Re: Question of the Week -- when do you NOT loop?

[paul buelow <paul@webms.com>]

Hi, 

I joined the list a short time ago. I have appreciated
the good humor, resources and helpful tips to making
music found here. 

Question - What other ways are there to trigger and
maintain a loop 'note on' then trigger a 'note off' when
a new note is triggered? 

Basically I want to trigger a loop and play along on the
drums without holding the key or a sustain pedal then
trigger a new loop on a new downbeat or cancel the loop. 

I have been learning to loop and drum along for a
while-one note at a time. I used to play along with the
program (David Z. wrote it I think) with pattern based
sequencing and also I've used max. Lately, I use live
miked drums with the mixing boards mic direct outs
triggering a DM4 drum module. I trigger drum loop
samples setup in a S-760 and phrases in a Mirage that I
trigger from a smaller keyboard near the drumset. S

I fade in and out of these loop options and play along
with other musicians. 

Sustain pedals keep the loops going or I can hold a key
down and play drums with one hand? The setup requires a
few foot pedals to move through patches and change
volume or I have to turn the sampler/synth knobs while I
play (argh). The monitor mix tends to usually be fine
for me (since I set it) and that's probably why playing
with loops works for me. 

I don't loop as often when I play along with acoustic
musicians. We usually play 3 songs with loops then 3
songs without loops. The contrast is nice to explore.