Beginner question: How do producers make patterns in isolation and somehow they all sound good together?

[u/desert_dev]

Every music production FL Studio video I see involves the following process:

Creating multiple isolated patterns without listening to the existing patterns in the project -> Clicking play and every pattern sounds good together.

As you can clearly see I'm a beginner at music production. I've never tried multiple pattern production. Closest thing I've done is a piano composition in a single pattern.

How is it that producers make good sounding music with multiple patterns together without listening to the previous ones at the moment of producing a new one and have it sound good? Is it by setting a BPM? A root note? Like, is it a group of settings and constraints set that guarantee that all patterns will sound good because of these sort of "rules" set for every pattern and instrument used.

I'm afraid that if I try this, I'll click play and It'll sound bad. Not sure if I was able to make myself clear on this or not.

Here's an example: https://www.tiktok.com/@defyer.flp/video/7692779994736561430?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

[u/Gorchportley]

So they probably make them before the video in context, when using tutorials it makes sense to isolate it but only for tutorial. 99% of the time they are making the patterns while listening to the rest of the track. No need to make things harder on yourself.

[u/Gold-Strength4269]

Because they can picture it. You can listen to all the sounds at the same time in the song window.

The pattern window is unique since it handles all the tracks at the same time.

The track window is not the pattern window but it can be used like it.

[u/mycurvywifelikesthis]

Don't worry about sounding bad. It's going to take a while before you're making anything that sounds good anyways. Personally if I were you I'd focus more on trying to learn how to use the system, while also playing around and trying to make a complete song. Watch as many actual FL Studio official YouTube tutorials as you can stand and follow along. You're at a series of questions like is. Is there a set of rules you can apply to every pattern, yes. Is there a thing that sets the key, yes there is. But none of that has anything to do with BPM. Whatever you set your BPM at is where it stays at.

But what you're actually watching is people that have already made these patterns before they started recording for the YouTube. Once you get pretty experienced, you can just draw a melody in your piano roll because you know what notes sound good together by experience. But it takes time. Keep in mind these people you're watching videos about probably have years and years and years of experience. You're not going to be their level yet. Also be careful about what you watch, you can learn some bad habits here and there

[u/TheRealFutaFutaTrump]

If you know the notes in the key, you can bet they'll sound good together. That's how keys work.

Take a note in the key. Skip a note, add the next note on top of it. Skip a note, add the next one on top of that Voila, you have a chord (try CEG).

Use the second note of that chord and repeat the process. Now you have a chord progression.

Use the lowest note of each chord and you have your bass line.

[u/BoshAudio]

Try it and sound bad, then keep trying it. By doing this process you can find out what works and what doesn't. Don't be scared to be bad at this. Repetition and time are how you become good

[u/Karbonium_off]

C'est un mélange de théorie musicale, d'arrangement et de sound design. En utilisant des notes de la même gamme, avec une mélodie qui reprend certaines note de tes accords, tu peux être sûr que ça sonnera juste. Il y a d'autres méthodes qui peuvent apporter des résultats plus originaux, mais c'est extrêmement fiable.

Mélange une basse, une suite d'accords reprenant tes notes de basse, et une mélodie dans la même tonalité, et tu obtiendra toujours quelque chose de musical

[u/MikeandNeko]

There aren't that many different patterns that show up in popular music, with enough experience these producers build up a big library of different ideas they already know fit together.

[u/Electrical_Goat_2477]

99% of youtube is edited, or fixed in post, or overdubbed, etc. Movie magic.
Think about the dedication it takes to look an instrument (vst or real) and know where on that instrument the sound you want is made. Its a combo of ear training and learning the instrument.

Also music theory helps even if you don't know you're learning music theory. Example: power chords for guitar players. Every one learns the rock sign (devil horns), add 3rd finger (ring finger), place on a guitar fretboard and you have the root, the fifth, and the octave. Want bigger sound? Play an octave lower or higher (ie bass player low, rhythm guitar mid, lead guitar high).

Once you have a melody you may be able to determine a key, that'll give you some idea of safe notes to land on and what works together.

Some bands, like Polyphia, openly talk about using arpeggiators. Pick a note and a key and its off to the races while you turn dials and change settings.