Pro Tools: Working with Loops
Getting Loops to Work Together
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Tutorial 1
Loops R Us
3:55Learn about the history and various loop formats we will work with throughout this video series.
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Tutorial 2
Measuring Time
7:20See how to use the 'Tab to Transient' and trim commands to create smoothly looping audio files. Also learn how tempo changes affect audio clips and their position in the timeline when they are on tick based versus sample based tracks.
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Tutorial 3
Follow You Follow Me
8:25Learn how to set tracks to use Elastic Audio in order to have loops conform to session tempo, and how to have Pro Tools automatically audition and import loops onto Elastic audio enabled tracks at the session tempo.
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Tutorial 4
The Beat Police!
7:46Learn how to use Beat Detective to generate a groove template based on beat triggers in one loop, and then conform the feel of another loop, separated at its transients, to the same groove.
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Tutorial 5
Loops n Groups
9:06Discover methods for duplicating, repeating, and looping clips; and how to convert multiple sliced clips into clip groups that can be handled and looped as a single object.
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Tutorial 6
Quantizing Loops
6:42See how warp markers are automatically generated when loops residing on Elastic Audio tracks are quantized based on their transient derived event markers.
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Tutorial 7
Warp Drive!
7:22Discover ways of manipulating subtle nuances, timing, and phrasing within a loop by modifying small sections with warp markers.
Creating Variations from Loops
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Tutorial 8
Trim to Win
9:01See how to separate loops either at their transients or on the grid, and how you can re-arrange the slices to create interesting variations of the initial loop. Watch as the Trim tool is used in Loop mode to create interesting rhythmic offsets for loop iterations, and in TCE mode to alter the timing of the slices directly in waveform view, without having to manually generate warp markers.
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Tutorial 9
Chop & Drop
6:28One approach to working creatively with loops is to chop them up, create variations by re-arranging and quantizing the slices and saving the variations as clip groups. This creates a palette to work from when constructing an arrangement based around the loops that you were originally inspired by.
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Tutorial 10
REX & Reharms
8:58There's no need to feel locked in to the preset chord patterns in your loop libraries. Watch how creative splitting and transposition of a strumming guitar part can create a completely new chord pattern and new rhythmic feel.
Working with Drums
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Tutorial 11
Dare to Layer Pt. 1
8:01Watch as kick and snare samples are extracted from disparate loops and layered together and used for sample accurate enhancement of the tonal color of the principal drum loop.
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Tutorial 12
DeLoop Delay
5:46Discover ways of creating interesting cross rhythms while still leaving your original loop intact, by adding various delays on to the layered loop elements.
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Tutorial 13
Dare To Layer Pt. 2
10:07Layer disparate elements together from different loops. See how repeating them at irregular intervals and nested looping creates subtle variations over time.
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Tutorial 14
Adding Ghost Notes
7:02Explore 4 techniques for creating, placing, and varying ghost notes in your drum loops.
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Tutorial 15
Varying Ghost Notes
6:00Learn how to shorten the decay, add swing, and add kick and hi-hat ghost notes to your loops.
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Tutorial 16
Drum Loop Tips
8:23Discover a potpourri of techniques useful for creating drum loop variations and fills.
Loops and Plug-Ins
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Tutorial 17
Loops & Samplers
5:27Manipulating loops within software samplers opens up a new world of sample mangling possibilities. Watch as multiple loop points are set up to loop short sections of a longer loop inside Kontakt by Native Instruments.
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Tutorial 18
De-Construction Kits
7:11Create your own construction kits from harmonic and melodic material to build new melodies or chord progressions from existing loops. Then chop the material into musically relevant sized slices, load them into a sampler, and replay and reorder them in real-time from your MIDI keyboard.
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Tutorial 19
Loops & Stylus RMX
9:09Discover creative ways loops can be customized within Stylus RMX, including use of the Chaos Designer to introduce loop variations, Time Designer to change the feel, meter, and complexity of the loops loaded in, and the SAGE Converter to incorporate your own REX files.
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Tutorial 20
Loops & Melodyne
7:15See how Melodyne is used to change individual notes within polyphonic loops, and learn how to use it's MIDI export function to double audio loops with MIDI sounds.
If you're looking to work with loops in Pro Tools, look no further. Pro Tools guru Eli Krantzberg shows the tricks of the looping trade in this in-depth series, "Working with Loops in Pro Tools".
Eli starts with the basics of using loops then gets into Beat Detective, Groups, Quantizing Loops, Warping loops, using REX files, and layering. He then shows you how to use delay creatively, adding ghost notes, drum loop tips, creating construction kits, using Stylus RMX, Melodyne and much, much more.
If you use Pro Tools and want a solid foundation in loop based productions, this series is for you. Get loopy today, watch "Working with Loops in Pro Tools".
Reviews
Submitted 3 weeks ago
Very inspiring! Thanks Eli
This tutorial has really inspired me to be creative with my music.
I am a: Hobbyist, Musician
Submitted 6 months ago
Really interesting topic
The material is clearly presented with a great explanation of every action the tutor is taking. Easy to follow along! Using a reasonable recent version of Pro Tools too :)
I am a: Hobbyist, Audio Engineer, Pro Tools
1. When did you start dabbling in music?
I started playing drums in high school at age fourteen. Like most kids my age around then, I was into progressive rock. Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Yes. They rocked my world. A few short years later though, my musical life changed. While studying music in college I discovered Charlie Parker, Milt Jackson, Sonny Stitt, and John Coltrane. Milt Jackson spoke to me in such a profound way that it left me no choice but to take up vibraphone.
These great players, along with drummers like Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach, Art Blakey, and Elvin Jones changed not only the way I thought about drumming, but also music - and by extension, life - as a whole. I realized life was meant to be a creative endeavor. The idea of improvising based on a loose set of guidelines and rules permeated into my psyche even when I wasn't holding a pair of drumsticks or mallets. But if I am going to be perfectly truthful, I have to hold Henry Miller and Woody Allen equally responsible for shaping the way I view and experience the world around me.
2. What training have you had?
I am currently an Apple certified Logic Pro. Young and cocky, and armed with only a partial University degree, I dropped out of school and began playing steady commercial hotel engagements and jazz gigs when I could. This went on for many years until I decided it was time to complete my degree - which I ultimately did with a major in Political Science and a minor in music.
It was at this point that I formed my current band Nightshift. We are going in to our twenty third year now - playing commercial one nighters like weddings, corporate events, etc. Don't turn your nose up at it though - it has allowed me a wonderful quality of life. It gave me the freedom to go back to school and complete a post graduate degree in Communications Studies - all the while supporting myself by playing weddings.
3. When did you get into recording?
It was in this graduate program - in the early nineties - that I found myself drawn to the fledgling emerging universe of hard disc recording and midi sequencing. Based on nothing more than the recommendation of one of my band mates who had an old Atari, I jumped in head first and bought a Mac LC ll, along with a version 1.1 of what was then Notator Logic. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But, in hindsight, it was a decision of epic importance in my life - shaping my future as much as the music of Milt Jackson and Charlie Parker did fifteen years prior.
I opened up my own commercial home studio in 1998 and began doing a variety of projects, working on radio jingles, artist CD projects, and whatever came my way. A couple of years later a colleague called me up - desperate. He was working at a post production house and one of the editors had just quit. They were doing audio post for a weekly TV series and needed a Pro Tools editor - and fast! And so, once again, I jumped in head first into what would ultimately open up my world even more - the world of Pro Tools.
4. People you have worked with/for?
Focusing on Logic, I built up a small but loyal client base and my phone kept ringing for Logic tech support and instruction. Film composers and studio owners all over the city were calling me. Even the music stores were giving out my phone number at this point! This kind of stuff becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. The more of it you do, the more calls you get to keep doing it. At least that's the way it should be!
As my Logic chops kept growing, I was hired by an old buddy of mine, Len Sasso, who was then an associate editor at Electronic Musician magazine, and began writing some columns for them. I had a blast doing them - and really learned to focus and express my thoughts in a concise and clear manner. This lead to a collaboration with LA based composer Terry Michael Huud on the 2006 film called Civic Duty - which was certainly one of the highlights of my professional life as a composer.
5. Why are you so good at training people?
I wake up every day excited to boot up, and create. Whether it's instructional videos, creating music, working with a studio client, performing with my band, or teaching at the schools - my days are filled with what I love doing. Enriched by the stimulation and creative freedom this modern music making software brings to my life. I bring that excitement and passion to each and every training product I create. My years of experience both using and teaching these programs has taught me the best way to make the user comfortable with these complex programs.
Products by Eli
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tutorial videoAAS Chromaphone Explained
Eli Krantzberg returns, this time showing you the incredible AAS Chromaphone creative percussive synthesizer. This synth is capable of creating incredibly expressive drum, percussion, string, and synth-like instruments, so hold the phone and check it out!
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tutorial videoAAS Strum GS-2 Explained
In this FREE series commissioned by Applied Acoustic Systems, Eli Krantzberg covers the expansive performance library of electric and acoustic guitar strumming inside and out, and shows you how to make Strum GS-2 your new favorite session guitarist!
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tutorial videoAirEQ Explained
Eli Krantzberg returns with an in-depth series on the amazing AirEQ by Eiosis, which was designed with a vision of achieving musical, technical and sonic excellence in equalization. This just might become your to go-to EQ!
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tutorial videoAlchemy 2 Explained
Logic Pro X 10.2 integrated Alchemy 2, one of the most powerful virtual instruments ever made. In this three-hour video training tutorial series, Eli Krantzberg teaches you how to become a Alchemy wizard and unleash all of its power on your music!
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tutorial videoApogee Maestro 2 Explained
Maestro 2 is Apogee's flexible and powerful OS X Mixer software solution that's included with all Apogee interfaces. Studio master Eli Krantzberg shows you everything you need to know about Maestro 2, as well as how to get the best performance out of your Apogee interface and improve your workflow.
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