b. A look at FL Studio
Before I begin to even get to the process of making beats, it’s important you understand the key functions of the program and know exactly what they do. To reiterate, FL Studio is a pattern based sequencer, but now has evolved now into a ‘track based sequencer’ making it virtually limitless. Current versions of the program not only allow you to create patterns, but give you the opportunity to play and record for an entire song-length. Hip hop is mainly a loop-based genre so more likely you’ll be working with patterns. As I go through this introduction, it’s probably a good idea to have FL Studio open so you’ll know exactly which components I’m referring to. I will try to describe important features of the program very briefly and more information can be obtained in greater detail using the Reference Manaul (Help > Contents). After opening the program, the first thing you’ll be greeted with is the step sequencer.