Pro Tools: Working with Loops

Chapter 1 : Getting Loops to Work Together

• 3:55

  Loops R Us

  Learn about the history and various loop formats we will work with throughout this video series.

• 7:20

  Measuring Time

  See 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.

• 8:25

  Follow You Follow Me

  Learn 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.

• 7:46

  The Beat Police!

  Learn 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.

• 9:06

  Loops n Groups

  Discover 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.

• 6:42

  Quantizing Loops

  See how warp markers are automatically generated when loops residing on Elastic Audio tracks are quantized based on their transient derived event markers.

• 7:22

  Warp Drive!

  Discover ways of manipulating subtle nuances, timing, and phrasing within a loop by modifying small sections with warp markers.

Chapter 2 : Creating Variations from Loops

• 9:01

  Trim to Win

  See 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.

• 6:28

  Chop & Drop

  One 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.

• 8:58

  REX & Reharms

  There'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.

Chapter 3 : Working with Drums

• 8:01

  Dare to Layer Pt. 1

  Watch 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.

• 5:46

  DeLoop Delay

  Discover ways of creating interesting cross rhythms while still leaving your original loop intact, by adding various delays on to the layered loop elements.

• 10:07

  Dare To Layer Pt. 2

  Layer disparate elements together from different loops. See how repeating them at irregular intervals and nested looping creates subtle variations over time.

• 7:02

  Adding Ghost Notes

  Explore 4 techniques for creating, placing, and varying ghost notes in your drum loops.

• 6:00

  Varying Ghost Notes

  Learn how to shorten the decay, add swing, and add kick and hi-hat ghost notes to your loops.

• 8:23

  Drum Loop Tips

  Discover a potpourri of techniques useful for creating drum loop variations and fills.

Chapter 4 : Loops and Plug-Ins

• 5:27

  Loops & Samplers

  Manipulating 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.

• 7:11

  De-Construction Kits

  Create 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.

• 9:09

  Loops & Stylus RMX

  Discover 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.

• 7:15

  Loops & Melodyne

  See 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.