Live looping is the recording and playback of a piece of music in real-time using either dedicated hardware devices, called loopers or phrase samplers, or software running on a computer with an audio interface. Musicians can loop with either looping software or loop pedals, which are sold for tabletop and floor-based use.

History of the looping device

By the late 19th century,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and blues had heavily influenced popular music, encouraging musicians to experiment with rhythm, repetition, and

musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...

. With the advent of sound recording on

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

, invented in 1887 and first marketed in 1889, came the

tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...

and the development of pure

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

. On 1 October 1947,

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

became the first American musician to release music via tape broadcast. In 1953,

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

demonstrated live looping on the television show

Omnibus Omnibus may refer to: Film and television * ''Omnibus'' (film) * Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of Radio or TV episodes * ''Omnibus'' (UK TV series), an arts-based documentary programme * ''Omnibus'' (U.S. TV series), an educational progr ...

. In 1963, musician and performer

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...

released an early tape loop piece called “The Gift”, featuring the trumpet playing of

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

. It was the first piece ever based on a tape delay/feedback system with two Revox tape recorders. (Riley used to call this system the Time Lag Accumulator. Unsurprisingly, the name did not catch on amongst other performing musicians.) Digital delay systems in the 1980s were experimental and not intuitive, but the equipment's limitations inspired innovators of the technique to find creative applications. Even by the early 1990s, when dedicated loop machines first went on sale, the term "live looping" had not yet been coined. The first dedicated loop device was the Paradis LOOP Delay. The Paradis and other models had volatile memories, forcing composers to develop fresh loops live in front of their audiences — and thus, live looping came into existence. Roland and DigiTech loop pedals entered the market in 2001, around the same time DJ mixing gained popularity. When the 2002 Repeater introduced real-time studio looping, looping devices became affordable enough for aspiring at-home composers to enjoy. As laptops gained popularity in 2004, computer software began to emulate the 1990s effects of early looping devices.

Modern live looping tools and applications

Live looping has become increasingly popular in recent history as it offers the ability for a single musician to create multiple layers to their live music, resulting in a sound close to that of a "full band" experience. Notable manufacturers of looping devices include Boss, DigiTech and TC Electronic.

Notable artists

In a 2012–13 poll of 1000 singers, 11% stated that they used live looping while 51% did not know what live looping was. Artists known for their use or advocacy of the technique include: *

Juana Molina Juana Rosario Molina (; born 1 October 1961) is an Argentine singer, songwriter and actress, based in Buenos Aires. She is known for her distinctive sound, considered an exponent of folktronica, although it has also been described as ambient, e ...

* KRNFX * Howie Day * Keller Williams *

Boxwood ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost Sout ...

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

Mavka ''Mavka'' ( uk, Мавка) is a type of female spirit in Ukrainian folklore and mythology. She is a long-haired figure, sometimes naked, who may be dangerous to young men. Terminology There is variation in the names and spelling, including u ...

* Dub FX * Battles *

Ambre McLean Ambre McLean is a Canadian-born singer-songwriter based in Smiths Falls, Ontario. McLean is known for her live performances, versatile and distinct singing voice, cross-genre songwriting style and use of live looping technology. McLean's debut alb ...

* Jacob Moon *

Amy X Neuburg Amy X Neuburg (born Cheltenham, England) is an American composer, vocalist, and electronic musician. Education and career She holds a B.M. degree in voice from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a B.A. in linguistics from Oberlin College, and ...

* Beardyman *

Kimbra Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards and ...

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on '' Later... with Jools Holland''. The ...

Kid Beyond Andrew Chaikin, better known by his stage name Kid Beyond, is an American singer, beatboxer, live looper and voice actor, based in the San Francisco area. Early career Chaikin attended Brown University and was a leader in the co-ed fraternity Z ...

* Tune-Yards *

David Torn David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping. Background Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...

Spirit Cool Spirit Cool popularly known as Spirit is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist and acoustic live looping artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is a former Guinness World Recordholder for longest marathon guitar playing. He was place ...

* David Thomas Broughton * Reggie Watts * THePETEBOX * French Kiwi Juice * Rick Walker * David Ford * Netta Barzilai *

Val Vigoda Valerie "Val" Vigoda is an American electric violinist and singer-songwriter. She is best known for writing and starring in musicals including '' Striking 12'' and '' Ernest Shackleton Loves Me'', the latter of which opened Off-Broadway in 2017 ...

* Jarle Bernhoft * Marc Rebillet *

Tash Sultana Tash Sultana (born 15 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music producer and engineer, described as a "one-woman band". Sultana rose to international prominence with their 2016 single "Jungle", which was voted ...

* Theresa Andersson * Sam Perry *Bernhard Wagner * Andre La Fosse * Michael Peters * Leander Reininghaus * Hideki Nakanishi (aka MANDOMAN) *

Joel Gilardini Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Braz ...

Emmanuel Reveneau (aka Brain Integrative Project) Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the H ...

* SungBeats * Fabio Anile * Andrew Bird *

Masnada Lilian Masnada may refer to: * Masnada or Condottieri, Italian mercenary leader * Fausto Masnada, Italian cyclist * Florence Masnada, French alpine skier {{disambiguation ...

References

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External links

Live Looping tools and technique

Music looping

History of the looping device

Modern live looping tools and applications

Notable artists

See also

References

External links