If you want to play some catchy tunes it’s pretty annoying when your MIDI keyboard is not working, or you don’t know how to hook it up.
But in two minutes you will know exactly how to use a MIDI keyboard in FL Studio and fix any problems you might have. Just follow along with the next couple of steps:
How to use a MIDI keyboard in FL Studio
- First, don’t open FL Studio but make sure to connect the keyboard to a free USB slot on your computer. Wait until Windows recognizes the device or install the corresponding drivers. So, make sure your operating system has detected your device before you open FL Studio. This is usually very straightforward but if you get stuck here, consult the manual that comes with your equipment.
- Now open FL Studio, select “Options” in the menu and click “Enable MIDI remote control”. This allows a MIDI device, such as your keyboard, to take over control in FL Studio. When MIDI remote control is enabled, you will see a black checkmark there.
- Next, select “Options” in the FL Studio menu, but now click “MIDI settings”. This will open a window where you can select input devices. Your USB MIDI keyboard is an input device.
- Then, go to the “Input” area and click on your keyboard device to highlight it.
- Also, click on the “Controller type” dropdown box and ONLY if you see it in the list, select your device. If you don’t see your device listed, just select “Generic controller”, which is the default.
- And finally, after you have highlighted your device in the input area and selected it from the “Controller type” list, simply click the “Enable” checkbox. The “Enable” checkbox should become green, which allows input from your keyboard.
MIDI keyboard in FL Studio not working?
If you follow these steps, your keyboard must be working. Though if it doesn’t, chances are you haven’t added an instrument to the Channel Rack.
You see, a MIDI keyboard doesn’t actually produce a sound. It only controls the keys of your instruments. Your instruments are the devices that produce the sounds. So, all you need to do is add a plugin that makes a sound. Of course, this is very simple:
- First, click “Add” in the FL Studio menu and select any plugin from the list that produces a sound, such as “FL Keys”.
- Then, just open the plugin on the Channel Rack and press a few keys on your keyboard. This should bring the audio to live.
This way, you can add many different plugins to the Channel Rack, open any of them, and play the keys on your MIDI keyboard. Also, you can open the Piano Roll of any plugin and start hitting some keys to your hearts content.
Now make some awesome melodies
Though, if you’re struggling to create awesome melodies, get my book The Ultimate Melody Guide. You will find all the tricks I use to get fast results every time. So, don’t miss it and click the link to get started.
Well, I’ll be waiting for your radio hit anytime soon, but in the meantime, leave a comment below and let me know if your keyboard is working. Also, slap the subscribe button on YouTube so you will never miss a thing.