding is the process is letting the frequency spectrum of one sound (the modulator) modulate the frequency spectrum of another sound (the carrier). In essence, this is done via a series of bandpass filters - letting through the carrier frequencies that are detected in the modulator and rejecting those that aren’t. See also below for a simple illustration of how a bandpass filter operates:

A bandpass filter will only let through frequencies between a lower threshold (f1) and a higher threshold (f2). Frequencies outside this range are blocked. In a vocoder the series of bandpass filters are controlled by the modulating signal. If this modulating signal does not contain frequencies in a specific range, then these frequencies in the carrier are not being let through – hence the output signal will not contain these frequencies.

Originally, this technique was used to encode voice for transmissions (vocoder comes from voice encoder). In music, it is a technique that is often used to create robot style voices. How this is achieved? Well, imagine a synthesizer sound as our carrier and our own voice as the modulator. The vocoder analyzes (real time) the frequency spectrum of our voice and only lets through the frequencies in the synthesizer sound (the carrier) that are also in our voice. And this creates this distinctive talking robot sound.

Let’s try to do this using the Vocodex plugin.

Vocodex

FL Studio 9 comes with a brandnew vocoder plugin called the Vocodex. In the Mixer, select an Insert track of your choice (not the Master track) and place the Vocodex in FX slot one. See below:

As you can see I’ve placed the Vocodex plugin in Insert track 1. To keep things tidy I’ve also renamed and colorized the Insert track. It is always a good idea to do this – it is easy to get lost and forget what Insert track is used for what.

Now, we already know that a vocoder needs a carrier and a modulator. While you can use any sound as the modulator, I will explain how to setup audio input (e.g. your voice) as the modulating sound.

I select another Insert track and make sure that I’ve selected the appropriate soundcard input from the Audio input source drop down box. See below:

I’ve chosen Insert track 2 to be my modulator. In the upper right corner you see that I have selected my microphone from the Audio input source drop down box. But we need to do a few more things. First, we must side chain the modulator track (Insert track 2) to the Vocodex track (Insert track 1). You do this by a) selecting the modulator track (Insert track 2 in my case), b) right-clicking the Enable send switch on the Vocodex track (Insert track 1 i my case) and choose Side chain to this track. See below:

Next, make sure you disable the Enable send switch on the Master track (still with the modulatore track selected) so we do not send the voice to the output. See below:

Next, select the Vocodex track and click on Vocodex in the FX slot. This will open the plugin. See below:

Before we can have our voice sound like a robot, we should tell Vocodex what modulator to use. This is done via the MOD input. See below:

You can change the value by moving your mouse over the display (the mouse pointer changes). Left click and - while keeping the mouse button down - move up or down. You can see that I’ve selected ‘1’. This does not mean Insert track 1, but it is an offset indicating the first modulator side chained to the Vocodex track. You can side chain multiple modulater tracks to the Vocodex track, but you can only choose one in the MOD input (only one modulator can be active).

The cool thing with the Vocodex is that it has an integrated carrier generator for instance fun. To select a carrier, open the Carrier tone drop down box and select a sound. See below:

You should be all set now. Speak into your microphone and observe (listen) to the way your voice modulates the sound.

You should see something like this:

Now, I suggest you play a bit with various presets and controls. For instance, try bringing down the number of bands (in the screenshot above it shows 47). The lower the number of bands the more characteristics of your voice will disappear and the more robot like it will sound. Also, try various integrated carrier tones and lock multiple keys on the keyboard (you can lock/unlock keys by clicking on them).

Using an external carrier

Naturally, you can use an external carrier as well. To use an external carrier, simply route the channel with your carrier sound to the Vocodex track on the Mixer. This is done in the Channel settings dialog. See below:

Here I’ve routed my Trance lead channel to Insert track 1 (which contains the Vocodex plugin). To hear the result I must make sure that the Carrier tone is set to ‘none’ and CAR input to 0. See below:

To hear the Vocoder work, you must actually play the pattern (or the entire song). This is because the carrier sound is only received if you play the song/pattern. Remember that :)

This should get you started with using the Vocodex. While it is not an in-depth explanation of every feature and every control, I do hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Happy composing!