FL Studio 20 Getting Started Manual

12
HOW TO USE FL STUDIO
The following section will guide you through some of the basic, and not so basic, features you’ll
use to make music with FL studio. You should also spend some time with the in-line help file (press
F1 inside FL Studio) and at least work through the Introduction to FL Studio section. You may
have noticed we keep mentioning that, because no-one reads the manual, but you are reading this,
so we have hope for you 
THE CHANNEL RACK
The Channel Rack holds all the instruments that create sound and generators that
control automation (page 63). Every pattern has access to all instruments in the rack. In other
words, all patterns play from the same set of instruments. Patterns are not limited to a single
instrument as they are in most other sequencers. Music data can come in the form of Step
sequences and Piano roll scores (page 25).
There is one Channel button per instrument. The audio from each Channel is sent to one of
the Mixer Tracks (page 54) for effects processing and level mixing. When Instrument Channels
are added or removed from the project the height of the Channel Rack will change dynamically.
The Channel buttons also access Instrument Channel Settings (where a Mixer track is set, page
56) or the associated Piano roll. The Channel Rack is a pattern-based grid sequencer ideal for
creating drum loops and simple melodies.
The note and automation data visible across all Channels is known as a 'pattern'. Patterns include
Piano roll, Channel Rack and Automation data. Switch between patterns using the Pattern
selector (page 15). As the pattern number is changed, see how the pattern data in the Channel
Rack also changes. These are the patterns. Patterns are designed to be arranged in
the Playlist (page 30) as Pattern Clips to create your song.
HEY! Don't skip that step. This guide
will work a lot better if you start at one
end and work your way through to the
other
.