Speed Song Writing
I sort of have this thing I do semi-regularly where I will set a timer on my phone for 30-mins, pull up LoopCloud and then see what I can pull together in that time. It’s fun and it’ll take you in some unexpected directions creatively.
I don’t go in with a specific idea. I generally find inspiration from loops within a specific genre. Sometimes it can be fun to blur those lines and this can lead in unexpected directions.
Recently I was doing something with a retrowave vibe so I started with drums. I like to mix and match kick and top patterns as well as some authentic 80’s sounding percussion to find something that vibes when writing in this style.
Next I found a bassline that added something I wasn’t expecting. Then a pad that took it in another direction. Next an arp (synth arpeggio) and then for good measure another arp.
Minimalism For Maximum Creativity
I love the 8 track restriction of LoopCloud’s player. It induces a state of creative problem solving when it comes to the parts within your song sketch. It really makes you weed out parts that aren’t really gluing with the rest of the arrangement.
While I’m doing this I’m also thinking about other elements I can bring into the mix once I get it into Logic Pro X. At this point I’m really working those arranging muscles.
Once I’ve got a strong idea, which is generally just an A or B section, I’ll bring those loops into Logic and get to work on a structure from the pieces I’ve collected. What I find at this point is that I will need to get creative in a different way and start to bounce off the ideas I have to create some other parts that give me a more defined structure.
Make It Slow For Mojo
99% of the time the loops will already be in a different key and tempo to the original. That’s a little creative hack I try. If I’m at a BPM of 122 I’ll look at loops that are 150+ BPM to find something that can be slowed down significantly as this gives some really interesting results sonically.
Re-pitching and changing the tempo of loops helps to avoid your projects sounding similar to someone else’s project that might utilise the same loop.. Whilst it’s not necessary it’s not a bad practice to get into and it can inject some extra mojo into your songs.
Tune Those Drum/Percussion Samples & Loops
It’s definitely worth trying some things out when it comes to the tempo and pitch of samples. I’m a big advocate of tuning my drum samples to notes within the key of the project. It has an anchoring effect.
You can also go in the opposite direction and tune your one shots and loops to unusual pitches to create an unsettling feeling. You can try the minor 3rd of the scale in a major song or the flattened 5th if you really want to feel the edge. Experimentation is obviously the key.
I also like detuning cymbals instead of EQ-ing or tuning them up to give some brightness. Generally I’m working with cymbals as clips so I vary the cymbal hit tuning throughout a song to give some subtle variation as needed.
Layering Over Loops
Aside from obvious, chop it up method of changing up melodic and rhythmic loops. One other way I like to mix it up is to record the same part on a hardware or virtual synth and layer it with the original loop. Not only does it give you something unique in terms of timbre it can really “harden up” a part.
When I do this I like to try flipping the phase of the new part to check for unpleasant comb filtering. If it’s a bass heavy sound I also want to make sure that the bass is solid and not out of phase. If I really want to get surgical I’ll employ Logic’s sample delay plugin to move the timing around subtly to find a good blend.
Expanding On Loops
In line with the above, I’ll sometimes completely replace a loop with a part I’ve created based on some of the ideas within the loop.
I’ll often do this with melodic parts as sometimes I can hear something more than what is there or there is part of the melody I like but the rest isn’t locking in with the other parts. It’s very much like expanding on your original sketch to make the sonic picture more complete.
Bonus Melodic Loop Trick
Sometimes you’ll be in the situation described above where you want to change a melodic line of a loop. I have been able to get out of a pickle with bass lines using this method if the notes in the loop allows for it.
If I can find a clean bass note, I’ll slice it out of the loop, load up an instance of the multi-sampler in Logic, drop the note into the sampler and create a sample instrument version. It’s not a perfect solution and the more clean notes you can give the sampler to use the better the results.
If you’re not in Logic you could try using the native sample instrument in your DAW or you can try the free TX16Wx Software Sampler. It’s a little advanced but has all the tools you could need in a software sampler.
The Takeaway
Loops are an incredible way to get into a new creative headspace when writing. One loop that inspires you can start you on a deeply creative journey and lead to a song you wouldn’t have written without the help of someone else. It’s a collaboration of sorts.If you still feel a little off about using loops or you want to make them unique to your song, the techniques above as well as the techniques in “How To Make Loops Your Own” can help. If you have creative ways to treat your loops, feel free to share the love in the comments.
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