How to Make a Reggaeton Beat in FL Studio: Dembow, Bass and Chords

You can spot reggaeton in two seconds. That bouncing kick, the snare that lands just off where you expect it, and a deep bass underneath. The good news: the foundation is simpler than you think. In this guide you'll make a reggaeton beat in FL Studio, from tempo and the dembow rhythm to chords, bass and an arrangement an artist can actually work with.

What makes a beat reggaeton?

• A tempo around 90 BPM. Most reggaeton sits somewhere between 85 and 100 BPM. More on that in What BPM is reggaeton?
• The dembow rhythm. A kick on every beat and a snare that follows a 3+3+2 pattern. That's the heart of the beat.
• A deep sub bass playing the root notes.
• Few chords. The rhythm does the work, the harmony stays simple.
• Short, cutting percussion, like timbales, cowbell and hi-hats.

Where does dembow come from?

The name comes from "Dem Bow", a 1990 song by Jamaican dancehall artist Shabba Ranks. According to Berklee, the rhythm itself was first used by the Jamaican production duo Steely and Clevie, for Gregory Peck's "Poco Man Jam". By way of Panama and Puerto Rico it grew into the drum beat under almost all reggaeton. The Dominican dembow you hear a lot today is a harder, faster variant.

You don't need to know the history to make a good beat. But it does explain why the rhythm sits so close to dancehall.

Step 1: set your tempo

Set the tempo in FL Studio to 90 BPM. It's a safe starting point, and it's also what Native Instruments uses in its reggaeton tutorial. Want it slower and more sensual? Go toward 85. Want more club energy? Try 95 to 100.

Working from a sample, or curious what tempo your favorite reggaeton track is in? Drop the file into the free Beat Lab. You get an estimate of the BPM and key right in your browser, and your audio is never uploaded.

Step 2: program the dembow rhythm

Open the Channel rack. By default you see 16 steps: one bar in sixteenth notes. Count them from 1 to 16.

• Kick: steps 1, 5, 9 and 13. That's simply every beat.
• Snare: steps 4, 7, 12 and 15.

That's it. MusicRadar describes this exact pattern as the simplest form of the reggaeton beat. Hit play and you'll hear that familiar "boom, ch, boom, chick" right away.

Here's how to make it fuller:

• Layer a rimshot or a second snare on the same steps. A dry, short snare plus a slightly roomier one often sounds better than a single sample.
• Hi-hats: start with a hat on every beat, then fill in with eighth notes if it feels empty.
• Change things up per bar. In the last bar of every four, drop a snare or add an extra hit. That keeps the loop from standing still.

Step 3: give it groove

Reggaeton usually feels tight, but not robotic. Most of that comes from velocity. Make the snares on steps 4 and 12 a bit harder than the ones on 7 and 15, or the other way around, and listen to which one bounces more. Do the same with your hats.

A little swing on just the hi-hats can help. Keep the kick and snare tight on the grid though, or you lose the dembow. Learn how to set swing per channel in how to add swing in FL Studio.

Step 4: pick simple chords

Two to four chords is plenty. A lot of reggaeton is in a minor key with a calm, repeating progression, so there's room for the vocal. Play the chords with a short, rhythmic sound: a pluck, piano, guitar or a soft synth. A handy trick is to have the chords hit in the same rhythm as the snare. That reinforces the dembow.

Don't feel like working out chords? With the free chord generator you pick a mood like Chill, Sad or Dark, set it to minor and your tempo to 90. You can listen right in your browser and download the MIDI with chords and a bass line, ready to drag into FL Studio's Piano roll.

Step 5: add a deep bass

Pick a round sub bass or 808 and have it play the root notes of your chords. A simple start: one bass note on beat 1 and beat 3 of every bar. Too bare? Let the bass follow a few of the kicks. Keep long bass notes short enough that the next kick has room.

Bass sounding off against your chords? The sample probably isn't tuned right. Read how to tune an 808 in FL Studio.

Step 6: percussion and a melody

This is where it starts to sound Latin. Add a few short percussion sounds: timbales, a cowbell, a shaker or a perc loop. Give each sound its own rhythm so they don't all land at the same time.

Then add a melody or riff. Use notes from your chords and keep it short and catchy. Leave plenty of gaps, because in a reggaeton song the vocal is the star.

Step 7: turn your loop into a beat

A four or eight bar loop isn't a beat yet. Build sections, for example eight bars each:

1. Intro: chords and a filter, no full drums yet.
2. Hook: everything in.
3. Verse: pull out the melody or a few percussion layers to give the rapper or singer room.
4. Pre-hook: drop the kick for a moment or filter the beat, so the hook hits harder.
5. Hook and an outro.

Done? Export your beat as a WAV or as separate stems for an artist. Here's how: how to export a beat in FL Studio.

Want to see how a top producer approaches a track like this? In this Pitchfork video, Tainy, producer for artists like J Balvin and Bad Bunny, shows how he builds a reggaeton track. Worth watching for how he handles rhythm, bass and space for the vocal.

Video: How to Create a Reggaetón Track with Producer Tainy, from Pitchfork on YouTube.

Common mistakes

• Snare on the wrong steps. Put it on 4, 7, 12 and 15, not on 5 and 13 like a hip-hop beat.
• Too many chords. The rhythm should get the attention.
• Swing on everything. Then the dembow sounds sloppy.
• A bass that clashes with the kick. Give the kick room or make the bass notes shorter.
• No room for the vocal. Strip layers out in the verse.

Rather start writing on a reggaeton beat right away?

Mainly an artist and ready to record? Check out the Poke x Bizzey Type Beat "DRAAI", a reggaeton club beat by NameOnTheBeat, or browse all beats. Type beats are inspired by an artist's style; the artist is not involved.

FAQ

What BPM is reggaeton?

Usually around 90 BPM, somewhere between 85 and 100. Dominican dembow goes a lot faster.

What exactly is the dembow rhythm?

A kick on every beat and a snare on the 4th, 7th, 12th and 15th sixteenth note of the bar. That gives it the typical 3+3+2 feel.

Does this work in Ableton Live or Logic Pro too?

Yes. The pattern is the same in every DAW. Set your grid to sixteenth notes and place the kick and snare on the same steps.

How is it different from afrobeats?

Afrobeats leans on lots of percussion layers that weave through each other and often runs a bit faster. Reggaeton revolves around that one recognizable dembow rhythm. Want to try that too? Read how to make an afrobeats beat in FL Studio.

Want more free help with your beats, like a batch BPM finder, master checker and audio converter? Check out all our free music tools.

Sources: Berklee, Native Instruments and MusicRadar on dembow and reggaeton production.