Many moons ago when I bought my first audio interface it came with Sonic Foundry’s Acid Pro 2.0. It was a basic loop-based music editor and I used to love putting together tracks in it. They were of course, rather basic but there was something exciting about the speed at which you could pull together a sketch of a track.
Of course back then loop based music was mainly reserved for the electronic and hip hop genres. These days there really aren’t any limits. There are a wide variety of loops available which include more traditional genres like blues, country and rock.
That might seem like an anathema to some songwriters but I find loops an incredibly helpful songwriting tool. Whether I’m writing Synthwave soundscapes, lo-fi chill for study or producing a CCM track, loops play a big part in helping me to jump off into songwriting.
Your Silent Co-Writer
I like to think of loops as having a co-writer. Someone who comes up with an idea that then you can bounce off. I also like the wonderful sonic surprises that can happen. You have two loops that individually sound good but combine them and they do something you would have never have thought up yourself.
I have a Loopcloud subscription. Each day you get 25 free loops plus your credits towards paid loops. Most days I’ll sit down and listen through these free loops and as I go I’ll curate grooves, piano parts, synth leads etc.to use later. This means if I’m stuck finding a creative idea to jump off from I can go to my collections, listen to sounds which I’ve found compelling and the inspiration flows.
Takeaways: If you think loops are cheating you’re robbing yourself of a valuable songwriting tool. If you’re using loops, hopefully you’re curating your own collections to use as inspiration.
P.S. in the next music producer’s thoughts post I’ll talk about how I make loops on my own.
0 Comments