Loading the samples

First, go to File>Templates and click on ‘Realistic’. That should load the default template for the drum kit. If there are no ‘Realistic’ template listed, you have to start with an empty template and load the individual samples yourself.

To start a template from scratch, go to File>Templates and click on ‘empty’. Then open the Browser (F8) ond browse to Packs>RealDrumkits. There you can find a whole lot of samples for almost every single instrument on a drum kit. For simplicity purposes, we will only use a few basic instruments fot this tutorial. To load a sample, click on an instrument in the browser and drag it into the sequencer. Do this for these samples:

1. RD_Kick
2. RD_Snare
3. RD_Hat
4. RD_Crash

Your sequencer should now look like this. You can delete the first channel labelled ‘Sampler’ if you want. To delete a channel, right click on the channel label and click ‘Delete Channel’.

Setting the parameters

After the samples have been loaded, you’d want to adjust the parameters (volume and panning) so that your drum track sounds more human and have a ‘live’ feel to it. I like to set the panning from a drummer’s perspective. Meaning, the placement of the instruments like the hihat and cymbals is similar to what you would hear if you are sitting on the drummer’s stool. In this example, set the panning parameters as follows:

• RD_Kick – 0%
• RD_Snare – 0%
• RD_Hat – 40% left
• RD_Crash – 25% right

For the volume parameters, you have to adjust it to your liking. Different computers have different sound-producing properties due to the hardware (soundcard & speakers), so what sounds right for me might sound awful for you. For now, we’ll leave the volume at default and adjust it as we go through the tutorial.

Creating your first beat

So now you have all the necessary samples locked and loaded. Make sure you have the sequencer on. And also make sure that you select ‘Pattern’ mode by pressing the L key on your keyboard.

Notice the squares in every channel for the instruments? They’re called Step Patterns. you click on them to produce the sound for the particular sample/instrument.

For the RD_Kick channel, click on the first button in each black blocks. For the RD_Snare channel, click on the first red buttons. In the RD_Hat channel, click on every 2 buttons. And finally, click on the first button of the RD_Crash channel. Now your step sequancer should look like this:

Now click the Play button on the top and you should hear your first drum beat. Simple huh? Create a few more different patterns and you’ll be able to arrange them into a song in the Playlist. If you aren’t clear about the instructions so far, download this flp file and open it in Fruityloops. I’ve created 2 patterns with minor differences, and arranged them in the Playlist so that it plays a complete loop.

Next, we’ll see how to add bass guitar to your drum track. Instant band, baby!!!