Fl Studio: Building minor chords in the Piano Roll

Step-by-step

1. Open the Piano Roll and navigate to View > Keyboard labels > All notes to enable full note visibility
2. Set the snap grid to one half beat
3. Place a root note, then use Shift + Left Click to duplicate it
4. Press Control + Down to move the duplicated note down an octave
5. Create a new pattern and drag it into the playlist to layer over the original notes
6. Place a root note (0), then duplicate it and hit Shift + Up seven times to create a perfect fifth (7)
7. Duplicate the root note again and hit Shift + Up three times to create the minor third (3)
8. Adjust the middle note of subsequent chords using Shift + Up/Down to switch between major and minor tonalities

Options

• Toggle Ghost Channels in the View menu to see notes from other patterns
• Use Control + L to truncate or lengthen notes to fit the grid

Watch out for

• FL Studio defaults to root-only keyboard labels, which makes manual chord building difficult
• Ensure you are in a new pattern (e.g., Pattern 2) when layering harmonies to keep MIDI information organized

Tips

• Use the 'chord code' 0-3-7 to build a minor chord every time using integer notation
• Set the snap grid to one half beat for easier placement of foundational notes
• Start with a minor chord first when building harmonies, then adjust the middle note if it feels 'wrong' for the second chord
• Move base tones to a 'contrast section' by shifting them down an octave to separate them from the harmony

Highlights

“that's your quick way of making chords”