Tips on making an 8 bar loop? :/

[Dennis1990]

I have a hard time making an 8 bar loop especially at a slower tempo...

4 bar loops are pretty easy.

Any advice?

Heres an example of a nice slow 8 bar loop.

 

[condenasty]

This 8-bar loop is not really made by a "producer"; it's just a nice sample that someone found and decided to loop. The producer didn't really do much else to it, besides slow it down and compress it a little or add some EQ maybe.

But that doesn't mean that it's not a good example of how to make an 8-bar loop! If you listen to it you can hear that it is really just a 4-bar phrase that gets repeated with different embellishments. This is a good place to start for someone who has no problem making a 4-bar loop but gets stuck when coming up with longer loops. Repeat the main element but change something about it the second time. If the bass line goes up the first time, try making it go down the second time. Improvise with a lead instrument like a synth or a guitar for a while and chop up 8 bars that you like, then layer it over the main loop.

 

[Ametrine]

If you listen to it you can hear that it is really just a 4-bar phrase that gets repeated with different embellishments. This is a good place to start for someone who has no problem making a 4-bar loop but gets stuck when coming up with longer loops. Repeat the main element but change something about it the second time.

Agreed.

If it's that troublesome, just repeat your loop and make a small change in the 7th or 8th bar.

Sometimes, I like to play the same notes in the 5th bar as the ones that play in the 4th bar. You could always also work your way up with 6 or 7 bar patterns. (A little different, but can work very well).

 

[Summit Hooks]

Definitely good advice above if u adhere to it but I think it's missing the simplified approach that you're looking for.
So, step by step, here ya go:
1) Have your first 2 bars be the exact same. All elements. That means that first you have to make a catchy 1 bar loop and repeat it twice.
2) Very subtley alter the 3rd bar (ie an extra kick hitting on the 3rd step when it didn't previously do that)
3) Have the 4th bar be the exact same as bars 1 & 2.
4) Very subtley alter the 5th bar, but in a different way than before (ie an extra snare hitting on step 8 this time instead of the extra kick hit)
5) Have bars 6 & 7 be the exact same as bars 2 & 3
6) Then finish it off w/ a drum break on bar 8
7) Hit em w/ a crash on the onset of bar 9 and you've got em!

 

[bandcoach]

slightly different advice from above

drums
drummers tend to actually do the variation thing every even bar so bars 1, 3, 5 and 7 are exactly the same and bars 2, 4, 6 and 8 have variations

it is also common to have a crash come at the end of bar 4/start of bar 5 and definitely at the end of 8/start of 9

a drum break may not be the best solution every 8th bar, especially if you go OTT with it

bass
bass players tend to follow the kick for major points of emphasis: these will be chord tones with chord tone 1 being prevalent on beat 1 and beat 3

if they use more notes than there are kicks in a bar these will be passing tones (tones between chord tones) or neighbour tones that return to the previous chord tone - the note a 2nd above or below the active chord tone.

bass players will also add some variation that complements the drums where they vary: think octave leaps or snaps from 7ths into octaves to add emphasis to the drum parts

keys
a keyboard part can be static and simply hold the active chord for the length of each bar, or it can be active and move so that it uses similar ideas to a bass part i.e. passing chords/tones as you move through inversions of the current chord (use partial scale runs, either harmonised or not, to connect each inversion) and neighbour chords/tones: decorative parts that emphasise the current chord by accentuating the "rightness" of that chord by moving to it from "wrong" chords/non-chord scale tones