Drone: unsynchronized looping technique

This is a Drone tutorial with focus on UNsynchronized looping technique.

The most remarkable thing about non-synchronized loops is that they create ever evolving structures instead of repeating one and the same synchronized pattern.

Most of multi-phrase loopers can record loops that are not tied to the “song” rhythm. Thus we get several independent loops that “live their own life”, but interact with each other. It should be especially taken into consideration when we deal with harmony. Unsynchronized loops create odd rhythmic intersections; main melody starts playing on different chords of the harmony; volume and dynamic peaks float in time and so on… but that is exactly what we are looking for with unsynchronized looping.

Another nice thing about non-synchronized loops is their approach to real life soundscape. If we carefully listen to the sounds that surround us we will notice that some of them definitely have inherent rhythmic structure – they are loops in some way. Ocean waves, chant of birds, crick-crack… they all repeat themselves. But together they form what is called soundscape in a wider non-musical sense. And these “loops” are not synchronized by a metronome in 4/4 120 bpm)

I’ve highlighted in this video another useful looping technique – layering of decaying loops. Many loopers have Decay mode. It allows previous loops to die away while recording new layers. This is the main principle of Frippertronics.