Loops in Worship

What a week Skiing in Breckinridge taught me about using loops

Will — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:39:53 +0000

Pastors and Bloggers really have it hard. It’s the curse of observation. In everything you do, see, hear and experience you’re drawing out sermon illustrations and potential blog posts. This leads us to the over abundance of “What ______ talk me about ________” posts. Yes I’m guilty even now. But with this curse comes great responsibility… So as I descended the slopes of Breckinrdige Colorado a few weeks ago I couldn’t help think about what skiing has taught me about using loops and technology in worship. And yes I agree with you, I am a complete nerd.. but hopefully through this excerise in my nerdiness we’ll all walk away a little more enlightened..

1) Get the Advice of Experts

If you think you can hit the slopes for the first time ever and get skiing immediately.. then you’re in for a huge surprise. It ain’t gonna work that way . If you’re a beginner skier you’ve got to take lessons. Don’t get on the slopes and think you’ll just figure it out. Seek out the advice of Experts. This trip I spent over an hour with two different exceptional skiers who analyzed my abilities and provided a few tips/techinqies to take me to the next level.

I can’t tell you how many people have told me how badly a DAW, or plugin sucks because it’s too complicated. I then typically proceed to ask what they’ve done to learn it. What training and advice have you sought out? Have you read the manual, checked out Youtube, found a website of an expert and followed it for a few weeks? If not, then yes that software WILL probably suck. Sacrifice some time and effort to learn from experts that know more about what you’re trying to learn. Here are a few things that may help you find that expert:

-Google. Before anything Google what you’re looking for. Odds are high Google will return websites talking about what you’re looking for. Subscribe to them using an RSS reader and see what they have to say. Check out the archives for more info.

-Find a local expert. If there’s a big church in the area, they probably have a “loop guy” or an “ableton” guy. This can potentially be a scary thing, because you may encounter a “expert” who wants to charge you $300 an hour to teach you how to use loops..he’s probably a scam. But you may stumble upon a fellow nerd friend of mine that would love to take time out of their day and show you a thing or two about Ableton.

-Check out Youtube. If you search you’ll probably find someone explaining a concept or showing how to do something for FREE! Again a bit of a warning here: One of the best parts of the internet is that it gives everyone a voice.. that’s also one of the big downsides! I’ve found more then a fair share of videos explaining how to do something in “Session View” in Live, meanwhile they’re working out of “Arrangement View”. Plus there seems to be certain areas where there’s a huge quantity of information. For Example if I see one more video on how to use a Ability controller for Worship I may lose my mind. If you’re thinking about posting your video, don’t we’ve got plenty

-Offer to pay someone for their advice. As someone who is identified as an expert in a certain field I often get the “Hey man I’d love to grab a coffee with you and pick your brain about loops”. I’m extremely busy. You’re extremely busy. If you want to make the most of your time and get the best possible training, offer to pay someone who’s an expert in the field you’re seeking knowledge. If you find that local Ableton guy that’s an Ableton ninja, then offer to pay him $50 bucks for an hour’s worth of training. It will be far worth your time.

2) Learn the Basics

I’m on my way to skiing down a Black slope. It didn’t happen this year and I don’t know if it will happen next year, but I will be heading down a black (double black if I’m lucky) soon. The reason I’m convinced I will is because I’m working on getting the basics. You’ll never be able to ski with any sort of success if you can’t stop, turn and control your speed. Once you learn a few basic things, you’re on your way to accomplishing even the trickiest slopes. As I learn to use the hill and my turns to control my speed, I’m realizing I can ski almost anything. Of course it’s going to take me mastering this before I can do it.. but I’m taking the first steps now. If you want to learn any software program to the extent of being effective on it, you’ve got to learn the basics.

How do I record?

How do I edit audio?

How do I export audio?

How do I adjust the basic controls of my tracks?

What are the essential key commands?

Learning the basics in one program will help you get the basics faster with another program. Once you learn the basics everything else will come a little easier. You’ve got to start somewhere and start with learning the most basic skills and commands to get you started off on the right foot (*er…ski).

3) Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

Skiing becomes fun when you have mastered the basics ( or so i hear!). I know as I’m learning to manage my speed and gain control by making wider turns, I’m enjoying it more. My feet are more sore, I’m a little more tired then when I started, but I feel more in control. I enjoy the experience more. It’s essential-in order for you to progress, to spend time working on improving. It’s going to take time for you to practice getting comfortable triggering loops. It’s going to take time for you to learn how and when to start the click. To figure out the right time for transitions and the best transitions between your songs, it’s going to take a bit of time.

Keep working at it, because the only way you’ll get it, is to keep doing it. It’s important to note before we move on that it’s not only important to practice, but to practice the right things. Remember “Perfect Practice” makes perfect..not just practice. Don’t get stuck fiddling around, work on the areas you need to get comfortable with.

4) Don’t Look at your Feet

As the hill got steeper, I got more and more fearful. I started to look at my feet. Instead of looking ahead and trusting that my feet would go where they’re supposed, I stared at my feet. I looked to make sure I wouldn’t mess up and guess what I did? I messed up again and again. Trust is essential to skiing. Trusting that what you’ve been taught by the experts will hold up. Trust that your stance, your balance, and your weight distribution will take you where you need to go.

As you learn more and more about technology and implementing loops, you’ve got to learn to trust your tools. I know this may sound a bit new-agey…or a bit self-helpy… but I’ve found when I trust that Live will do what I’ve told it to do, things turn out better. Think of it this way: If you spend your entire time leading worship worried that your computer will mess up, do you think that you will be most effective? If you simply trust that everything will work properly and if you’ve put in the time up front, and done your due diligence then things will probably work okay. And you’ll be far less stressed and far more effective.

This goes with your volunteers as well. If you’ve got a band member that you’ve trained to start/stop the loops and clicks then give her the freedom to fail. Give her your trust. Trust that if you’ve put in enough time with her up front, making sure she’s properly trained that she’s going to get it. If you over do it and don’t give her space and trust that things will work out, then odds are high something will go wrong. Don’t look at your feet once you get on the slope. Trust that everything you’ve learned and practiced will pay off!

My Current Setup

Will — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:17:36 +0000

How to setup Click & Loop without In-ears

Will — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:17:34 +0000

, Here’s a video I created showing how to run click & loop out of your laptop without using In-ears. Even if you use In-ears this video helps to show how to run loops directly out of your laptop.

Who should Trigger your Loops?

Will — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:55:57 +0000

One of the biggest questions from Worship Leaders just starting out using loops is, “Who should trigger our loops”? Should it be the drummer? After all there’s a lot of percussive sounds, it’s a drum loop…he should probably do it? But then again he’s got a lot to manage, and is using drum sticks. It should probably be the electric guitarist then right? Well..he’s got a lot to manage too. Switching pedals, and he’s already busy using his hands to play guitar and count the lines on the staff to find out what that one note is. Good, Boys, Do, Fine.. F.. It’s an F#!

So it looks like it’s you, Mr or Mrs. Worship Leader. You’re perfect to do. You know the arrangements you can troubleshoot things if they go wrong, and you can go wherever you want in the arrangement, right? Perfect it’s settled, the Worship Leader should launch the loops. You’ve got nothing else to do besides:

Remember the Words
Remember the Melody
Remember the Chords
Lead the band
Lead the People
Play your Instrument

Oh.. and actually Lead Worship. Why not add one more thing to your plate?

So who should launch the loops in your band.

Here is a definite answer for you:

It all depends

There’s no coverall answer but here’s a few things to consider as you’re trying to decide who is best to trigger your loops:

Who knows the software best?

If you have a drummer who is a computer programmer, he’d probably be the best person to trigger the loops. Sure he may have to put down his sticks, but he’d likely learn the software better (or already know it better) then your guitarist. Invest in training your team on how to best use your software of choice. Purchase an online instruction course, buy a book, or send them to a conference.

Consider the unlikely candidate

Why doesn’t your sound guy trigger the loops? He’s not on stage but he’s the closest to the ultimate destination for the loops- the soundboard. Sure it may make repeating a section a little difficult, but it could work. If you’ve got your set programmed out with transitions and all, you could easily have them start the sequence and stop it at the end.

Could one of your singers trigger the loops? Maybe they aren’t the “lead” worship leader, but could they be the one to trigger each song, or start and stop songs/loops?

The Younger the better

Just because someone is young doesn’t mean they’ll automatically be great at launching loops but your odds are better pulling from the youth group then pulling from the senior quilting ministry. After all there’s a generation of kids that have grown up playing guitar hero. Teaching them to push a few buttons on a APC Controller isn’t that far of a stretch. You won’t have to convince them that it’s music or that it can add a lot to the band, they already know that and believe it. Give a youth group kid a chance to participate with the “adult” band and add a new sound.

The one who makes the loops

If at all possible have the person who makes the loops be the one who triggers the loops. This way if there’s an arrangement tweak that needs to be made they can quickly do it. The more familiar the person is with the loops and the set, the better. Either way don’t let Sunday morning be the first time your loop launcher sees the set and songs. They should be rehearsing triggering the loops before stepping on stage.

The most seasoned performer gets the gig

One of the biggest causes of onstage mistakes is nerves. The person who triggers the loops probably shouldn’t be someone who just started playing in your Worship Band. They should be comfortable with your band, how your church does things, and the songs. If they’re comfortable in your environment then they’ll probably welcome a change and challenge. They’ll be able to handle the heat and try something new.

Here’s a few things that will help whoever you decide to trigger the loops:

Keep things as simple as possible. You probably shouldn’t be triggering alot of things, unless you’ve got a dedicated loop person. Things should be pretty planned out, and prepared beforehand. Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse. Even loop tranistions and arrangements.

Buy a Controller. Having an APC40 or a Softstep will help your loop person better integrate the concept of loops into their band. Although Ableton Live allows you to use just your computer and make it an instrument, adding a controller of some sort will help you better connect with the idea of loops.

So the big question is… Who triggers the loops in your band?

Test Page.. Please ignore

Will — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:10:57 +0000

This is a test.. can I see it?

Test Checkout

Will — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:16:37 +0000

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[cart]

Using Ableton Live to control your Sheet Music

Will — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:55:54 +0000

Sure.. Ableton Live is great at playing back loops and tracks, and hosting your favorite keyboard sounds, but did you also know it’s an excellent page turner? Yep.. You can setup Ableton Live to automatically turn the pages of your chart, to follow your music. It’s pretty simple to to actually. You can use Scorecerer an app available on the iPad to do it for you. It only requires a few simple setup steps.

Scorecer is a $10 app for iPad but it’s also available as a lite version for free! Imagaine the possibilities of using this app.

Live can automatically call up your chart depending where you are in your setlist.
Live can automatically turn your pages depending on where you are in your song
Live call call up lyrics hosted on your iPad and have them follow along with a click or your loops. Simple Confidence monitor anyone?

I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m assuming you can use multiple iPads at once. Imagine the possibilities now:

iPad 1= Page 1, iPad 2=Page 2. Have live switch pages on both at the proper time. iPad 1=Page 2, iPad 2= Page 3…more like a realistic music reading experience.
Have Live call up the proper charts for all your band members iPads. Again.. I haven’t tested with multiple iPads yet, but imagine having all your band members charts magically pop up on the same song at the same time. This would make playing with music effortless and completely hands-free. This would be fun for the whole band!

Want to see it in action? Check out the video below:

5 biggest Misconceptions about Ableton Live

Will — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:46:30 +0000

Are you considering purchasing Ableton Live? You probably have a lot of questions before then. Check out our list of the 5 biggest misconceptions about Live before you make any decisions. If you’d rather view this in video form, check out the video below.

1) It’s only for Mac

False. Ableton Live is cross platform. This means it’s available for both Mac and PC. If you’re a PC guy and think you’ve got to wait till you can upgrade to a mac to use live… you don’t! Start using it now. I even know people that are running it successfully on a small netbook computer. If you’re a diehard Pc guy (shh… your secret is safe with me) you can start using it now, and continue to use it on your PC without needed to go to a Mac.

2) It Costs $800

Okay.. so this one is partially true. There is a version of Live that costs $799, but there are currently 3 versions of Ableton Live Available. Ableton Live Intro, Ableton Live 8, and Ableton Live Suite. Intro costs $99 and is an incredibly powerful DAW for only $100. Ableton Live 8 is only $499 and removes the few limitations of Intro. Ableton Live Suite is the Macdaddy version at $799. It includes instruments like Sampler, and Operator (my favorite synthesizer). Guess what though… I’ve used Live for over 8 years and didn’t start using Suite till 2 years ago! Intro is a great start, and Live 8 is a perfectly suitable DAW for Recording, Sequencing and Playback!

3) I need a lot of extra stuff

You may be under the misconception that you need an audio interface, a MIDI controller, and a external hard drive to use Ableton Live. If so…it’s not true. Sure all those things will help, but you can get start now. Computers are now powerfully enough that you can use the internal drive to run your tracks and loops off of. If you’re a die-hard audio user, you may want to get a external, but for most people their internal drive is enough. You don’t need an Audio Interface initially either. Start by running out of your headphone jack on your computer. Sure.. there are good, better, and best ways to run loops and use live, but you don’t need to break the bank when you’re first starting out.

4) Intro isn’t enough

If you buy intro, won’t you be throwing away your money if you later upgrade to Live 8? Nope. Buying Intro is investing $100 into the future purchase of Live 8. You’ll be able to upgrade to Live 8 (or suite for that matter) without losing that initial $100 investment. So you can start with Into and when you feel like you’ve outgrown it you can upgrade for cheaper. There’s no fear in going ahead with Intro!

5) It’s too difficult to learn

“We use an iPod now. Going to Live is going to be a big transition… a lot to learn. I think it’s too difficult”. Out of all the DAW’s I’ve worked with Ableton Live has been the easiest to use. That’s probably why I’ve stuck with it for so long. Sure if you’re coming from Protools or Logic, a few things may be odd to you, but once you learn the “language the software speaks”, you’ll be good. Live has a very well written manual, and their support staff is great. There are tons of websites (like ours) that offer training, free and paid, and lots of Youtube videos available as well. I often tell people, if you’re drummer can press 1,2,3,4,5 for Song 1-5 and spacebar for stop.. he can use Ableton Live. It’s that simple!

So there you have it. I’ve found those to be the 5 most common mistakes people make about Ableton Live. What misconceptions have you seen? Are you looking to Purchase Live and still have questions? Drop by our support page and drop us a line!

4 Gifts every Worship Leader should have on their Christmas List

Will — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:02:19 +0000

Tis the Season, right? Nothing like Celebrating our Saviors birth by working everyday in December and losing your mind all in the name of Christmas Pageants and Performances. All Worship Leaders everywhere, rejoice in knowing we all feel your pain, we’ll make it though! If you’re struggling to try and find what should be put on your Christmas list, or if you’re struggling to try and find what’s best to get your Worship Leader, we’re here to help!

Ableton Live

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone that would tell you there’s anything better for Live Playback of Loops/Tracks. There’s never been a better time to upgrade to Ableton Live. Until January 15th Ableton is offering 20% off of all purchase or upgrades to Ableton Live. If you’re a Ableton Intro user and you’re looking to upgrade to Live 8 or Suite, now’s the time to do it.

If you’re interested in Purchasing or Upgrading Ableton Live contact us directly and we’ll get you a price quote!

If you’ve already got Live we’d suggest adding a few of our Tools into the mix. If you’re looking for a flexible click solution check out Foundations. If you’re looking for simple loops that you can use to build your own loops & tracks or something simple to add another dynamic to your band, check out Elements. If you’re a keyboardist or you’re looking for better Synth Pad sounds to use in Ableton Live check out Textures. Pair Textures with ourTextures Toolkit to get the ultimate keys rig in Ableton Live! If you get textures between now and December 31st you’ll get Textures Toolkit for free!

Softstep

If you’re a Worship Leader looking that uses loops, you’ve got a lot on your hands, so why not use you’re feet! The most flexible, innovative controller available now is the Softstep from Keith Mcmillian Instruments.It’s a Multi-touch footcontroller which means you can use each pad on it to do multiple functions if you want. It’s bus-powered , which means there’s no need for a power cable. You can plug it straight into your computer and start using it now with Ableton Live or you can pair it with the included Software to get even more control.

Looking to get it? We’ve got a few in stock so pick up one now! Just contact us and we’ll get you a quote!

iPad

If you don’t already have a iPad then it’s probably on your list already. Even if you’re one of those people that claims an iPad is useless…there’s no real use for it, you still want one! I’ve put mine to alot of use lately. In fact it’s hard for me to imagine getting by without it. Sure, that sounds quite dramatic…but not far from the truth. The “instant on” aspect of the iPad is simply un-replacable. The ability to have all your charts, all your notes, emails, etc easily accessible is invaluable to any busy Worship Leader. It’s ability to capture ideas for Songwriters, to control Ableton Live, Pro-Presenter or your favorite DAW will allow you tons of power and flexibiity in your setup.

Here’s a few of our MUST-HAVE apps for the iPad:

Evernote (Free)

Touch OSC (running the free Live Control Template)

iTunes Match

The best gift to give someone who’s got everything Mac, is iTunes Match. Itunes Match is simple, fast, and will give you access to all your music across all your Mac devices. You can download or stream all your music to your iPhone or iPad and you’ll even get access to music you haven’t purchased from the itunes store. iTunes match is a bit of Apple’s version of Spotify.

I know alot of people really love Spotify, but I haven’t fallen in love yet. I’ve spent a few days trying it out but, Spotify doesn’t have the one thing that will keep me locked into the Apple Eco-System for a while..Seamless Integration. With solutions like iTunes match I can get access to my Music on all my Apple devices. It’s on my Mac, iPad, iPhone, and my Apple TV. And my wife has access to it on her iPhone and Mac as well. If your Worship Leader is a Mac-head, or a wanna-be Mac head, Itunes Match is the perfect gift.

How do you gift it to them? Buy them a $25 iTunes gift card. It will give them a 1 year subscription to iTunes Match. It’s the gift that keeps on giving all year around!

What’s on your Christmas list? What are you hoping you’ll get?

A Look at @theBwack setup and a few thoughts for the rest of us

Will — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:03:25 +0000

Jeremy Bush (aka Bwack) from the David Crowder Band posted a video on Youtube a few days ago showing his most recent loop/electronic setup. It’s pretty cool. Drum Triggers, Ableton Live, lots of fun stuff to make noise with. If you haven’t seen the video yet check it out above and come on back and we’ll spend a few minutes discussing some aspects. What can we learn from it?

While you’re here, make sure you check out our interview with Bwack from earlier this year. It’s killer! Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Ableton is Pretty Powerful

Bwack is a prime example of someone who is really using Ableton for a lot of really powerful, cool things. Most of us see it for simply loop and track playback (which it’s incredibly powerful at) but it’s also a killer host for Keys sounds, and it’s great to automatically call up presets deepending on where you are in the song or what song you’re on. Bwack shows us how he has sounds pulled up depending on the song. This is a great example of letting Live do the heavy lifting so you can just play. He does this using MIDI clips and loading sounds into an Instrument Rack, or in his case a Drum Rack. Those MIDI clips are automated to call up select presets when they’re selected. If you want more info on how to do this we talk about this in our Using Ableton Live for Worship Course.

Add Freedom in your Set

Multiple times in the Crowder set, Bwack triggers an intro clip and then triggers the full song clip separately. What’s nice about this is it gives the band some time to vamp on the intro, or to hang on a chord and then they can crank into the full song when they’re ready. One of the most akward things about using loops is the dreaded speaking intro. If before the song you want to speak you’ve got to calculate how many measures you have left before you come in. This isn’t going to allow you to have the smoothest sounding intro. You’ll be stressed and probably stumble over your words, and worst case scenario you’ll have to wrap it up really quick.

The way Bwack does this is by Slicing up his Loops. He separates the intro and the rest of the song. There’s no need for most people to slice up an entire song into sections but separating your intro and the rest of the loop will give you tons of freedom. Using Live allows you to take advantage of the Global Quanitzation feature and your loop can come in right on 1. You don’t have to try and trigger it perfectly..it locks it in for you!

Play as much of the loop as you can

One of the biggest takeaways from this video is that Bwack (and the rest of the Crowder Band) play as much of the loop as they can. Sure.. Bwack is a self proclaimed geek, so he’s might do things a little more complex…but they’re making the idea/concept of loops more interesting. They are playing beats that would typically be in the song. Instead of playing drums on top of a loop that already has drum parts, he’s not playing kit and simply playing the beats. The rest of the band is adding in a lot of synth stuff that would typically be added into the loop. This is a great way to get the rest of your band involved and to help make you and your band feel like you’re playing WITH loops and not TO loops.

Start Somewhere

Maybe a bit of discouragement happens when you watch this video. You want to get into using loops but you have NO idea where to start. Surely your band won’t be playing electronic drum beats anytime soon. You don’t know how to setup up drum triggers, or an Ableton set.. so you’re probably a bit discouraged. Don’t be. Don’t compare yourself now to where Bwack is now. Remember he started just like the rest of us, trying to figure out how to use loops. He started somewhere.. but the important part is..he started. You should do the same. Start where you are with what you have.

This is a killer video showing a really cool Ableton setup! Watch it a few more times and see if you can figure out how he’s doing what he’s doing. If you want to really dive into Ableton check out our Ableton for Worship Course. If you have questions about how to best integrate ableton into your set, drop us a note via our Support Request and we’ll see how we can help.

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