How to create your own drum loops with virtual instruments

Samples of drums that were used to create loops can be used after some overdubbing in your own sampler.

However, that is a lengthy process and it is advisable to make your own drum loops. Editing is very easy in loops, you just need to import some samples into a hard disk multitask recording program. Arrange them in any order you want, add the tempo to create your own loops.

You can save these tracks as AIFF or Wav files. Loops can be created in any tempo, but if you might want to convert them into stretchable ones later make them with the REX techniques or Acidization. A tempo of 100BPM is highly recommended. Let’s take a look step by step.

1. Collecting Samples

After you collect the drum samples, create tracks where you want to hold them. Before starting keep in mind that creating a template will make life easy for you, when you might wants to create more loops.

Tip- A free windows program Stomper can give you analog drum sound effect

2. Add the Tempo

Once the template is created in DAW set your tempo and value for snap.

Tip- Start with the snapped drums first and add the human touch later.

3. Placement of Samples

After the samples have been allocated make your loop, set the volume and pan settings optimally.

Tip- You can either place sounds individually on their own tracks or you can spread them on different tracks.

This method enables you to lower or higher the non-accented and accented hats and you do not affect the quarter notes too.

4. Saving and bouncing

This is the final step in the whole process. You can choose between bouncing all parts together inside a stereo or mono track that can be saved as an AIFF or Wav file. Or you can make a mix in stereo version and instead of kick add reverb to the drums.

Tip- make a separate file for every drum sound and save all these variations in a folder.

5. Flexibility with Variations

When each sound is saved in its own dependent file it will allow you a greater flexibility when creating loops with variations. You can do the following-

·         Moving the track back and forth will teach you the applications feel factor. Moving the snare ahead will give it a nervous effect and behind for an effect that feels laid back.

·         If you are able to maintain the original duration the change the pich when working in a digital editor for audio. Timbral variations will be created by this.

·         You can create remix variations by dropping out tracks that are individual. When there is a sound on each track it is easy to drop it out or to add parts while remixing.

·         You can also create virtual aux busses by selecting sounds you want to process and then bouncing them. 

Author Bio: Ryan is CEO at Thelooploft. He has expertise in creating MIDI loops as well as Guitar loops. Besides business, he has interest in playing baseball.

Tips on how to get more from Your Drum Loops

A drum loop is basically that section of the music which is cut in such a way that it seamlessly plays the sound of drums indefinitely or in a loop. It can range from a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the composer. They are usually created to work as a convenient underscore on which the composition is built. They can be combined with bass line loops. The following tips have been suggested keeping Ableton Live in mind but can also be used with DAW.

1. Chop the loop

Try and change the arrangement of the loops after chopping them. This comes very handy when you want to create your library drums.

2. Audio channels

After rearranging plan a scheme for placing chopped slices in their independent audio positions. This will enable you to add different effects to various parts and it wont effect the drum hits at all. The only problem with drum and guitar loops is that when you want to add an effect it affects the kick and the hi hats. The overall sound can be effected by it.

3. Return channels

Always try to put all your different effects in to the return channels instead of loading them into your audio channels. This will save a lot of space in your CPU and let you add more instruments later. Most Ableton Live users find that effects in return will help in mastering the audio drums. In other words with all of it in one return all the effects for the snare will be in one channel  and have no loads effect on layered hit of snare.

4. Multiply your drum hits

You dint need to stop at one kick or snare. You can try it innumerable times. The more the layering the bigger the sound that will be created. Most people have come to expect this with genres of bass, drum and dubstep. One layer might work once but layering is always more impressive.

5. Adding drum patterns

Be creative with drum patterns and don’t hold back when using them. The option of DJ the Prodigy will provide complexity to the underlining drum sounds in your track.

For eg- Fire Starter has a drum beat as main, but it can also be used a abreak beat loop in the back.

This technique is commonly used in Glitch and Break Beat

6. Use of transposition

When the drum hits are chopped up the glitch effect can be added very easily using transposition. When using Ableton Live always remember that transpositions can be done only in multiples in increasing order. Or else they will not sound in sync.

For eg- if a drum hit is transposed three semitones then the next one should be -6 or -9 or +6 or +9. This is just a tip not a rule.

7. Conversion into a MIDI track

The audio sample can be converted into a MIDI track very easily using Ableton Live. The arrangement can be changed of the loops and you will end up getting your own unique loop. It just not limits you here, sustain decay; release and attack can also be added for alteration.

6 Reasons Why Loops Are Here To Stay

A harmonically tuned music motif is a blend of groovy musical patterns unified with repetitive loops and harmonizing tempo. Loops play an important role in determining the musical pattern as they can be combined with several musical instruments ranging from drums to synths and to processors. So, let’s find some more vital reasons why loops are here to stay for musical compositions.

1.    Loops Ease Musical Compositions

The biggest benefit with loops during composition is that they can be easily created or recorded to create a brilliant segment of a musical composition. Loops like drum loops or guitar loops can easily be created without having any expert know how of playing these instruments.

2.    Loops Are Much Easier to Use

Anyone who has basic knowledge about creating music can fabricate his own composition with loops. You just need some loops of preferred choice and matching tempos and keys to create a track of your taste. Moreover, you can do endless experiments with loops with different instruments like the midi loops and jam it with varying base and tempos.

3.    Filling In The Missing Parts With Loops

Sometimes, while composing a track, you might get a feel that it is missing an essential element. However, if you try filling the voids with loops, you will notice endless options that are suddenly available to you. Such fill ups work exceptionally well especially while jamming when a track breaks down in the absence of a band member. 

4.    For Producing A Special Sound

Loops provide musicians an upper hand with almost every musical instrument to set a foundation for any track and add new twists on a gradual run. Moreover, loops can be used to create colossal sound effects especially during live performances. This helps in maintaining the energy level and keeps people grooving endlessly.   

5.    How Professional Work With Loops

The need of working with loops has become really important and is a contributing element in every minor or major musical genre. Whether you consider any form of entertainment or any kind of music, loops are the basic elements music directors use in different forms. This is a great reason why international music artists and composers rely on the flexibility of experimenting with loops.  

6.    Inexpensive Composing

We know that composing a master piece requires a lot of patience, hours of recording and an experience of working with expensive recording instruments. Well patience and time can be bargained but the experience of working with expensive recording instruments can be reduced while working with loops. There are several low cost software programs that are perfect to work with loops and can reduce the expenses of costly recording studios.

All these reasons when seen in the light of more amateur musicians coming up, validates the argument that loops are here to stay. They allow you to instantly create music with pre-recorded loops, available separately for instruments like guitar, drums and so on, letting you escape the trouble of learning these tricky instruments.

A New Age Music Instrument in Song Production

The advantage of using loops to create compositions is that you don’t have to be a pro in playing instruments. Loops are created using a virtual (software) sampler. Computer based looping software allows one to make changes, add delay effects and modify existing song libraries to create different tunes.

Anyone from a DJ to a simple musician can make use of loops to enhance the quality of their music. Since loops containing replicas of famous songs are readily available on the internet, anyone can use them for music compositions.

This and many more reasons have earned loops the status of being new age music instruments. Let’s take a look at some of the most astonishing features of loops given below.

Digital Library of Loops for Nascent Musicians

A large number of loops are stored in repositories and available online with creations from famous musicians.

Digital library provides flexibility and high quality music samples to nascent musicians. Just download a sample and play it using the loop software installed on your computer.

Musicians can also create new riffs using drum and metal guitar sounds for composing a new song. Loop libraries contain largest styles of sounds from different music instruments, available in ubiquitous formats for use in all range of devices.

Loops Help Create a Personal Repository of Unlimited Musical Notes

Loops require some knowledge about computer programming on the user’s part. A computer program stores the loop in a digital library, once it is constructed. Looping software provides a handful of comparison between sounds, you just created. It helps in choosing the correct hardware or software solution for playing a specific sound sample in HD. Programming a Synthesizer (Synth) appropriately helps create and store an unlimited number of tones in your personal repository.

Loops offer Flexibility to Create Unique Tunes Much Faster

Most people in the present times are comfortable with using software and technology, more than playing instruments. Loops provide them a practical platform to show their creative abilities without having to learn instruments or investing money in them.

Loop software allows users to create unique and personalized tunes. Large pool of loops provides them with an option to play music they want. Synthesizers provide music tones in a digital format similar to the sound from an original instrument. Loops can also be used to create off beat accents using software experimentation.

Loops helps in Expand one’s Musical Horizon

Loops help to expand the musical horizon of a nuance musician. Amateur artists with no professional background in music can try to create their unique songs with loops. A loop provides helps sound designers by allowing them to remix several sounds in a single file.

Building creative and innovative songs with shoestring budget and a little amount of time in one’s hand, is only possible through loops. Musical loops help in creating new lead lines and copyright your unique work under an author name.

Author Bio :-

I am Ryan Gruss loves to play with music. I am in this industry from many years. I am continuously serving my customers all over the world with the music loops. I create Drum Tracks and with different varieties and have gained very good fame and name of my organization Thelooploft. I love writing also and I write blogs and articles related to music.

What are Some of the Best Professional Live Looping Tips?

No matter how much time you spend jamming and practicing in the studios, there are several areas where things can go wrong when it finally comes out to looping in live performances. Fear of addressing huge audiences and pressure of delivering the best can always cause looping difficulties for even professional, most experienced artists.

Keeping that in mind, we discussed all these issues with experts and listed the following tips that will help you become a flawless performer:

How to Build the Energy?

One of the biggest and most effective secrets for staying bouncy in the midst of the audience is to continue mounting your energy. There is no doubt that looping while playing a track can be a bit challenging, but if you follow a rhythmic pattern, you will be able to do it quite effortlessly.

As the volume of the first loop drops, you need to trail it with another drum/guitar loop of the same intensity, making it almost impossible for the audience to contrast between the two. Moreover, the momentum can even be maintained with a significant drop or rise in the sound.     

How to Avoid Drops with Assist?

This might be a well known fact for professional band members who spend hours jamming together and are suitably aware of imperfections and attributes of each other. Even when performing live you can adjust the drum and Guitar loops while taking assistance from your band member. If you aren’t sure about the loop change and think that you can drop it down, don’t hesitate to ask your band members to play a little louder to cover the distortion up.                      

Why have an Exit Strategy?

The biggest concern that can bother professionals about live performances is the failure with overdub or wiping loop. As a suggestion, you need to have proper exit strategy in such cases.

You can get the purpose served with a kill switch, volume pedal or plug-ins.         

Check the Volume:

When looping, it is important that you have a proper check and control over the volume. The control becomes more a necessity than a technicality during the last layers where overdubbing is needed. Volume direction is also required when soloing over the guitar or drum loops, so that you maintain a proper volume level throughout the performance.       

Practicing Beforehand, is it Important?

Unlike the jamming sessions, live performances require a professional guitarist to maintain fine contact with the audience in order to keep everybody engaged with his guitar tracks. This is can be possible only when you are practicing regularly and are able to memorize the guitar/ drum loops or sequences in the rhythmic pattern. If you don’t have enough practice, you might end up twisting tempos and even merely gazing at the pedals during a live performance!     

Author Bio :-

I am Ryan Gruss loves to play with music. I am in this industry from many years. I am continuously serving my customers all over the world with the music loops. I create Drum Tracks and with different varieties and have gained very good fame and name of my organization Thelooploft. I love writing also and I write blogs and articles related to music.