Use timbral changes when composing with loops

If you’ve studied composition in a classical context like I have then you’ve likely learned how to write very linearly. Composing with loops is nothing like that. They’re two contrasting styles of composing. They can be mixed, but you think a little differently when composing linearly vs. composing with loops.

One thing to consider when composing with loops is how you can keep them interesting, even if the music itself and the notes and rhythms aren’t changing.

Changing the timbre of instruments can be a great way to do this.

One common way of changing the timbre is by adding a Low-Pass Filter to an instrument and slowly opening it. I’ve got a video titled Going from a Loop to a Full Track using Filters if you want to learn more about that.

Something else you can do to change the timbre of a loop is add or change instruments. This one might seem obvious, but it can add a whole lot to a loop. There’s a 12 Tone video titled How to Write a Four Chord Loop where they mention this as well. You can often make a song sound almost like a completely different song by changing the rhythms and instrumentation.

One way to go about writing like this is to think of contrasts. If the chorus is very staccato with stabs, then maybe the verse could be legato with some counterpoint.

This means you need to create multiple instruments and synths if you’re making electronic music, but that’s what might be required.

So go make some timbral changes with your loop based music.

ISJ