How to Make House Music in FL Studio

If you’re new to FL Studio, or just need a refresher on how to make house music, this guide will show you everything you need to get started.

Introduction

In this guide, we’re going to show you how to make house music in FL Studio. House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the 1980s. It is characterized by a thumping, four-on-the-floor beat, and often features synths, keyboards, and drum machines.

If you’re new to making electronic music, FL Studio is a great place to start. It’s a relatively easy program to use, and it comes with a lot of built-in sounds and instruments. In this guide, we’ll show you how to create a basic house track in FL Studio.

What You Need

To make house music, you will need a computer with a music production program installed, such as FL Studio. You will also need a MIDI controller, which is an input device that allows you to control sounds and effects in the software. In addition, you will need a digital audio interface, which is a device that converts the digital audio signals from your computer into an analog format that can be played through speakers or headphones. Finally, you will need a pair of studio monitors or headphones so that you can hear the music you are creating.

Step One: Choose a Template

The first thing you need to do when you open FL Studio is choose a template. For this guide, we will be using the EDM template. To do this, go to File > New from template > EDM.

Step Two: Choose Your Instruments

Now that you have a basic understanding of house music and how it’s structured, it’s time to start thinking about what instruments you want to use in your track. This is where FL Studio comes in handy — with its wide range of virtual instruments, you can create any sound you want.

There are some essential instruments that are commonly used in house music, such as drum machines, synthesizers and samplers. However, there are no hard and fast rules — feel free to experiment with different sounds and see what works best for your track.

When choosing your instruments, it’s also important to consider the overall tone and mood of your song. House music can be happy and upbeat or dark and atmospheric — it all depends on the sounds you use. For example, if you want to create a happy, summery track, you might use bright, cheerful-sounding synth melodies and samples. On the other hand, if you’re going for a more dark and moody sound, you might want to use harsher-sounding drums and gritty synth basslines.

Once you’ve decided on your instrumentation, it’s time to start actually making some music!

Step Three: Program Your Drums

Now that you have the basic framework of your track set up, it’s time to start programming in some drums. If you’re not sure how to make your own drum beats, there are plenty of resources out there to help you get started, like this tutorial on programming drum loops in FL Studio.

Once you have your drum loop ready to go, it’s time to start adding in some other elements. A common element in house music is a repetitive bassline. You can create a simple bassline using a synthesizer plugin like Sytrus, or use a preset bass sound from FL Studio’s included plugins.

Once you have your bassline programmed in, it’s time to add in some chords. Chords are usually played by a piano or keyboard in house music, but they can also be created using synth plugins. layer several different chord progressions on top of each other to create a fuller sound, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different chord voicings and progressions.

After the chords, it’s time to add in some melody. The melody is often the most important part of the track, so take your time and create something that you think sounds good. Again, there are no rules here so feel free to experiment and try different things until you find something that works.

The final step is to add in some effects and polish up your track. Add a bit of reverb on the drums and synth sounds to give them some space, and maybe throw in a delay effect on the lead melody line. Make sure everything is balanced correctly and sounding good before you call it finished!

Step Four: Add a Bassline

Now it’s time to add a bassline. For house music, you’ll usually want a four-on-the-floor kick drum, so start by adding a kick drum on the fourth beat of every measure. Add a hi-hat on the second and fourth beat of every measure. Then, add a clap on the second and fourth beat of every other measure.

Now it’s time to add your bassline. For this style of house music, you’ll want to use a synth with a sawtooth wave or square wave. Try playing around with different notes to find what sounds best. Once you’ve found a melody you like, add some notes on the eighth and 16th beat of each measure to fill things out.

If you want your bassline to have more of a groove, try using an arpeggiator. An arpeggiator is a tool that will play the notes of a chord in succession, giving your bassline more movement and interest. To use an arpeggiator in FL Studio, first select the notes you want to arpeggiate in the piano roll editor. Then, click the “Arpeggio” button in the toolbar and choose your settings.

Step Five: Play with the Samples

Now that you have your basic track laid out, it’s time to get creative with the samples. import some of your favorite drum samples and drop them into the Pattern Editor. Experiment with different kick drums, snares, and hi-hats to find the perfect groove for your track. You can also add in some percussion samples to add more texture to your beat.

Step Six: Arrange Your Track

Now it’s time to start putting your track together. In FL Studio, you do this by clicking on the ‘Arrange’ tab at the top of the screen.

This is where you can see all of the different patterns that you have created laid out in front of you. You can move them around, add new ones, or delete ones that you don’t want.

To start, select all of the patterns that you want to use and drag them into the box labeled ‘First Pattern.’ This will be the first section of your song.

Then, move on to the next section and do the same thing. Continue until you have everything arranged how you want it.

Finally, when you’re happy with your arrangement, click on the ‘Play’ button at the top of the screen to hear your track!

Step Seven: Mix and Master

Now that you have all of your elements laid out in your arrangement window and you have set up all of your mixer tracks, it is time to start mixing. This process can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it, but there are a few key things to keep in mind.

First, each element in your track should have its own mixer track. This will allow you to adjust the levels and add effects independently for each element. Second, when you are mixing, it is important to keep an eye on the overall level of your track. You don’t want the sound to clip, so make sure that the levels on your master track are not too high.

Finally, once you have everything mixed the way you want it, it is time to master your track. Mastering is the process of finalizing your track for distribution. This usually involves adding a limiter to the master track to prevent clipping, and maybe doing some light EQing and compression. Once you have mastered your track, you are ready to share it with the world!

Conclusion

Now that you know the basics of how to make house music in FL Studio, you can experiment with different sounds andcreate your own unique tracks. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different sounds and textures, and don’t be afraid to try new things. The most important thing is to have fun and enjoy the process of making music.