I made this post because I was once in a predicament where I absolutely hated the idea of using loops to create tracks, and I was even perhaps worried that my authenticity might be compromised by using pre made sounds.
One day, though, I got bored of twiddling around and decided to make a track solely from loops, just to see what would happen, and to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it a lot!
I don't always work this way, but it was helpful for me to do so for a while.
I consider myself to be "pro loops/sample packs", a fan of them, so I'm gonna basically now go in depth about the pros and the possibilities of solely using them, here goes:
- Samples and loops are beginner friendly, but there's not really a skill cap either.
What I mean is, there is something democratic about using loops. If myself and a completely inexperienced person both sat down with some samples and made some music, we could both relate to what was happening.
Even if they didn't know anything about the software, they could react to the loops they liked, and the ones they didn't, and actually be involved in creating a track and get a chance to express their tastes and the sounds that they enjoy.
- Samples are "girl-friendly" (it sounds sexist, but isn't.)
Let's face it, we like to pretend that girls like math, and many do, but in the real world, I can only imagine that their impressions of making music with a computer is a soul-less, tasteless affair; at least, this is my experience.
And let's face it, it IS kind of boring, we stare at ugly looking programs working with numbers and essentially graphs & grids most of the time.
I wonder sometimes how many women get an interest in production, only to realise that the long windedness of it and the endless sub/forum dickwaving contests about compression techniques just isn't really their thing.
One of my future goals is to develop a more female-relevant aesthetic when it comes to music software and creation in general, and I can image that samples, or presets of some kind will play a big part in this.
- Samples are rarely obsolete.
Once you've got your sample packs backed up, ext and cd, they're not really going anywhere.
- Choosing sample packs is an artform in and of itself.
Using samples is a matter of taste. What kind of sounds do YOU like? And obv the same goes for buying the right packs.
A lot of people splurge and buy or download and bunch of random packs and have them scattered everywhere in their library.
But people like me, I only buy a couple of packs a year and basically work with them exclusivley. I choose ones that I really like the sound of, from my favourite vendors, and that promise a good lifespan, and then I stick with them. I invest in them, like one would with an album they've bought on cd, and just like a physical product I treat them with respect.
- Most of them ARE royalty-free (nowadays).
I hear this arguement a lot, that using samples can get you into trouble. Find out before you buy the pack, and if you're unsure you can likely request to read the terms and conditions.
You'll find that reputable sample companies are very upfront about the license, and it will clearly state whether or not you are free to use the sounds, as they are, commercially. Just remember to find out first.
- You can potentially create an infinite number of tracks with just one pack.
There are so many combinations that can be done. I don't personally do the Vengeance packs anymore, but if you think about it, you could make thousands and thousands, if not infinite amount of tracks just with that one pack.
You can edit those loops in so many ways, and trigger or use the one shots that theoretically, you would never need anything else to make a dance track.
- Acid Pro 7 is superlight-weight/non cpu heavy, small footprint, and has a pretty decent warping algorithm. There's a reason why so many packs still include an Acid Wav format; it's a good f-ing program for loop-based creation.
It's easy to use, but it can do great automation, vst support and is well equipped for mixing, a clean interface with minimal clutter and relatively cheap.
- Choosing samples is a reflection of your taste.
The creativity of using loops comes down to your own tastes. Two people, given the same pack, will choose different sounds to work with based on what they like. The end result will be different.
Sure, if they just drag and drop everything as it is, it might be blaringly obvious that one had just done that, but let's say they're a bit more adept at it. Let's say two really experienced producers do it; wouldn't that be interesting, to hear their final results?
- It's hardly gonna destroy music if someone messing around throws some loops together and calls it their song.
I mean, so what? If they're not too serious about it, they won't be around for long. And if they ARE serious, or they become serious, then they'll gradually become unique over time.
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It's a good way to introduce computer-based music making to kids because it can be relatively simple.
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Part of the fun can be seeing how far you can take a particular loop or sound.
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Samples are quick.
Sometimes you're just not in the mood to spend hours clicking, and sometimes you don't have the time.
- Samples are a good way to demo melody ideas.
If you write melodies, making a quick demo with a pack or construction kit can be very handy.
Sometimes the melody is where you go first, and you can get it down, with a rough structure, some general ideas for the track flow around the melody and then bounce it out as a demo version.
And then you can come back to the melody at a later date and decide whether or not you want to build a track from the idea from the ground up.
- If your music is very genre specific, then sometimes there's no point in making everything from scratch.
A good example of this is uplifting trance. I mean, you really need to get the sound right before you get creative, there's just a certain expectation of what it should all sound like.
The creativity comes after. There's only so many variations of an uplifting trance bassline, sometimes its better just to take a sound from a specialised pack and edit it, because it's often gonna work, make it your own, add your own layers and production techniques to make it original.
- Mixing and production techniques are still 100% relevant.
You can use only samples for the music, but your production techniques can be at the very forefront and your main focus, if that is your thing, to the point where regardless of what loops and passages you used, your signature production style is the thing that matters.
Closing:
I would say to anyone that passes by here and feels like they can't be a producer because they don't enjoy using certain elements of the software to have no fear; samples are here!
They're a legit way of working. Better if you can do both, but it's an individual preference.
Hopefully this can encourage someone who is a bit disheartened by the illusion that production is some kind of bro-core elite contest, where only the most technically perfect guys can be considered "good".
-al
Submitted November 22, 2016 at 09:06PM by alexorigin27 https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/5ee6x2/zen_the_art_of_using_samples_and_loops_why_i/?utm_source=ifttt