How to make beats not sound like loops.

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BALKI

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How to make beats not sound like loops.


Anybody have any good advice on how to make you're beats not sound so much like loops? I'm having a hard time with this so far. I use alot of samples and mix em in whenever i have a good drum pattern going. Is this something simple to fix by. measly muting and un-muting instruments whenever recording? Like have you're drums going for a good minute then have that sample lead come in a lil after to work ya chorus? Any tutorials on this anywhere? Any tips from experienced beat-makers would be appreciated cause this is the only problem im having with my beats. Basically i wanna know how pple arrange their beats with alot of samples so it'll sound like a real song and not a loop.
 
I'm a little confused, are you referring to the sequencing of a track or the actual arrangement of the chops. Because both are kinda dictated by the sample and the mood of the sample thats given to the listener. The best thing to do is to try and find 2 loops with the chops so u can alternate for a break down, perhaps even add your own instruments on top. Composing and sampling should go hand in hand in my opinion anyway.
 
I guess you can say the sequencing of a the track when you record. I don't know to much about chopping up a loop yet. I don't really use loops i build my own drum pattern and add my own sampled instrument with it, but it always sounds like a loop. Like no change ups with the drums or a chorus. Like a intro.middle and ending if you know what i mean. I basically always use a simple drum pattern i come up with and a lead instrument and thats it. I haven't tried recording or arranging parts for it yet.
 
well its all in the song.. the intro could be a secondary sample without drums then the chorus could be the main sample with the drums then in the verse just chop it up get creative and add your own instruments
 
Add fills, maybe a small one at the end of the 4th bar and a bigger one at the end of the 8th.

Bring percussion in and out, drop hats in and out, drop some claps on your snares/take them out. Go from 8ths to 16ths for the hi hat patterns at times, just vary what you are dojng and don't get too lazy.

This is why I like the Redrum in Reason. I program a beat, copy it to several other free patterns and edit it, then drop then in and out of the arrangement, or audition them on the fly to see if it keeps the interest up.
 
One way is to allow your sounds to finish themselves out.

If you are using reason and you track your beats out in Pro Tools like I do, then you must set your loop a little longer when you are exporting your loops. Sometimes sounds get cut off, therefore exposing where your "loop" ends and begins. So just let your sounds finish (some sounds fade on their own. Or just try disguising them with an fx or a hit. I don't know if you understand, but it really helped me.

But if you are a sampler, just chop them cleaner i guess.

I hope that helped a little
 
Avoid using short sequences - try for at least 8 bars, prefferably more, so that you can put in lots of little variations. Real (live) music is constantly changing in velocity/volume so try to add a little bit of variation there too.
 
a big plus in making a loop not sound like a loop is stereo.When a sample is stereo,it's almost like you realize a different instrument everytime it loops.
 
depends on what you're using...I, like most, track my songs out into Cubase or Protools. With each sound now having it's own track...you can sequence/arrange as necessary. Basically, all your doing is taking parts in and out throughout the length of the beat to give it song structure.
 
Use some MIDI-controlled one-shot instrument and drum samples and PLAY THEM IN. (or program them in)... you can overdub layers this way too. The only way to get around that loop based sound is to go beyond using just mainly loops as source material.
 
Don't abuse with beat samples.

Don't quantize too much.

Add aleatory values on the startpoint of the notes. For example, when you record on step/by rec or quantized realtime recording, the resulting input values look like this on the edition screen:

1-1-000
1-1-192
1-2-000
1-2-192
1-3-000
1-3-192
1-4-000
1-4-192

Go to edition mode and, one by one, add aleatory values not too faraway from the quantized values:

1-1-001
1-1-189
1-2-004
1-2-192
1-3-002
1-3-196
1-3-382
1-4-191

If you have a 2 bar pattern, copy it, and in the next one, apply this concept off making diminute changes to all the tracks, on the velo, startpoint and gatetime.

combine different lenghts of patterns. Perform a long time changing melody, throught 16 bars, changin notes each 2/4 bars. first the melody, then, the bass will follow harmonically the changes. At the end, add a track of drum loops, they can be repetitive (read my sig), but add another layer of realtime non quantized drums. the leading melody can be a pad or a synth sound, followed by another track with arppegio...

If you work with beat sample segments, Use several versions of the same sample, but processed through different effects. MAke experiments with them alternating between different variations of the same sample
 
the easiest way to do drums i read is to take say 2 measure pattern. copy and paste, drop notes, change notes, then copy and paste that now you have 8 measures, then maybe change the last measure to a roll, finally copy and paste now you have 16 measure loop....you can go further and do another 8 measure copy and paste for the chorus....and they say think like a drummer, you only have four limbs to use so there should be no more then 4 notes sounding at the same time..
 
perhaps the most simple idea: know where your track is going. map out in your mind what you want to do before you do it...and make each section with an eye on what comes next.

-Lodger
 
I use DAE i.e. Sound Forge to edit loops in ways to actually give them a more live sound...sometimes 1 hit at a time if necessary...
 
You need to add changeups. I know thats kinda vague. start with your sample melody and let it go like four bars then add a changeup sample for four bars maybe some sort of a build up to go back to the original four bar melody. You can do this every four bars or even better yet change that up do it after the first 4 then go 8 bars and bring this sample in. That sounds simple but Im no authority on the subject even though I know the formula its not always easy to put it into place. What I find to make it easier is to gather all my material for a song first then build the composition you gotta try to not get locked into finding that one sample or that one melody that really hits home and keep messing around with it. So come to lab with as much material as you can first then build your beat.

A lot of others just said chop it. Well just chopping wont do it you need to play those chops differently from the original loop. changeup the way you play them throught the composition.

Dont get to crazy with changups if you intend for your tracks to be for an MC. A good MC doesnt want to many chngeups because they will provide the changeups with their lyrical skills. Hip hop relies on the loop more than any other form of music does.
 
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to avoid loop sounding beats, add breakdown and bridges to songs
 
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