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I have used loops and construction kits mostly for World Music. Indian, Middle-Eastern etc. Most of what I do it is “homegrown”. Guitar, Bass,, Keyboard etc. I do use drum loops occasionally to get a feel that I can’t do myself ( finger drumming on a MIDI keyboard) or a better more realistic drum sound.
Many times I view loops as another “player” in the room and shape them to fit what I need, somewhat like producing a real player. Other times a loop will give me an idea for something I can play myself. They are just tools to me.
Gotta be very careful with “construction kit” type loops. Big Fish, as I recall, won’t let you use them for library music without permission because somebody “abused” the concept and didn’t layer.
Art, I think “another player in the room” is about right. The danger is when loops go from being another color on the palette to “paint by numbers.” I really just comes down to whether or not you’re a pro, and can use the available tools with any depth.
It is worth going that extra mile. Just whacking loops together ain’t skilful. My gran could get some construction kit loops and stick them together and make a song. What’s good about that?
If you and your gran can convincingly finger-drum the “Purdie shuffle” or straight ahead jazz at 160 bpm (and you have the luxury of time to do so), God bless and sign up for the next season of “America’s Got Talent.”
If I can achieve with samples the SAME thing that I would put onto paper, or with the talents of a world class session player (like Bernard Purdie), why not?…especially if it saves, time and money, which makes being in this business cost effective.
Sample CDs and loops are for those with no creativity.
I beg to differ and that statement is quite a leap. It’s all in how you use them AND your creativity. You could say the same about automobiles. They all have the same basic components but with vastly different results.
Must admit that I use preplayed midifiles for a lot of my drums, and I actually don`t mind. There are some really good options out there and I know very few people who can actually finger play midi drums that good with the swing/groove and the ghost`s that makes a good drum track.Especially the ghost notes makes all the difference for me. Not saying that this is impossible, but it sure takes a lot of skills and time. Off course these things can be midi drawn pretty good, but playing them on a midi keyboard or drum pad is a bit above my skills.
http://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/s900.php
Looping has been around since tape could be spliced together. Loops as we know it probably entered the mainstream with the S900 in 1986, hardly a new phenomenon.
I use loops for loads of things and like Art I view it as an extra tool or player in the room.
I think the “Construction Kit ” stuff is a completely different ball game, they seem to be complete tracks first and sold as wav files for the individual elements. Very weird, and as MichaelL says be very careful with them as the EULA usually precludes any kind of library use. Maybe the market they aim at is to “remix” them and impress your friends, for non commercial use.
As an aside, most of the Bee Gees disco tracks circa “Staying Alive” was a Multitrack drum loop which was slowed up and down for each song. They did actually record it themselves with a real drummer who was credited. He got loads of gigs following this as the timing was so tight !!! He finally fessed up recently.He was of course a very good drummer to begin with they just wanted that metronomic feel, nothing wrong with that say I. How many million records did that sell?
@ #tag, perhaps I can help you “understand.” I have been a professional composer for, it hurts to say this, 36 years. For the first 10 years of my career I wrote everything on a scoresheet. I even had scoresheets printed with my logo! In the mid 19080’s, when samplers came out, I started to follow the technology. I could produce more, because I didn’t have to hire as many people, except for guitars and soloists. But…nothing changed about the process of writing.
To the contrary, I had to expand my skills. In order to play a convincing trumpet part, or flute part, whatever, you had to “think” like a trumpet player or flute player. etc. In the days before “round robins,” with the Siedlaczek orchestra for example, you had trumpet staccato one and trumpet staccato two. To make the lines sound real I played the line with a trumpet player’s phrasing, then split every other note to different midi channels, so that I could use both articulations, creating my own “round robin.”
Libraries like Symphobia and Orchestral String Runs, allow me to quickly compose and record cues. Whether or not I write a two octave E flat major string run down on paper, before I record it, is irrelevant. Two octaves of an E flat scale is two octaves of an E flat scale, no matter what. The difference between my playing it and using the “loop” from Orchestral String Runs, is the the OTR loop sounds authentic. The same thing can be said of the aleatoric FX in Symphobia. Those FX / devices are by nature left to chance. The loops in Symphobia and the like are far more effective than anything that I could play.
Very often, when I’m writing, I open up the notation window to analyze the structure of what I’m writing. I still use scorepaper to visualize certain voicings and voice leading. When I use drum loops or percussion loops it’s a similar thought process. But, instead of telling the drummer what to play, I choose what the drummer plays.
If you think that any of this is an easy task, that some how cheats or diminishes the compositional process, I think you are mistaken. People work at their own level of competence. Yes, some of these tools provide a way for less competent individuals to cut and paste cues together. But for, as you put it, “self-respecting” composers these tools provide infinite possibilities.
It sounds to me, like you haven’t worked with available technology enough to know how deep, complex, varied, and creative it can be.
But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what James Horner has to say (btw has has a PhD) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfvwUBNg-X8&feature=related
But…let’s be realistic. Media music is not always, in fact almost never is, high art. It is music the serves a function. As such, 9 times out of 10 writers paint stylistically, with very broad brush strokes.
Moreover, you must consider genre. Improvisational jazz was never written down. Hip hop and electronica developed out of sequencing technology, linn drums and Roland 808’s, and analog synths.
I will agree that there’s a lot of poorly written / produced music in some royalty free libraries, because there aren’t enough gate-keepers, like Mark Lewis. But, as with samples, I think you need to dig a little more deeply, and generalize a little less. There’s some very good music in RF libraries too.
With all due respect, maybe you need to listen with an open mind.
All the best,
_Michael
Just an “editors note” when I refer to “electronica” above , I mean dance-based, not ambient electronica. e.g. Music for Airports by Brian Eno.