Support
Looper's Delight
|
Support |
|
|
>>>Topic suggestion: >>>How many of you folks routinely use loops longer than, say 10 >>>sec.? > >Something nobody mentioned in this thread, which seems obvious to me but I >guess not to all you arty ambient soundscape guys, is looping the chord >progression or bassline of a tune and playing the melody or soloing over >it. I do this with jazz tunes - make a loop of myself comping one chorus, >and then use that as background for solos. I mostly do it to practice, but >I've seen people do it live, too, with various instruments. One time >through most jazz standards is usually quite a lot more than 10 seconds, >unless you play it *really* uptempo.... same for other types of music, >too. Excellent point, Kim! I've found my EDP to be an incredible tool for practicing "compositions" in Indian music. There are basically 2 types of instrumental composition -- a very slow 16-beat rhythm, and also a much faster style. Each has a very specific "feel" and structure. The slow composition can take up to 30 seconds at the beginning tempo, the fast speed maybe 5 seconds. These "compositions" are then interspersed with short improvisations, for instance for 4 or 5 beats, then return to the precomposed section which is repeated throughout the performance. Gradually the improvisations get longer and longer, eventually going over several cycles of the rhythm. Part of the joy of hearing a good performer is to see how skillfully he or she can link their improvisations back into the main composition. But it's very difficult to keep track of exactly where the time is during these improvs. So I use a tactic similar to your looping the changes or bassline for a jazz tune -- I loop the entire "composition" then practice improvisations over it. This makes it much easier to hear where each beat is, and to be able to work out how much time is needed to weave the improvisations seamlessly back into the composition. I wish I'd had this great tool years ago! James