To quickly find the tempo of a sample or song in FL Studio, first, you will want to click on the small waveform icon at the top left of the clip in the playlist view. From the subsequent drop-down menu, select ‘detect tempo’ and choose the most accurate bpm ranges.
Finding The BPM In FL Studio
If you are looking to use a sample in your audio production, then the chances are that you will need to know what its bpm or tempo is to be able to use it effectively.
Luckily this has been made relatively easy in Fruity Loops.
In this FL Studio tutorial, we will look at three different methods you can use to quickly get the tempo of any sample within the DAW.
Detect Tempo Feature In FL Studio
Using the detect tempo feature within FL Studio is the most common method to figure out what BPM a given audio sample is.
To use this method, simply click on the small waveform icon at the top left of an audio sample and then select the ‘detect tempo‘ option from the drop-down menu. Once you have chosen this option, you will be greeted with a pop-up window, in which you will be able to select from a variety of BPM ranges.
It is usually best to choose one of the tempo range options instead of the estimated BPM as it tends to be a lot more accurate.
If you are unsure what range the sample is, you can try using the tempo tapper, which will be discussed later in that feature.
After selecting the correct range, FL Studio will then detect the correct bpm for the sample and offer you the option to change the project bpm to match that of the sample.
Using Edison To Find The BPM In FL Studio
Another method that you can use to find the tempo of a sample is using the native FL Studio plugin called Edison, which has a bpm detection capability.
To use this feature, click on the waveform icon at the top left of the desired sample as before, and then choose the ‘edit sample‘ option.
Selecting this will open up the sample in an instance of Edison.
With the sample loaded up in Edison, you will want to right-click anywhere on the grey bar just below where all of the main tool icons are found (as shown above).
Doing this will open up a pop-up window of the sample properties, including a tempo section.
In this tempo section, you can select the ‘autodetect‘ option, which will bring up another three options.
Here you should choose whichever option is most applicable to your sample. For example, if you have a long drum sample, you should select the ‘Detection for songs with constant tempo.’
After you have selected the most applicable option, Edison will detect the tempo and then show it in the box to the left. It may come up with an exact tempo, but you can usually just round this up or down to get a whole number.
Using Tempo Tapper In FL Studio
For those who are comfortable and capable of quickly discerning a tempo via a metronome, then you can use the built-in tempo tapper feature in FL Studio.
Simply navigate to the bpm counter in the top hot bar and choose the ‘Tap‘ option at the top right to get to this feature. Once selected, this will open up the tempo tapper.
To use it, just click on the main button in tempo to the sample while it is playing, and you will have the bpm of the sample.
Related Questions
Why Do You Need to Find the BPM of A Sample?
Finding the tempo of an audio file means it will be much easier to work with inside your DAW. For example, you can sync the project bpm to match that of the sample, create a perfect sample loop, or figure out how to place the sample correctly inside a project at a different bpm.
How Do I Stretch a Sample in FL Studio?
There are several different methods when stretching an audio clip in FL Studio. One of the most common is to use the time stretching function, which can be turned on and off by pressing the shift+M command. Doing this will mean that you stretch a sample when you click and drag the side of the sample in the playlist view.
Do Other DAWs Offer Easier ways of Finding a Sample Tempo?
Popular DAWs like Ableton, Pro Tools, and Logic Pro will all feature different ways in which you can detect an audio file tempo within them. Some will likely be better than others. However, they will all function pretty similarly.
If you find the bpm detection isn’t great in your particular digital audio workstation, you can always try tempo tapping to the sample to figure it out!
Do You Always Need to Find the BPM of A Sample?
As a music producer, there are some situations in which you may not need to find the bpm of the sample. For example, if you feel it works already in a project without you needing to know the tempo. There may also be times when you already know the sample’s tempo, or it is easy to figure out, in which case you don’t need to use BPM detection.
Why Is Detect Tempo Giving Me the Wrong BPM in FL Studio?
BPM detection is very much dependent on consistently repeated transients in a sample, such as in a drum loop. So when these are not present, you may find that the detection is not as accurate, such as an acapella vocal or bass track.
In these cases, you are likely to get a more accurate result simply by using a tempo tapper while the sample plays.
Why Does the Tempo Detect Always Have Decimal Places Instead of A Whole Number?
You will often see this with tempo detection. There will likely be a very slight tempo change between the transients that it is detecting and won’t be hitting at the same tempo every time. You can simply round the number up or down to the nearest whole in these cases.
Should I Learn How To Use Tempo Tapper in Fruity Loops Studio?
Learning how to gauge the tempo of a song via tap tempo is a helpful technique in electronic music production. It works even with samples that don’t get an accurate reading from an automatic tempo detector. That being said, it isn’t essential knowledge, so don’t get bogged down if you find them challenging to use.
Final Words
With all three of these methods at your disposal, you should never have to worry about figuring out the tempo of a sample again.
Each one of these techniques is a viable way to find out the BPM of a sample. Some will be better suited to specific contexts, so go and try them all out and figure out which you prefer using the most!
Looking for more great tips? Click here to find out How To Move A Group Of Notes In FL Studio.
Want to connect with other music producers for help and guidance?