How To Make Basic Drum Tracks Inside FL Studio

FL Studio is a popular digital audio workstation (DAW) that provides a wide range of tools and features for creating drum tracks. Drums are the foundation of any musical production. In fact, the drums give the rhythm. Depending on the type of music you make, the drums are the core of your project.

In this article we will show you how to create several types of drums for several musical genres. These drums are basic elements from which you can start, you can add your own samples, you can adjust the velocity of each note, edit the pitch, and create more complex drums.

Let’s start with…

How to make House drums in FL Studio

I will start with House drums because in my opinion they are the easiest to make. Open FL Studio and create a new project. If you are a beginner, you can use the pre-set template to start a new House project. This will give you the right sounds from the start, but also the basic effects already set in the Mixer.

Set the right tempo. The tempo for making House music in FL Studio typically ranges from 120-130 BPM (beats per minute). You can experiment with different tempos and find what works best for your track. Some subgenres of house music, such as deep house or tech house, may have slightly slower or faster tempos.

If you chose to use the pre-made EDM-House template (mage above), then you already have some sounds and instruments to start with. But you can always use your own sample packs.  Choose a drum kit from the list of your sample library. House drums typically consist of a kick drum, snare, hi-hat, and clap.

Add a kick drum pattern in the Step Sequencer. House music usually has a 4/4 time signature with the kick drum playing on every beat. You can also experiment with different variations of the kick drum pattern.

The snare usually plays on the second and fourth beat in a 4/4 time signature. You can also add variations by playing around with different snare patterns. The hi-hat usually plays on every eighth-note in house music. You can experiment with different hi-hat patterns to create more complex rhythms. The clap is usually played on the second and fourth beat, alongside the snare. You can also add variations to the clap pattern.

I made a quick arrangement in my FL Studio and it sounds something like this:

Once you’ve created your drum track, you can add effects like reverb or delay by selecting the channel you want to add the effect to and then selecting the effect from the mixer. You can also use compression to add more punch to your drums.

How to create Trap drums inside FL Studio

Well, if you want to make some Trap drums, things are not so simple here. Trap drums require a bit more work and have a distinct style of hi-hats and snares in particular. The kick drum in trap music is usually deep and punchy, with a fast decay time.

Hi-hats in Trap music are often fast and include a lot of rhythmic variation, such as rolls or triplets. They help to create the signature “skittering” sound that is often associated with trap music. Trap snares usually have a heavy reverb or delay effect and are played on the second and fourth beats.

The 808 drum samples is a type of bass drum that is heavily used in Trap music. It is typically deep and has a lot of low-end presence, and often plays in sync with the kick drum. You can experiment with different snare patterns and one-shot Trap samples to create a unique sound.

Also read our article about How To Create 808 In FL Studio Sytrus

I had to use Piano Roll to create faster highs and the trap-specific snares. Beside the snares and hi-hats you can add other percussion elements like claps, snaps, or rimshots. These can be used to add texture and variation to the drum track.

After about 10 minutes, I managed to make a Trap drum track that sounds something like this:

I don’t know how it sounds to you, but for this article I think it is a good example, especially for beginners.

How to make Drill drums in FL Studio

If you are a beginner beat maker and want to make a Drill beat, I will show you how to make drums in the NY/UK Drill style inside your FL Studio. Typically, Drill beats use a combination of hard-hitting kick drums, snappy snares, and sharp hi-hats. Drag and drop your selected drum samples onto the step sequencer to create your beat.

The characteristic Drill style is given especially by the Hi-Hat. To create these highs you have to put a hi-hat, leave 2 bars free, put the next hi-hat, leave 2 free put a hi-hat, leave 1 bar free and put another hi-hat. Repeat this process depending on the length of your track.

Add effects to your drum samples to give them a unique character. You can use effects like distortion, compression, and reverb to shape the sound of your drum track. Experiment with different tempos to find the right tempo for your Drill drum track. Drill beats typically have a tempo of around 140-150 BPM.

And that’s pretty much the start of a Drum Drill that can be continued. You can add bass, instruments and create a beat to be proud of.

The article will continue with other drums, such as Dubstep Drums, Drum And Bass Drums, Boom Bap. So don’t forget to come back in the next few days to see what else I’ve published.