how many bars in a good loop?

  • Thread starter Thread starter xtrordinare
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it depends on the tempo of track.
80-90 BPM - not more that 4 bars
140-180 - at least 4 bars.
 
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i dunno bout that 4 bar thing. i think it depends on the song in general.
 
sometimes the "repetitive" feeling is not on the bars quantity, but in the sounds properties.

Adding aleatory/random properties to the patches of the loop, helps a lot to avoid too mechanic or repetitive tracks.

I always try to combine patterns of 2, 4, 8 and 16 into a single song. Sometimes is good to have 4 patterns of 2 bars, to make fast changes on groove basses parts, or long patterns for melodic parts.
 
going by 4s is a good rule. there really isn't such thing as too many bars for a loop. really, it all depends on the genre/ style of the music. however, odd bar numbers can help to give a loop more variety. such as your 5 bar loop.
 
Sometimes i have a 2 bar drum loop but normally my drum loops are 4 bar.

My meolody loops are normally atleast 4 bar but on a few tracks the melody has been 2, 6 or 8 bars. It all depends on the type of track to be honest.

It doesn't matter, just do what feels right and what your comfortable with. There aren't rules and regulations that you gotta stick 2 when u make music.

Also you can have a 2 bar melody loop say for example a piano, but you can have underlying strings or bass that loops after 4 or 8 bars, this makes it sound less repetitive. just work with sounds and layers. the piano could be the main driving melody but the strings, bass etc just break it up and make it seem less monotonous (spelling?). Just play around with different techniques and u'll find something you like.
 
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there are some synths, like the Yamaha EX5, where you can specify a different length for each track.
That's a supercool feature. You can specify very detailed lengths for each track, like 5-2-120 for the first one, 8-0-000 the 2nd one, 14-1-240 or the third one, etc.
That helps a lot for complex timing.
 
agent47 said:
from anywhere between 4 and 8 is what i usually use, if you can come up with a 16 bar loop (original composition), then god bless you and please share your secret

~1~
Click to expand...

Would that even be a loop? After 16 bars it'd be time to switch to chorus :) What if I had two eight-bar loops, similar but slightly different? Since they're different and consecutive, would that be a 16 bar loop?
 
i usually do it liek that. 16 bar melodies aer cool to make. i mean they are just slight variations when i do it tho.
 
The beat im working on now I have a 4 bar loop for my melody and drums. On the 4th beat of the 2nd bar i switch up my melody just a little. I do the same with my drums but on the 4th beat of the 8th bar.

The thing you have to remember is dont think about it, if your working on a melody and you stop and think is this going to sound repetitive you will lose your creative focus.

Music is an art form but its not like painting where you can sit and think and analyze every stroke. Eminem said it best "You better lose yourself in the music, the moment"
 
4 drums i tend to bang out a bar or 2 listen to it looping decide on some alterations make 5 or 6 bar or 2 bar long segments then try to mix em up abit. whatever works 4 your project really
 
Dirt Off Your Shoulders was a 1 bar loop, that beat was crazy. Granted there were changeups throughout the track, sound fx to keep it interesting, and more **** added during the chorus. The foundation was still just a 1 bar loop though. It really depends on the style of the track you're doing and the instruments used.
 
for me its usually a basic 4 bar, with different variations in each 4 bar loop from 1st verse to ending chorus
 
So long the rest of the music goes hand in hand with you durmbeat
all you need is 1bar.. It all depends on what the other instruments do.
 
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