Is Using Loops Cheating?

In this episode, I share my take on using pre-made loops in your own original music.

Since the evolution of hip hop, producers have been taking pre-recorded music and ‘sampling’ it to make new music.  Anything from taking the original sample of the music and adding drums and bass, to ‘flipping’ it and completely repurposing it to something unrecognizable.

So... is it actually better to make your own sounds from scratch, so that you can be truly original? Not necessarily!

Most people don't care if you make your own sounds and loops, they just care about one thing: does it sound good? 

Loops are a tool, and you should use them when it sounds right to do so. No one is looking over your shoulder to say "You didn't make this yourself, you're a fraud!" because loops are, quite literally, made for YOU to use! No one expects you to be an expert in Latin percussion technique and play your own Bossa Nova rhythms, so take that groove, write a song, fill in the rest, and be proud that you made something uniquely YOU.

Links mentioned in show:

https://splice.com/

https://www.loopcloud.com/cloud/

https://output.com/arcade

https://www.producelikeaboss.com/freelooptutorial

The Right Way to use royalty-free loops on splice- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHN0prYonnQ&t=14s