Beginner using FL Studio 12 for Hip Hop?

[hopelessromantic24]

Hey guys. New to beat making. Just figured out basic functions of FL Studio 12, and bought myself a Midi Keyboard. I wanna make some good hip hop beats. I just have the sound files that are the default. Not sure how to exactly produce a hip hop beat, like which sounds to use together, how often, etc. The production side is really confusing me. Any guidance on how to actually make it sound like a beat, rather than random sounds...?

 

[I'mNoGuru]

Depends which end of hiphop you're wanting to come with...

If you're on that boombap vibe then you can keep it fairly simple (which is good IMO) with a kick, snare, hi-hat, (I like a ride under my kick) bass tone and a sample (chopped or looped). Stay loose.

If you want more of a later, west coast sound then you'll need to get more into melody and synthesis... Pads and fuzzy-bass behind your lead. Tighten up.

For trap/grime - Dirty synths; note-repeated hi-hats; a total lack of bounce in the kick; a tight, unyealding, crack of a snare; heavy use of arppegiator on things like strings; lots of pads and a promise that you'll autotune every vocal you lay down. Stick it.



There's a lot of useful stuff (tutorials and such) on YouTube. Everything from synthesis and sound design (software and hardware specific) to sample chopping to "how to make a 'Drake like' beat".
A really useful resource is YouTube.

 

[steffeeh]

By reading your post I get the feeling that you simply have to dive into music production and take one step at a time and see where it leads you. That and listening to a lot of music within the genres you really like, and try analyzing the songs to learn as much from them as possible, so you know where to start and where to go next, etc.

Also, I absolutely recommend in getting a beginner's book in modern music production, that will surely lighten some burdens and you'll feel more secure while producing.

 

[KonKossKang]

Research the following, this will clear stuff up:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_workstation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_sequencer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampler_(musical_instrument)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_instruments

Seamless's youtube channel for fl since you use fl:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6vOEbGIzLY

 

[Desmond A]

Right now you need to just practice over and over again. Keep making beats as often as you can. Don't get frustrated. Just keep going.

Also, read my article for new producers: http://media.wix.com/ugd/73d686_397caeba10aa42a98bc0fe1d87f912a6.pdf

 

[Ddream]

Seamless's youtube channel for fl since you use fl:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6vOEbGIzLY

Just reminding that Seamless doesn't make hip-hop. instead he does everything electro-house, dnb and dubstep related. With lots of Harmor (paid and demo in the producer edition of FL12) and Sytrus (free) videos, specially the "How to Bass" series (focused mainly on neurofunk).

I'd say stick with what you already got inside FL, in terms of VSTs. When you get the hang of them, you'll be able to get a few other VSTs to improve more your sound.

 

[LAYRZ]

Hey man, I'm a beginner as well. Feel free to hit me up on here. We can help each other.

 

[Virtualex]

Go to you tube and search for "busy works beats hip hop" - I have a feeling this could help you a lot

cheers
Virtualex

 

[Nystagmus]

If your computer CPU is too low for FL Studio, keep in mind that Reaper is cheaper and doesn't require as powerful of a computer. I have both and my computer isn't fast enough for FL Studio except for the step editor which I use as a drum machine with one-shot free drum samples. But I render the WAVs and import them into Reaper.

just something extra to keep in mind.

 

[prokidryan]

It was about 3 months before I made an ok one lol. Some of the early ones were pure comedy.