Loop Song Project

Into the Stars

By Marianne Barlow

Made with SoundTrap loops, 9/6/21

Loop Song Process Reflection

I had so much fun creating this loop song and look forward to making more. This was the first one I've made in a long time, and the first one using SoundTrap. (The first loop songs I ever made were on one of my first cell phones like 16-17 years ago that inexplicably had a built-in program that could do this kind of thing. I really liked them and I'm thinking of charging up that old phone to see if I can retrieve them.)

Since I'd never used SoundTrap loops before, I spent some time exploring the loop library. I liked the name "Atlantis" that I saw on a ton of the loops, so I decided to create a song using only loops from the Atlantis family. I found a beat I liked and started out with just the tops, then added the full beat. I listened to probably 80% of the Atlantis loops and favorited the ones I thought would go with my song. Then it was a matter of experimenting with putting in different loops, changing the length of them, deciding when to add more loops and when to stop other loops.

I didn't use any particular structure or form when deciding where the song should go next. I did a lot of listening, and judged what was needed based on my ear and instinct - like what my ear wanted to hear next. When I got to the end and added one more new loop that hadn't been in the song yet, it sounded like the end, so I figured out how to end it. I criticized myself for having added a couple new loops right at the end, and thought maybe I should remix it so that they come in earlier and then come back around at the end. But then I thought, no, I like it just the way it is and there is no right or wrong way to do this, so I'm going to leave it how it is.

I absolutely believe that this kind of song-making is a legitimate form of musical creativity. Nobody else would make exactly the same song I made, even if they were given only the loops I used. I put my creativity, mood, thoughts and feelings into the creation of this song and am happy to listen to and share the end result. If that's not music-making, I don't know what is!