If you missed our intro article on using loops with an Ipod or Itunes then make sure to check it out. We took a look at an article from Brandon Divine, Worship Leader at The Church at Chapel Hill in Georgia. He was discussing using Itunes to play loops instead of using a laptop with Ableton Live. In this article we are going to take a look at how it went, with a follow up article from Brandon. After his Article we are going to take a look at using an Ipod versus using a Software solution like Ableton Live.
Brandon’s Article
A couple weeks ago I experimented w/ running our click track and loops from iTunes. It worked pretty good, but as almost everything does, it had it’s pro’s and con’s. After mixing down the songs to stereo tracks in ProTools and importing them into iTunes, everything went really well. Our drummer fired the tracks from iTunes and we really didn’t have any issues. It wasn’t until the following week when I went to put the tracks together for the weekend set list. We were doing a brand new song and so, like normal, I recorded a few loops and tracks for it. Again, I panned the loops to the right and the click to the left. Unfortunately when I went to “bounce” the file, I forgot that I had muted the click track while I was mixing the loop tracks… and since I was in a hurry, I didn’t listen back to the bounced AIFF file. When we got into rehearsal, the drummer pulled up the track and it started running. The pads and loops sounded fantastic, just as they had the week before, but there wasn’t a click running alongside it. The lightbulb went off in my head and I realized what I had done. The biggest problem w/ running tracks from iTunes or any other 2 track set up is that you’re stuck w/ whatever is in the tracks at that moment. You can’t adjust tempo, volume of individual tracks, or even add tracks quickly. The next day I went in and built our worship set in Live which worked beautifully as it usually does. Here’s the practical lesson I took away from this: When working in worship you have to BE FLEXIBLE. While iTunes is a great tool and can be used…. for us it’s not the best way to stay flexible in our worship experiences. I’m always looking for new ideas on running loops, however the one thing that I don’t ever want to loose is flexibility.
Now that we’ve heard from a Worship Leader that has experience with both Ableton Live and using Loops from I-tunes lets take a look at the Pros & Con’s of Using Loops with Itunes or an Ipod.
Pro’s
Almost everyone has an Ipod. If you don’t have one, someone on your team has one. Apple from time to time runs specials that allow you to get an Ipod for free if you buy a laptop. So the fact that you probably already have an Ipod means that you can start using loops today. If you have a Laptop and don’t have an Ipod you can run them out of Itunes. Money no longer has to be an issue to stop you from using Loops.
Almost everyone knows how to work an Ipod and Itunes. A few clicks and hits of the spacebar, and your good to go. Alot of people are fearful of using Recording Programs, but feel more than comfortable with an Ipod or Itunes.
If your a Church that has multiple campuses then its much cheaper and easier to equip each campus with an Ipod then it is to equip them with a laptop, software, interface, etc.
Con’s
Using loops with an Ipod or Itunes will take quite a bit of time to Create. You’ll have to render out your loop to be the exact length you want it to be. Even to just use a click you’ll have to render out a file of that click at the correct tempo for each song. If you are using Ableton Live, you can set up a setlist with all your clicks for Sunday in less then 5 minutes.
Once you’ve got your Loop and/or Click rendered out.. Your mix/arrangement is set in stone. If the pad is too loud, or the loop doesn’t mesh well with the drummer, you’ll have to go back and re-render your loop, which will take more time. If you miss a cue and accidentally do the verse too short, you’ll have to cut the loop, because you can’t skip ahead or repeat a section. If your fast enough on your feet you may be able to play a measure longer somewhere and recover, but most likely you’ll end up cutting the loop.
Probably the biggest thing we preach around here is the idea of playing “with” loops and not “to” loops. When your using loops set to a preset arrangement and order, you very much play “to” the loop. You don’t have the ability to change and morph the arrangement on the fly, like you do when using Live.
Wrap-Up
If you want to use loops and don’t have the money to buy a laptop and software, then you can use an Ipod or Itunes and get by just fine. Now more than ever though, Software is becoming cheaper and cheaper, and more accessible for churches with smaller budgets. Using an Ipod or Itunes for loops means you wont have to teach your team much, as they most likely already now how to operate it. But with programs like Ableton Live you can assign each song to a key on a keyboard so that all you have to do is press “1″ or “2″ on your keyboard to fire a loop. There aren’t too many people that can’t figure out how to do that!
If you and your ministry are looking to use loops, realize there is no ONE perfect way. You’ve got to find a way that best suits your needs and budget. For some people that will mean using an Ipod for loops, but for some people that will mean using Abelton Live and a 8 output interface. So start with what you can afford, and then build your setup from there. For the best flexibility and to truly play “with” loops, nothing beats using Ableton Live, but just because you can’t afford it now, don’t think you can’t use loops.
Make sure to check out our final Article next week when we will take a look at some tips to make the most out of using an Ipod/Itunes for loops! If you want to contribute any make sure to send us an email to liwstaff(@)loopsinworship.com! See ya next week!
Related posts:
- Using Loops with an Ipod (Tips & Tricks) With today's article we will take a look at some...
- Using loops with an Ipod (Introduction) If you've followed the Blog for a even a little...
- Using Loops without In-Ears Even as I write this I am cringing. At the...
- Beyond Backing Tracks: Using Loops We have taken some time to look at what Backing...
- Assigning Tempos to Scenes in Ableton Live As we finish up this series called “Click Tricks” we...
