catdaddy
Tele-Afflicted
As a long time songwriter I've become something of a studio rat, having spent so much time recording and arranging demos for my songs. Since I'm not a prolific writer and have lots of downtime between songs, I often amuse myself by noodling and experimenting in my studio with all of the technology built into my DAW. A few years ago I discovered the loops that come with Logic Pro, and created a musical "composition" by editing, layering and recombining a few dozen various instrument loops. Since Logic Pro contains literally thousands of loops in more than a dozen different genres, the possibilities for creating music with them is practically unlimited. I've found it quite entertaining and instructive to experiment by combining different genres and instruments in various and sundry combinations.
Some of these sound experiment recordings have actually turned into something listenable, and recently my wife told me she really liked one that I'd just completed. She asked me how I recorded it, and when I explained how it was done her words to me were: "Isn't that cheating?" Well, I admitted that the technology involved made the process pretty easy, and it certainly isn't anything like the labor and creatively intensive process of actually writing a song.
The Mommacat suggested to me that the way I create a "loop song" is much like her process for quilting (she's an avid and accomplished quilter) but without the hard work (since everything I do is in the digital realm). She purchases pieces of fabric, which she carefully selects for color, texture and pattern that will comprise the basis for her quilt. She then creatively arranges those pieces into a unique design that is aesthetically pleasing, and finally begins the process of stitching, adding a border and quilting to put the whole thing together. She explained that my musical 'fabric' is the loops which I select. Next, I take those loop pieces and cut and arrange them in an aesthetically pleasing way. Finally, I add EQ/reverb/compression/whatever, and that is like the final quilting step for her where she borders, washes, massages and finalizes her work. I had to admit that the analogy sounded pretty accurate.
My question to you fellow songwriters and musicians is this: How would you define what I'm creating? I freely admit assembling loops is not songwriting. Songwriting is much more difficult. To apply the quilting analogy to songwriting, it's like being a quilter who must create their own fabric from scratch. However, I know through experimentation that there is some legitimate creativity involved in assembling a bunch of loops that result in something that's not just noise. So, where on the creativity spectrum is loop music? Is it cheating? Is it legit? Is it listenable? For that last question I'll leave you with my most recent loop creation (below) that the Mommacat liked. I'd love to hear any thoughts you might have on this question of creativity.
Some of these sound experiment recordings have actually turned into something listenable, and recently my wife told me she really liked one that I'd just completed. She asked me how I recorded it, and when I explained how it was done her words to me were: "Isn't that cheating?" Well, I admitted that the technology involved made the process pretty easy, and it certainly isn't anything like the labor and creatively intensive process of actually writing a song.
The Mommacat suggested to me that the way I create a "loop song" is much like her process for quilting (she's an avid and accomplished quilter) but without the hard work (since everything I do is in the digital realm). She purchases pieces of fabric, which she carefully selects for color, texture and pattern that will comprise the basis for her quilt. She then creatively arranges those pieces into a unique design that is aesthetically pleasing, and finally begins the process of stitching, adding a border and quilting to put the whole thing together. She explained that my musical 'fabric' is the loops which I select. Next, I take those loop pieces and cut and arrange them in an aesthetically pleasing way. Finally, I add EQ/reverb/compression/whatever, and that is like the final quilting step for her where she borders, washes, massages and finalizes her work. I had to admit that the analogy sounded pretty accurate.
My question to you fellow songwriters and musicians is this: How would you define what I'm creating? I freely admit assembling loops is not songwriting. Songwriting is much more difficult. To apply the quilting analogy to songwriting, it's like being a quilter who must create their own fabric from scratch. However, I know through experimentation that there is some legitimate creativity involved in assembling a bunch of loops that result in something that's not just noise. So, where on the creativity spectrum is loop music? Is it cheating? Is it legit? Is it listenable? For that last question I'll leave you with my most recent loop creation (below) that the Mommacat liked. I'd love to hear any thoughts you might have on this question of creativity.
