How to Turn Your Loop into a Song – (6 Simple Steps)

If you have hundreds of 8 or 16 bar loops on your hard drive, the chances are you want to turn some of those into full songs, and actually finish your music.

Going from a loop to whole song arrangement is one of the BIGGEST problems I get asked about, so today I’m going to share with you 6 simple steps which will help you take your ideas into fully finished songs.

They might be chord progressions, melody ideas, beats or vocals. In this video I share with you 6 steps you can take to select the best bits, and then finish your music.

These techniques work for any style of music and in any music making software.

In this video you'll learn:

1. Finding your best idea out of the hundreds languishing on your hard drive.
2. Building it into a full loop with all the elements.
3. We will be going into some common song structures and how to arrange your idea into a full song with a super-quick hack.
4. We will also cover jamming along to add some interest - even if you can’t play an instrument!
5. We will be covering a touch of sound design, adding vocals and mixing.
6. AND we will be looking at how to add structural and dynamic interest to your arrangement.

►► My ENTIRE Music and Video Equipment:
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Cheers, and happy producing!
Will

OTHER VIDEOS TO CHECK OUT:

#SongArrangement #SongStructure #MusicProduction

[jammadamma]

The content of this channel is not good. It's excellent! Great tutorials, and you have a very pleasant presentation style. You deserve so many more subscribers! On that note, I think the channel needs a little extra in terms of recognizability. Like Andrew Huang's little high-five at the beginning of each video. Or a less generic graphic design profile (right now it's professional, but a tiny bit boring). A little gimmick of sorts, that sets you apart. Because, like I said, the content itself is excellent. I've already learned so much from you. 😍

[SilonaMusic]

This video literally saved my life! As soon as I finished watching this I loaded up one of my 8 bar loops, and after a couple of hours I've finished its whole arrangement! That you for the inspiration!

[davidcarter]

This guy is the genius of all geniuses make sure you're buying his stuff!!

[davidcarter]

Holy Lord not a single negative comment. You really do deserve to be the number 1 outside of maybe Armin van buurens masterclass.

[crushdesign]

Super Useful as usual. Please don’t add gimmicks or bells n whistles to your videos though. Simple clear explanations even when you get technical, thanks & Hell Yer.

[noodlespooner]

This has probably been the best video I've seen as far as breaking out of the 8 bar jail-cell... pun intended! Thanks so much Will. Awesome as always!

[davidw]

I loved this video, it's very helpful. I do have to laugh when you were jamming on the keyboard to make the riff though and you said "this key has lots of black notes in it so I'm flubbing" when in fact there's only 2 black keys in this key signature LOL

[sensei]

i've been watching tutorials since I can remember and you have the best ones I've came across. You're so chill and straight to the point I can listen to your tutorials all day. Keep up the good work!

[orrinbynum]

Hi. I’ve been watching a lot of your video’s a lot lately along with video’s of Alex Rome. You both have given me different ideas to use in my own music that I have never thought about using before. I’ve always just played my own chords for my accompaniments. Now you have contributed ideas of helping my change how I am going to use new chords and rhythms in the future. I appreciate this very much. I’ve been a person that has had problems with finishing my songs. Now I have a learned a few new approaches to what I plan to do differently with some of my music. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas with you listeners and viewers. I wish you continued success with all of your projects in the future. Thank you again for sharing. Have a wonderful day.

[by_antony]

I have written songs years ago, mostly strumming on guitar, with similar 'arrangements' as illustrated in this vid, but have recently become stuck when trying to do the same thing in my DAW. This video has helped and given me new avenues to explore.

[kcbellis]

I am so glad I found this video. I have struggled getting out of an 8 bar loop for the past year! I feel like I can finally get making the songs I've wanted!! Thank you so much for all of your help!! I've subscribed to you as well.
Thanks again,

KC Bellis

[seasidepatio]

I rarely watch youtube music production videos over 10 minutes but when I do it's always EDM tips! Hands down my favorite channel not just because of the content, but how concisely everything is explained (included the EDM tips courses) As always, well done Will! As you mentioned, it's so incredibly important to 1) not get caught up in a perfectionist attitude when writing or arranging 2) get your ideas laid out fast by consistently finishing tracks (run that faucet until it runs clear), and my personal favorite 3) using a reference track for as you mentioned (pink noise for mixing is also a game changer). If I feel like I reached a wall after 30-60 minutes I'll take a break and come back to it later that day or the following day which usually fixes everything...no sense it trying/forcing to make something work. It's ironic that some of my favorite melodies/progressions etc. I wrote only took only a few minutes to make usually when I first sat down at the beginning of the session. Those were my major hangups, and now I've been able to finish tracks much faster (even if I only make the time to work on them a little bit each day), almost finish my first EP, and even got featured on a few channels by putting mostly what I learned from your channel/courses into practice. Thanks again!

[akolyth]

This is IMHO the most helpful channel on EDM Producing on YT! Great Tips and Tricks, not with Tons of expensive Plugins, just how to do it in a straightforward and basic way! Please keep on with this tuts, this channel is outstanding excellent! Thank You!

[dullastonishment]

16:42 I'm so glad you keep little quirky bits like this in.

[polhomarkho]

Not into that kind of music but it's seriously the best video on this subject I've watched so far! Thank you for discribing everything, showing every mistake you make and how you solve them. It shows there's no magic and gives some confidence.
Going back to ableton to try to finish a song and escape that f-ing loop 😁 thank you!

[lostartone]

I appreciate your tutorials. Great work 👍

[noamberger]

So happy I've moved from Cubase to Abelton, thank you so much for your contant it's so good.

[yophosy]

Excellent - so many learning points and well presented without gimmicks.

[itsanthony]

Not just applicable to EDM! Great tutorial. Some brilliant take aways for me. Automation between sections, sectional pick ups hooks and releases, template song structures. Thank you.

[ceberro]

wow i was just feeling so stuck with my current idea, and i found this gem thank you so much really aprreciate it