An ongoing conversation in the Producer community as of late centers on whether or not it’s okay for beatmakers to use loops or sample packs. For those who are uninformed, loops are pre-made arrangements of music (melodies, drum patterns, etc.) that generally don’t need many additions from the loop-user in order to make the finished beat. In essence, one can drag a loop into their DAW, add a few sounds and create a beat in less than 10 minutes should they want to.
Many producers consider the use of loops cheating as whoeover uses the loop typically does little in the way of creating the melody — the backbone of the record; Moreover, producers who use loops endure the assumption they don’t possess the skills necessary to create melodies from scratch and are in essence “cheating” the music making process.
Despite this, at Drum Machine Addicts, we’re sample-based producers and believe wholeheartedly that IT’S OKAY to use loops in your beats. Students of hip-hop culture and music culture, in general, know that loops and samples are the very foundation of the culture, and producers whether indie or established shouldn’t be shunned for using them in their beats.
Focusing on hip-hop where the sample pack industry is at its peak: The genre itself is rooted in looping with the originators Cool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, etc. taking popular radio records and looping the best parts of those records for play at house parties. In plain terms, the creators of this culture created a foundation in beatmaking by finding the best parts of a song, manually looping breakbeats on their turntables, and keeping sections on repeat for all of our enjoyment. Eventually what started with DJs emceeing over looped breakbeats evolved into the classic hiphop production we all know and love AND it all started with… loops.
On a more practical level, consider prominent samples that are used in hip hop like James Brown’s Funky Drummer. In hiphop production Funky Drummer, and other samples used frequently in the culture are quite literally pre-arranged pieces of music that have been combined with new elements from the sampler to create new compositions that we all love and enjoy. It would only make sense that a natural progression to melodies would be what happens in 2020. The mindset that using loops is cheating presents itself as more of a scarcity mindset than anything; It presents an issue for those who wish to grow because in effect you limit your creativity by placing some things as off-limits.
The only true thing off-limits in the creative space is stealing. Short of that, use some loops guys. The only thing that matters is being creative and making the best art we can. How you arrive at that, whether from a sample pack or from playing it live is a matter of choice and ultimately one you don’t have to commit too. Excuse us while we load up our sample packs.
– Drum Machine Addicts
