Loops, Custom all the way through, or a combination?

[David Nahmani]

Hello Brandon!

 

Is it simply up to me and whatever my brain creates?

Yes, it is.

 

I remember Liam Howlett (The Prodigy) saying in an interview that he never, ever used loops or never repeated a single bar of drums or anything: he plays everything linearly, like you would live. He said that avoided sounding too repetitive.

 

I often just loop stuff at the beginning. For example let's say I'm doing a song, I may just quickly loop some drums for the whole song, then focus on the chord progression and vocal melody. After a while I'll go back to the drums and start changing the drums in the choruses, leaving the ones in the verses the same. Then later I may make the hi-hat in verse 2 different from the one in verse 1. Etc etc... at the end of that process I may not have 2 similar bars of drums in the entire song.

 

But yeah, as you said yourself: however your brain works. However it flows good, however it's easier, and however it ends up sounding good to you.

 

PS: What genre of music do you write?

[bjdthurston]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply!!

 

I will just continue what I'm doing then and make the music happen.

 

I enjoy writing hip hop beats and jazzy funk songs, I am not limited though. I've been playing drums for close to 8 years so my mind naturally thinks rhythm and beats.

[dylanbowes]

I agree with David. There is no "rule" about this and those who say there is one are probably snobs. Avoid snobs! Some of the coolest tracks use really simple loops. There's nothing wrong with vibing off that.

 

That being said, there is something to say for the linear approach. And I think we can tell when a song is a bunch of prefab loops strung together. There's something lazy about that.

 

I guess the point I'm trying to make is INTENTION. Does the looping come with a purpose or is it just laziness? That's the question I ask myself!

 

Take care!

[bjdthurston]

Thanks for your insight! As I create more and more, I've been playing a lot with incorporating the two and realizing there's a lot more freedom rather than a set structure to go by.

 

The Logic Book is also helping a lot.

 

Brandon