FruityLoops, scales, other production questions

[sidewayz]

I recently got FL9 and watched a couple of basic tutorials as well as a tutorial on how to create a wobble with Sytrus but I could never get it to sound like a proper wobble or like the wobble in the tutorials.

Another issue I have is with actually making a beat that the wobble fits with. Does anybody have any links to information about tones, kicks, etc? I know nothing about how music works so anything would be helpful.

edit: the part in Sytrus that lost me is when you go to "Edit Events" and you get the paintbrush/pencil. In the tutorials the wobble changed heaps, but when I tried it it wouldn't change at all.

edit edit: I know I'm jumping ahead of myself but should I be using other programs as well, such as Reason? So far I'm just messing around with FL9 trying to work out what does what.

edit edit edit: I'm using a laptop but it's fast and can handle music production. The audio is obviously bad (inbuilt speakers) but when I use earphones it sounds better. I understand I need proper good headphones to get the best sound but if I'm just learning are cheap earphones okay to use?

[grooki]

someone else from Australia

As for your question, I think you need to hold your horses, you're getting way ahead of yourself there:

Put away sytrus and open up either the 3xOsc, WASP, or SimSynth. At first actually use WASP or SimSynth because all of their operations are on one screen. Experiment with these synths instead, Sytrus is a beast (don't get me wrong, an amazing beast) but if you are really just beginning it's waaay to much.

On WASP for instance, to make a wobble, just use the first LFO, make sure filter is selected, and with a bit of experimentation you should get a wobble. All the sounds in there feed off each other though, so if the synth is set to make a really short noise (like the WASP default) then you won't hear a wobble. So you have to mess around with the envelopes first so that you can make a sustained sound. You may also have to mess around with the Cut, Res and Env knobs in the top right.

Forget about using other programs at the moment, learn some basic techniques first, and in any case lots of people (myself included) find FL to be a 10/10 program and don't need anything else.

You genereally make your beat fit the wobble, that is the easier way to do it - just mess around with the wobble speed.

Search youtube for automaton or edit events, to find out how to use that properly.

[Basic A]

fl does everything you need and more.

this is a frustrating period in production for you im sure man, but, you have to understand itll all come with time.

for now.

I suggest you start with a simpler synth then sytrus. 3xOsc comes bundled with fruity and its an AMAZING tool. look up some simple tutorials for it and learn to APPLY THE CONCEPTS to other uses. Learn about what filtering is and what lfos and lfo rates are. The production bible is an amazing resource. Practice drawing your automating curves, get comfortable with effects.

Dubstep has halftime rhythms and generally very punchy drums. Theres a uk garage smaple pack floats about i recommend you. dont get stuck in a formula on drums, but for dubstep, try putting a kick on the first beat of a bar, and a snare on the third, or try putting a kick on the first and a snare on the fourth. These are by far the more popular positionings for main rhythm in dubstep, and from there youll need to work some hats on top. once again. i cant preach enough how easy this will all seem with time.

Read the production bible, and dont jump in head first, one day at a time man. Sytrus is tough, learn 3xosc. Learn to link to the mixer before you worry about mixing down. learn to sequence your drums before you worry about getting great samples. ect.

[arjpm06]

There has been a new innovation with regards to this matter. Sytrus Hybrid Synthesizer is subtractive yet addictive according to one site.
On the other hand, the book you have mentioned informs many about the Bible itself. It can really transform people.

[sidewayz]

Thanks all. I think I'll put away Sytrus for now then.
Is there anyway in FruityLoops to see the piano roll as sideways not vertical? And can I map my keyboard keys so that when I press Z it hits a deeper note on the keyboard than it currently does?

I've just started looking through that Bible and it's mighty helpful btw.

Where in Melbourne are you from? Is b-town Bendigo? I'm fro mMelbourne too.

[sidewayz]

Sorry another newb question.
I'm looking at scales etc and it seems the only difference between each scale is that it starts on a different note/tone, but after that they all rise either a semi-tone or a tone. Is that right? Then you just switch around the notes but stay in the same scale to get different melodies?

Am I doing it right?

How do I find where C is on the FL piano roll? The C1, C2, etc, are where C is I assume?
In the bottom half of the piano roll, the C5 (or C4?) and all the C's below it are all in Major?
Simple questions I hope with simple answers.

[faultier]

for a better understanding of what scales are, you might wanna check this, i think it's well explained and understandable, even for a moron with no music theory knowledge like me, so this might help > http://brebru.com/musicroom/theory/intr ... modes.html

also this might be a useful tool to know what a Cm chord is or what notes are in a D major scale or whatever > http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/piano/

best is, if you have a friend that plays an instrument and has some music theory training, you should ask him to explain whatever you dont get, talking with a mate that played classical guitar for like 10 years really helped me understand things about music theory in general and scales and chords in particular (i'm not too good at learning things by reading about it on the internet)

hope this helps

[mmjdw]

Notes
There are 7 notes, A B C D E F G

You can think of those as the white keys on the piano.

There are also "accidentals", the sharps/flats (same thing) You can think of these as the black keys on the piano.
A# = Bb
ASHARP = BFLAT

If you take a look at say, a picture of a guitar neck with the note names drawn on, accidentals will make more sense.

So these 7 notes+their accidentals just repeat over and over. C1 is a LOW C, C2 is slightly higher, C3 is slightly higher than that etc.
The gap between two of the same note (eg. between one D and another D) is called an "octave".

Scales
Scales are fairly complicated at first but my advice is, to just look for the "formula" for each scale. These usually come in the form of T T S T T T S or W W H W W W H, the first meaning tone tone semitone... and the second being whole whole half... which are both the same formula for the major scale -

A WHOLE step or Tone = 2 notes for instance the gap between C and D on a piano, missing out the black keys, and a HALF step being the gap between C and C#, the black key.

Remember that if your scale is a certain key (key means basically the "root note" of the scale or the main note) then don't get thrown off when using this formula on the piano notes B and C - technically this is a half step if you look at the piano.

Major = happy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MajorScales.svg

Minor = sad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MinorScale.svg

Chords
Chords are combinations of notes. If you take a gander at those two pictures, I can show you the basics of chords. For instance, using the notes marked 1 3 5 will create a standard chord, I forget the name. For instance, in C major, C E G will create the chord. Or in F major, F A C. You can add in other notes on top of this like the 7th note.

Another way to think about chords is to just put the root note down on your sequencer then try out other notes on top until you find a nice harmony.

Generally the root note is at the "bottom" of your sequencer, for instance the C will be at the bottom, then the E, then the G. But you CAN change this. This is called chord inversion, when the notes are "out of order". This can give a different feel, which is important because these chords have been around for fucking ages and are getting a bit tired.



That's basically all you need to know. Learning more will help though

[mmjdw]

Also since you're using fruity loops, your drum samples are pretty gashtastic, so grab the Meanbeat, Goldbaby and Vengeance packs for some decent stuff.

[Recessive Trait]

the questions in this thread are hilarious. just read the bible, and then work things out in your daw instead of asking silly questions on dsf.

grab the Vengeance packs for some decent stuff.

you know that Vengeance is not free right.

[gh02]

^ignore him^....but good luck, you have a long journey ahead of you

[sidewayz]

the questions in this thread are hilarious. just read the bible, and then work things out in your daw instead of asking silly questions on dsf.

grab the Vengeance packs for some decent stuff.

you know that Vengeance is not free right.

it's unlikely that i'll ever take advice from somebody with carrot top in their avatar, but thanks for posting anyway.

[weedcali]

Welcome to DSF!

FL is an amazing program. however, give yourself time. ive been using it for almost 4 years and im still learning new things. and trust me, you can get pretty in-depth with this software. i taught myself most of the stuff i know but tutorials helped a lot as well. look up NFX on youtube. hes got some of the most descriptive tuts around.

Have fun!

[sidewayz]

Also since you're using fruity loops, your drum samples are pretty gashtastic, so grab the Meanbeat, Goldbaby and Vengeance packs for some decent stuff.

Where do I get them from?

[WIFE]

How do I find where C is on the FL piano roll? The C1, C2, etc, are where C is I assume?
In the bottom half of the piano roll, the C5 (or C4?) and all the C's below it are all in Major?
Simple questions I hope with simple answers.

Each C key on the piano roll is labelled, its default to C5. You shuold see them on the left hand side when open piano roll.
C5 up (vertically) is up the scale, C5 down is down the scale. So, for example, your subs will always be around C2, your leads may go up around C6 depending.

[antics]

http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/pro ... -studio-8/

Real simple bass