1) what aspects of looping do you enjoy the most?
The continual surprise and disappointment of being on the front edge of innovation.
I love it when the looping device interacts with me like a real musician--surprising me and spurring my own improvisation.
I hate it when the cable shorts, the computer crashes, the squealing feedback gets recorded in the loop, and any of a thousand other ways that looping can really belly flop an artist.
2) what aspects of looping do you enjoy the least?
Don't we all hate schlepping gear to the gig but love seeing it set up cleverly under lights? Don't we all loath the programming of controllers (pick your control nightmare) but love the excitement of a new workflow?
3) what looping tools (including controllers) do you currently
use/have used in the past?
Line 6 DL4
Line 6 M13
Lexicon JamMan
Repeater
RC-1 and 2
Ableton
Mobius
4) what are the strengths of these tools?
HW vs SW debate I will leave to others. For me, every looper is an instrument and like an instrument, it has its peculiar abilities and limitations. If I had more time, I would learn to play them all.
6) do you modify a loop once it's been created? if so, how?
O yes. by way of midi notes, midi arpeggios, quantize replace, filtering and modulation, ADSR, you name it.
7) how much planning do you do for a particular performance?
I rehearse workflows extensively with an aim to-- making all loops in real time while creating musical arrangements that can go somewhere without a long period of navel gazing while I build out the basic tracks.
Eve when playing a preconceived song form, most of the playing is improvised.
8) what form does this planning take? (do you write it down, keep it
in your head, etc)
I experiment with various looper controls, both recording and processing, to create new workflows that will facilitate quick improvisation of a song form. When I get a workflow going that works well for me, that inspires some good playing, I save it as a project and start rehearsing specific musical motifs and the necessary river dance on the controller, to create looping improvisations that can work (most of the time.)
9) at what level of detail do you plan? (melody, harmony, timbres,
dynamics, instrumental techniques, etc.)
Yes. Just as you would plan for any musical performance.
On Jul 27, 2011, at 2:59 PM, Jon Forsyth wrote:
Hi everybody,
In case you didn't see my previous post, I'm a PhD student doing some
research involving live looping, and I'd like to get a sense of what
the looping community is interested in, what tools they use, their
approach to looping, etc. So, here some questions for anyone
interested in participating.
1) what aspects of looping do you enjoy the most?
2) what aspects of looping do you enjoy the least?
3) what looping tools (including controllers) do you currently
use/have used in the past?
4) what are the strengths of these tools?
5) what are the weaknesses of these tools?
6) do you modify a loop once it's been created? if so, how?
Oh yes. I am a big fan of using midi note data to control pitch of the loop. I like to use midi arpeggios, frequently voiced as drum grooves, to manipulate the pitch of my loops after I record them.
Similarly, I and many others here use quantize replace in fascinating ways to
7) how much planning do you do for a particular performance?
8) what form does this planning take? (do you write it down, keep it
in your head, etc)
9) at what level of detail do you plan? (melody, harmony, timbres,
dynamics, instrumental techniques, etc.)
10) describe your general approach to loop performance.
11) what would the ideal looping system look like? describe it in as
much detail as you can (and don't worry about practical concerns).
12) any additional comments?
If for some reason you don't want your answers to be public, you can
send them directly to me.
Thanks!
Jon
