Here at BandLab we listen closely to what our community has to say about our features and the product. Thanks to your feedback, we have gone away and made some changes behind the scenes and now we are proud to present to you lots of incredible new loops ready for use!
We wanted to give you an insight into the process and a peek into what goes on here at BandLab—so we thought the best way to do this would be to introduce you to the musical talent behind the feature. Meet John, BandLab’s Musical Director and resident loop-a-holic!
We had a chat with John about how he created this feature and how he makes music with loops.
Hi John, thanks for your time! For the benefit of all new BandLab users, can you please define for us ‘what a loop actually is’?
A loop is essentially a small cell of musical material that composers and musicians can arrange/rearrange in any way they would like. They consist of all types of instruments and sounds, and you can hear them in use in many genres including EDM, Hip-Hop, RnB, and Pop music. At BandLab, we use MIDI technology to create our loops. What this means is you can select a keyboard loop and change it’s sound to a bass or a synth, or even transpose your notes. This allows musicians to dig as deep as they’d like when working on their music.
What’s the best way to utilize loops on BandLab?
When I compose music in BandLab, I often search through the loop library based on the genre and style of the track I’m working on. I find having a definite starting place an easy and quick way to get my creativity flowing. Then, I’ll mix and match any number of loops and start recording my own tracks over the loops. I’ll even open the built-in MIDI editor to further adjust the loops or change the instrument to get the exact sound I’m looking for.
At BandLab, we use MIDI technology to create our loops. What this means is you can select a keyboard loop and change it’s sound to a bass or a synth, or even transpose your notes.
How would you use loops to make music?
I use loops all the time! I love BandLab’s dubstep loops and use them in almost every project regardless of the genre. I love mixing our string loops with all sorts of electronic and hip-hop tracks. In my experience as a producer, I see even well-known artists beginning their creative process with loops. I really love the way members of the BandLab community used our loops to create such awesome music in their Swee Lee contest entries.
What goes on behind the scenes in the making of a loop?
We have a number of amazing sound designers and composers here at BandLab who are constantly thinking about creative ways to utilize loops. We often define the types of music that our users (and us) would like to make, create new sounds and instruments for BandLab, and then begin the process of composing inspiring and engaging loops. A huge focus of the sound team at BandLab is to both support our creative community and also to keep pushing ourselves to create the highest quality sounds and loops available.
Are there any more plans for future loops or new type of loops on BandLab?
We are constantly creating new loops and soundbanks! Every month we are releasing loops and sounds ranging from Hip-Hop to vintage EDM and classical. In addition to MIDI loops, we’re also working on audio loops. Audio loops will give users awesome new sounds to use in their songs. We certainly have exciting features planned for our Loop Library that will make it even easier and faster to create and share amazing tracks—but you’ll have to stay tuned for that!
A huge focus of the sound team at BandLab is to both support our creative community and also to keep pushing ourselves to create the highest quality sounds and loops available.
Thanks to John for taking the time out of his busy loop-creation schedule to chat with us. Stand-by for more updates in the coming weeks!
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