Wanting to Start With Loops

[MattB]

Greetings! I lead worship, and the team consists of just me on an acoustic guitar and a few singers. It's been this way for a year, and though I am always thankful for those who do participate on the team, I feel it is time to break into some new ground musically-speaking.

Here is my current setup regarding computers, etc:
An older PC laptop running Windows XP 2007 - that is running pretty slow.
A desktop Mac running OSX (but not the most updated version).
I use and am familiar with Audacity for recording, and am able to render loops with that program. However, it is not too user-friendly in that aspect - just takes a lot of time to tweak everything.

I do not have a lot of money to invest in a bunch of gadgetry or new programs, but would like to start somewhere.

What ideas/suggestions would you have for me regarding software programs, tools that I could use; and also being that I lead with solo guitar, what kind of loops would be the best to start with, i.e. drum loops, pads, etc.

Thanks!

[kcmaestro]

Ableton is the software standard for the application you're describing. They've introduced a "lite" version (which does audio only, not video) for $149 - the "full" version will also sync to video.

[Kilroy]

If you want to start simply without spending any money, I recommend going to praisecharts.com and checking out their click tracks. They are simple and pre-rendered, so you can literally play them from iTunes if you want to. They are cheap (literally a couple of bucks) and would allow you to get out of the get and see how it goes without having to spend a lot of money, buy new hardware, etc.

We started out about 8 months ago with our first track just being a shaker and a string pad. We are now routinely running complex tracks with tempo changes, key changes, and up to ten tracks of audio. All that to say that for me at least, it got very complicated very quickly. So I recommend starting out very simply to get the hang of it.

[MattB]

I have actually been home recording and producing for some years now and during that time I have rendered loops (drum loops, pads, etc) for use in my personal recordings. So, I do have some basic familiarity with producing loops, etc.

I am proud to say that I just completed my first loop track (using Audacity)to use with the song, "Breathe". It is a very simple track: just a drum loop, and pad.

I downloaded the two loops from a couple various websites, and the first thing I did was take the pad loop and change its key to match/harmonize with the key that I play "Breathe" in. Next, I took the drum loop, and changed it's tempo to match the song. This was done with me simply just playing the guitar and listening to see if the tempo of the loop was right.

Finally, once the key and tempo were right, I just played the song on the guitar according to my arrangement and lengthened the tracks accordingly. The loop track starts off with a fade in of the synth pad, and the drum loop kicks in soon after that. I let/count two measures with the drum loop and then I begin to play the song. So, that's how I get my timing right. The loop fits perfectly! I am really looking forward to using it Sunday, and making more loops for more songs...

[fmckinnon]

Matt -

Wanted to also direct you to some of the articles written on the e-zine side of the site ... several articles have been written by our wonderful contributors on using loops:

TheWorshipCommunity.Com (http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/index.php?s=loops)