Building MIDI templates in the Piano Roll

A MIDI template is a pre-scored series of notes within the Piano Roll that, over time, you will accumulate for workflow optimization. These are note or chord progression scores we will build following the formula of creating melodies that work and ultimately saving the scores as MIDI files, so we can drop and drag in and out of the Piano Roll tool when creating new productions. In this section, we will go through each step to starting creating MIDI templates.

Let’s open up FL Studio and load into the Channel Rack the FL Keys VST (for this example, you can use any playable VST, but starting chords or a melody on a simple piano VST can help save time when creating future productions in FL Studio):

Figure 2.33: FL Keys | the Piano Roll window

For the exercise we will discuss in this section, we will create a chord progression that you can use to create template frameworks using the MIDI export feature in FL Studio.

First, let’s score a typical chord progression in the Piano Roll to use as our MIDI template. This MIDI file will be put into a folder in your channel browser so that you can start building out a chord library you can use in subsequent productions. To do this, let’s score a chord progression:

Figure 2.34: FL Keys | the Piano Roll | a chord progression example

FL Studio’s software allows you to score a MIDI sequence by simply using the Piano Roll, by accessing the Piano Roll option and then clicking FILE | Export as MIDI file…, as shown in Figure 2.35:

Figure 2.35: The Piano Roll | the drop-down arrow menu | File | Export as MIDI file…

Now that we have a MIDI template, we can drag and drop any VST plugin with this MIDI sequence in FL Studio – you can follow the same advice given in the Exploring the Browser tool section of Chapter 1 to create a custom folder in your browser to start organizing MIDI files.

To be clear, there are hundreds of chord combinations you can create using the Piano Roll scoring system. Ultimately, experimentation will lead you to find what you like best. Certain chord progressions create a feeling of calmness, while some create a feeling of tension or action – it is up to you to explore and experiment when you create productions in FL Studio.

Now that we have covered the basics of MIDI templates in FL Studio, let’s dive into a specific tool that can be useful when working with MIDI clips – the stamp tool.