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Hello people, welcome to this video! Let's discover how to make a Hip Hop beat
with FL Studio 11 with easy steps!
Make sure to know the basis of FL Studio before watching this video. There will be
annotations helping you if you don't know something.
A Hip Hop beat is the kind of beat you can find in Rap or RnB music. Mind that there
aren't, at all, fixed and general rules to create this beat. Experience and practice will
complete your background in this. This video presents just the key features and how to
start with a Hip-Hop beat.
This Hip Hop track you see has been made by staysawa, an amazing music producer
here in YouTube. Please visit his channel and check him out! You can download this
track in video description.
Let's start with the TEMPO. Hip Hop beats usually work at slow tempos, at around
80 or 90 BPM. Of course, there are exceptions, you can even use 60 or 110 BPM. It
strongly depends on the mood you want to give to the beat.
Then, start creating your beat. Hip hop beats welcome a wide range of kick drums,
snares and hi-hats. They are all together combined to create verses, choruses,
and breaks, that are different patterns of beats.
If you listen to a hip hop song, this will have an introduction at the beginning,
a verse where the beat goes,
followed by the chorus, which is the main beat,
then another verse followed by a chorus, and so on. There can be a break, often
put before the chorus, and also an ending pattern.
Each of these breaks, verses and choruses have a different arrangement of
beats. To make all easier, use a single pattern for each part of the beat:
the introduction in a single pattern, the verse in another one, and so on.
Remember that all these patterns do share the same channels. What changes between
the patterns is how the channels are on and off during each bar.
If you have problems about how to make beats in FL Studio, watch the related video
in this guide.
Let's start with the basic beat. From the verse to the chorus or the break, the beat can
be changed, but the basis must be kept. So we need to create the basic beat first.
Start with the kick drums. These are very important. You can use the samples
available in FL11, or external ones.
Check out the video description to download free kicks, snares and hi-hats
often used in Hip Hop.
Kicks can be put in many possible combinations, there isn't a general rule,
and in most cases many kinds of them are put together at the same time.
Kicks must be at low frequencies, with a high final attack, and quite strong.
Kicks and snares together must give the basic rhythm that the listener never
has to lose, and must follow the mood and the aim that you want to give.
We will choose here a 8-bar pattern, but it can be much shorter. Make sure that the
beat sounds good in loop. Experience and practice will do the rest.
Once the basic beat is done, you can derive different beats for the patterns. If you
like, you can use the basic beat with all the verses, choruses and breaks. Otherwise,
simply clone the pattern with the basic beat and create a beat for the verse and
another for the choruses, but always sharing the basic beat. Remember that you can
clone a pattern clicking on its name and going to Clone. Rename to compose the
patterns better later.
Very used are the offset beats. Some beats are put on when the listener doesn't
expect it. This is an effect called syncopation, and it is pretty used in
Hip-Hop beats.
Then there are the Hats. Hats are often repetitive during verses and choruses, in
simple or complex ways, it is better to create a pattern just for these.
Plus, Hats are also used to make accelerations, to introduce the following
chorus for example. Also in this case, use a new pattern.
Claps are not used so much. If you want, use them to create a beat echo.
So create all your patterns. Introduction introduces the song, so it contains just
the melody or just the basic beat as it is, very simple. The Verse is more filled, adding
basslines or hats if you like. But remember that the best part must come during the
Chorus, the ''cooler'' pattern in the track. Maybe introduced by a Break, with
Hats accelerating,
and then an Ending pattern. You can choose to end the track fading or cutting it straight.
You are totally free.
Place them into the Playlist, listen to them, check if they are good and of course if
they do fit in loop.
The beat doesn't go alone. Very used are the basslines. For example you can use
the generator BassDrum or another. These complete the basic beat and must
follow the rhythm. Then it's up to you to set their tone, according to how the song
must be and doing trial and error approaches. Help yourself using the Playlist:
place your bass in a pattern aside, and add it in the Playlist. Check if the bassline fits
with the other patterns made. You are completely free in this. Just don't make
the bass too strong. Remember that hats, kicks and snares must be the strong ones.
Then you are ready to add Melodies. I will show you just a single melody only
to make all simpler. Choose an instrument. This can be anything, from a guitar to a
piano, there isn't a rule. The melody trasmits the mood and the message of the track,
so define it carefully. Define the instrument first, going to Packs, and then open the
Piano Roll to define the notes.
If you are in distress at using the Piano Roll, watch the videotutorial in this show.
At this point, the skeleton of your Hip Hop beat is finished. Of course it would be
better to add more than just one single melody with one single instrument, this is just
to teach you the basis. But indeed you will need to practice the first times.
Once a track is made, you can make it cooler adjusting and adding effects on it.
The very first thing is to set the volume of each channel. Open the Mixer.
Kicks and Snares must be hard and well-defined. So it is better to lower the
volume of the channels that we consider less important, like the bassline or the hats.
If you have problems at using the Mixer window, watch the related video in this show.
Then let's add effects. You can add some reverb to your Kicks and Snares,
or adjust the frequency spectrums using Fruity Parametric EQ2.
Don't forget to compress the track. If you find some saturation or kicks too much
distorted, limit them properly. Select the Master and add Fruity Compressor, and
set the threshold in order to avoid red colors in the display above.
Check out how to compress channels watching this video in our guide.
This is the basic structure of course. Add other instruments, change the patterns. It's
important to make a track that is not always equal.
If you are interested in this project from staysawa, you can download it in video
description!! Don't forget to subscribe to him!
Thanks for watching this video! Check out the other ones in this series to go pro!