How To Cut A Sample and Make A Hip-Hop Beat

I have always had a love for music and I remember the first time using FL software. I felt like I was learning rocket science. This is why I decide to create a WikiHow: To cut a sample and make a hip-hop beat with it for FL software first time users. I'm a firm believer that the producer has the music inside of them and he/she will make the best music once they find the software that speaks to them.

Steps

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   DOWNLOAD THE SOFTWARE. Download the software needed onto your computer off the Internet or disc. These programs can be very expensive so if your just starting hopefully you can find someone who has one laying around How to get FL software?
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   OPEN THE FL SOFTWARE. Now that the FL software is open (as well as the software you will use to cut your sample) begin to click on each tab just to get a feel of what each one does. Sometimes the best way to learn is just by trail and error. Once you feel comfortable enough to start making your music do so. Now you have to decide what kind of music you want to make.
   
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   ORIGINAL or SAMPLE. You can make a completely original track or you can use a sample to help you get started. Using a sample is much more EASIER than making a beat from scratch. Choose your sample wisely if your looking to make money off the beat make sure you have permission from the original artist to do so, or clarify that the beat is for promotional use only when not looking to earn money off the track. The one thing I learned over the years is that sometimes less can be more.
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   SOFTWARE. I will be using cakewalk, but there are a lot of programs you can use out there. Now you will have to import the sample into the software. This option is most likely found under the file tab. When cutting your sample be sure that you are cutting at the right measure or you will find it hard to create a clean loop with the sample.
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   BARS. When inside the FL software make your workstation 64 bars rather than 4 bars. This gives you more bars to make your beat on. The more bars gives you the ability to create a longer loop. Then you will choose the types of sounds you want to use for you beat by clicking each sound provided to preview what it sounds like. Then you will click and drag the sound onto the channels provided in the softwares workstation.
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   TEMPO. Set your tempo to what kind of beat you want to make. The cool thing about FL (Fruity loops) software is that you can make any type of genre of music on it. For me the drums usually determines the genre of the music and is how I differentiate between the genres.
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   HARDWARE. Each bar on your workstation equals one single note. This is how you make your melody and or drums. Hardware can also be used for this. When I say hardware I mean a keyboard or some sort of beat machine. Shown in the photo's.
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   PATTERNS. Once you have the beat you are happy with on your first pattern, move on to the next pattern. I usually make patterns for the hook part of the beat, the verse, and the intro.
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   LAYOUT. Once you are done creating the patterns you were looking to make then you can start creating the layout of you beat, for example where the hook will go, bridge, etc. During the Intro I always add my tag to the beat. This is a kind of signature for the producer to sign his/her work. Kind of the way an artist does when he/she signs their name on their paintings.
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    SHARE. Once the layout is done, save and export your beat, share with the world. You just might be the next BIG PRODUCER!
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    CRAWL BEFORE WALKING. We all have heard we have to crawl before we walk, so be patient with your music at first. If you truly love to make music, no matter how your first beats sound, you will continue to make music. A lot of people who make beats will tell you that FL software will not cut it. However Super Producer Lexus Lugar, who used FL software to make a name for his self in the music industry, currently won producer of the year! at BMI Urban Music Awards in 2011. There are tons of producers who are successful in the industry who use FL software, and with our media world going digital, software is becoming the norm and provides the platform needed to be a successful producer like this
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    CONCLUSION. I have been making music for over ten years using FL software along with some other programs and to be perfectly honest, it took me a while to really get a grasp on the software, but once I felt really comfortable with it I started to make better music. Don't get me wrong I believe that learning a instrument will also make you a much stronger producer, but I also believe that a producer can learn how to make industry quality beats without any knowledge of any instrument what so ever. With practice comes progress, so stay on your grind and always encourage yourself to push forward when you feel like throwing in the towel. Trust me your not the only one out there. Beat Block is a very common term used in the producer 's world.

Tips

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  *(Note to Producer) Always save your beats as you go. Meaning once you get done with one pattern, save it. Trust me I have lost many beats because I wasn't proactive enough to click the save button. So save, save, save as you go.