Looping. If anybody asks me I always describe it as ‘death or glory’ in performance terms, but what is it, and what can we learn from it?
Looping in musical terms is the recording and repetition of a short phrase that one then plays over the top of. Some people use the term ‘sampling’, which is slightly different really, but basically, you make a bit of audio, and set it on an endless repeat. As a guitarist, this is most usually undertaken using a special effects pedal, tap to start, tap to stop.
Originally pedals like this had a very short recording time, nowadays however as digital technology has improved, the memory some pedals have can be measured in hours. You can pre-save musical phrases to them, some include drum effects, but when I think of looping my mind always goes back to KT Tunstall’s original performance of ‘Black Horse And The Cherry Tree’ on Later…with Jools Holland in 2004. Before you watch the video, I’ll explain a little more about what she does.
As long as the pedal has enough memory, (which they all do now) once you’ve recorded one phrase, you can add additional layers on top, or ‘overdubs’. In this video, KT, has both her guitar and a microphone connected to the looper pedal. She creates a series of percussive effects on the guitar to create a kind of drum beat, before adding some tambourine and backing vocals, before finally coming in with a guitar riff and lead vocal. This technique allows her to build an engaging, full sound, without a backing band or singers. This was undoubtedly the moment Ed Sheeran thought ‘I can do that’. His live performances are basically based on this one premise. Okay, watch the video…..
I Can't Do That!
Now, I know a lot of you might watch that and say ‘I can’t do that!’ but let’s just unpack that for a moment. Okay, she’s clearly got a lot of talent and all the right gear to perform that song like that, but, if you want to put your toe in the water, what do you really need? The answer is actually not that much. Yes you need a pedal to do it, but many of you will already have an instrument that plugs in, and some kind of amplifier for it. The pedal simply goes between your instrument and your amp.
You also need the right kind of song to play, and in this case, it’s probably a repetitive one with a steady, unchanging beat. I don’t know if you noticed but KT doesn’t loop her guitar chords, but there’s no reason that you shouldn’t if you choose a simple, repetitive song like ‘Horse With No Name’ by America for example. You could add little bass lines, or maybe throw the odd solo on top too, which brings me to one of the main reasons I think that developing guitarists should try looping.
Here’s a really quick video from the manufacturer Boss, on the absolute basics on looping…
Obviously, timing is everything. It takes practice to start and stop loops at the right moment so that they don’t stutter or glitch in any way. That’s one. The other is that if you are at all interested in trying to learn how to play solos, experiment with arpeggios, work on your singing whilst not having to play your instrument at the same time, or any conceivable combination of these, a looper is an invaluable tool.
Looping In Lockdown...
During lockdown I made loads of videos of various things, including some looping videos. One was for REMbrandt, where every member of the band made home videos of their favourite R.E.M. tracks, and one was for The Alabama Stills, where I had a go at a version of the aforementioned ‘Horse With No Name’. You can watch them both here…
At the beginning I described performing with a looper as being ‘death or glory’, because I’ve found that if you're trying to use one in an actual performance in front of people and it goes wrong, you’re kind of stuck with what you’ve done. Yes, you can delete your last loop and redo it, but if that’s in front of an audience, the moment is somewhat lost. As a practice tool though, for most people, it’s a very interesting prospect. Give it some thought if you’re stuck for a birthday present this year.
In fact to help you with that, if anybody is really seriously going to give this a go, or already has a looper pedal gathering dust that this blog has inspired them to dig out of their cupboard, I have a looper pedal songbook to give away. First come, first served, no strings attached. Message me in whatever way you and I normally communicate to get your hands on it. Enjoy!
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