Loop Community Blog

There are many ways that you can run loops in a worship setting but I want to take a moment and explain a few methods that I have used and the different ways you can use those methods.  This will hopefully give a better understanding on how you can use loops no matter what experience or knowledge you have.

Triggering Loops With an iPad or iPod

The first method I would say would be having the worship leader or someone else in the band trigger the loop with an iPad or iPod.  You can simply play the loop straight from iTunes or use an app such as touch osc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF7vMp_xuXY) that allows you to MIDI map to Ableton Live.  To run loops this method all you will need is a stereo out cable running into a stereo direct box from your computer, iPad or iPod.  This is probably one of the most affordable and easiest ways to start using loops in worship – and everyone needs to start somewhere.  I started using my iPod to trigger my loops and I gradually moved up from there.  One thing to note about this method is you don’t need a ton of money to start using loops in your worship gathering.  You just need to start small and try it out.

Triggering Loops With a Controller            

A second method to running loops in your worship experience would be to use a program such as Ableton Live with a MIDI controller.  This method consists of having a MIDI keyboard, or a foot controller like the aBility controller or Soft Step controller. You can use these MIDI controllers to trigger your loop through Ableton.  This method of triggering loops can get a bit more complex but in the long run it helps create excellence in your worship experience.  I use this method each time I lead. There is a small learning curve. Getting to a point of proficiency in this method takes some knowledge and time to make sure it is implemented with consistency.  As the worship leader, you need to be sure you understand how Ableton works and how your controller is configured / how to MIDI map your controller to Ableton.  Do everyone in your band a favor and know what you’re doing before you just jump into it.  It will help the whole band unite together when tension might be high during a rehearsal. You don’t want to be wasting valuable soundcheck and rehearsal time fidgeting with your loop set up. Be prepared and ready to go. But also be knowledgable about the equipment so that when/if a problem arises, you can fix it on the fly.

Triggering Full Tracks or Triggering Individual Parts

Full Tracks           

Triggering a full loop track with or without a vocal cue can be a very easy and convenient way to start using loops.  A full loop track gives great stability to the arrangement you are composing, but also is problematic if you get off the arrangement and you have to kill the loop.  Having to kill the loop mid-song can totally de-rail a song and really pull away from the worship experience. Keep this in mind when you are in rehearsal.  If your band does not have the song down with the loop during your rehearsal, you should NOT try to run with it during the worship experience (no matter how cool your loop is).  Using a full loop track can give a great creative element when you use it with a video background or typography.  I recently did this with a video background for “In Christ Alone” that we got from Igniter media and replaced the media with my own loop.  This can be a little complicated, but if you want to look into it more you can also trigger Video within Ableton.

Triggering individual parts of the song.            

Another way to use a loop in worship experience is triggering each individual part of a song.  If you have your loop broken up into different parts of the song, you have the freedom to control where the song is going. If the band gets off the loop you can kill it and then bring it back in at the next part.  Triggering each individual part can also be helpful when you have a song that doesn’t need a loop the whole time.  Maybe you just want to trigger a tambourine or a shaker for certain parts.  I use to do this a lot but now I am finding my self using a full track more often because my arrangements are already set before rehearsal time. If I need to make changes to the loop, I can do so before the weekend.  You can also set up Ableton to run a full track and also have it mapped out to trigger different parts. You can do this using “Locators” in arrangement view.  This gives the freedom to go back to a part of the song or if you had to kill the loop you can trigger the next part of the song.

Hopefully these thoughts are helpful.  If you have any question please leave a comment and continue the conversation.

Pro’s / Con’s of the Worship Leader Triggering the Loop?

Lets start with some pros to the worship leader triggering the loop.  Many people have asked me, “Why do you want to trigger the loops? Don’t you have enough going through your head?”. Well yeah, you’re right – but on the same hand I think God has gifted worship leaders in this way to process all this stuff at the same time.  Think about this: When I am leading the weekend services, I have spent my whole week thinking about the flow of the set, each arrangement and how everything is going to come together.  I’ve specifically built or purchased a loop for the arrangement I am using.  Having the worship leader trigger the loop gives him the ability to kill the loop and click if you get off and he is usually the first person that knows the band is off.  But on the other hand, it could it be distracting to the CHURCH when the worship leader is trying to stomp his foot at just the right time to trigger the next part of the loop and then he accidentally triggered it early and then has to kill it.  Or take this for instance: Lets say you just ended a song and you read a scripture verse and then you pour out your heart before the people about what God is teaching you and you can just feel the presence of the Lord. Then you shut your bible and go to hit the button for the loop and it didn’t work! So you press it again and still no loop… finally the third time it goes.  Yeah that happened to me a couple weeks ago.  So yes there are down sides to the worship leader triggering the loop because it can be very distracting to both the leader and congregation.

Pro’s / Con’s of Having Someone Else in the Band Trigger the Loop?

Having someone else in the band trigger the loop can have great advantages.  This is a very non-distracting way to run a click and a loop. You can have everything all set up for the drummer or keys player to just hit the button at the right time. Another “pro” of having the worship leader run the loops is that no one knows the flow of a song / set better than the worship leader. It forces the worship leader to be prepared ahead of time as well – arrangements are clearly thought out, as well as transition points. There are some disadvantages to having someone other than the worship leader trigger the loops. If the band get’s of the click, the drummer or keys player may not kill it because they don’t have a free hand or don’t notice it. Then your band may keep playing and fighting against a loop that is a measure ahead. This can cause great confusion and distract from the worship experience.  The learning curve is a big disadvantage to having someone else trigger the loop.  It takes time to get use to triggering each part of the song and when you don’t have that much time during your rehearsal, you need to spend your time wisely.  I suggest if you want to have someone else in the band trigger the loops start out by having them trigger the click during a service when your not using loops so they can get a feel for doing multiple things during the worship set. You may also want to meet with them ahead of time during the week to practice.

These are just some ideas. If you have any questions or comments, let’s continue the conversation on the blog. Comment below!

There are countless blogs and websites out on the inter-web right now spreading the gospel of loops, their benefits and why you should use them now.  I’m in that club but many of these blogs and lessons are geared towards the larger church.  I’m a worship leader in a plant church and have been at several other small churches and have learned quite a few lessons in introducing loops to your team and implementing them in your service.  Here are my reasons why loops and the worship leader of a small church, specifically a mobile church, should be best friends.

“We talkin’ ‘bout practice”

Who has time to sit down and practice at home?  Loops offer the benefit of playing with the exact same track, arrangement and feeling at home.  Our rhythm section can try new things, become familiar with our arrangement, which might be different than the recording, and mess up where only their cat will hear.  Our rehearsals are more efficient when we’re rehearsing not teaching.  This becomes even more important in the small church where sometimes there isn’t a space available to rehearse during the week and the only option is early Sunday morning.

Prepare The Vocals

Sometimes we’ll do a song with complicated harmonies or vocal parts and the hour and a half (most of the time much less) we have to rehearse before service isn’t sufficient for everyone to be comfortable with their parts.  With loops our vocalists can have the same  benefits as the rhythm section has with the added benefit of their vocal part exaggerated on the track.  They will hear the melody along with their harmony which will be a little bit louder. By listening to that throughout the week their harmony will be burned into their brain (hopefully) and we can work more on blending than teaching parts.

Time is Tickin’

Nothing can derail a rehearsal, or set for that matter, than time fluctuations.  Even if your drummer is still getting used to playing with a click and/or loop, the benefit of at least starting a song at the right tempo can save a ton of time and frustration.  Nothing will tighten up your rhythm section and gel your sound like everyone playing together in time.  The pocket gets deeper, rhythms get tighter, and your guitarist’s dotted 8th delay will sound like The Edge instead of like he’s falling over it.

“If I had…”

Every worship leader lends themselves to mediocrity when they allow themselves to fall into the “If I had” mentality.  It’s easy to look at the bigger church down the street and think, “If I had all that, I could do that too.”  They don’t see the work and effort it took to get to that position.  One thing we’ve had to learn at our plant church is that God sends and brings and gives exactly what we’re meant to have at this point in time.  Loops won’t necessarily grow your ministry but it does allow you to be more adventurous in what you can do right now.  If your team is small or your talent is limited, you and loops should get to know each other.  When I started at Freedom Chapel there was a drummer…and that’s it.  So we started producing full tracks with keys, synths, percussion loops, etc to fill out the sound so we weren’t limited to doing a candle lit unplugged set every week.  It transformed our thinking from, “We can’t do until we get more.” to “We can do and believe God will send more.” (Matt. 25:14-30)

It’s Not The Same!

Loops will never replace the energy and feel of a live human being playing an instrument, but they can add to your team and make your time together more efficient.  Think of some areas in your team, rehearsals, or practice time that you or your people struggle with.  What are they?  Loops may not be the end all solution but they can probably help put you on the right path.

Hi, all.

A question that typically comes up when I tell people about all of the technology that we use in worship is, “Why use all of that? Do you really need to use technology to get the point across?” My answer to that goes along with some of my recent blog posts regarding worship. I’ve been highlighting some of our “axioms” about worship–those elements of our ministry that I’m not willing to budge on–those things I will always hold as true for our ministry. I’d like to quote some of that blog here:

Worship Axiom #1: God deserves our excellence.

With everything that we offer to God, we strive for it to be excellent. This is the core of worship and it is a priority that is as old as recorded history. In Genesis 4:3-5 we read about an offering that Cain brings before God and an offering that his brother Abel brings before God. In the first instance, Cain brought “some” of the fruit of his labor. Abel on the other hand brought forth the “fat portions” of his labor. There are many ways to interpret this. A clear difference in these offerings is that Abel offered his best. He gave that which represented his very finest work. Abel delivered to God that which was the most meaningful and bore the greatest value.

We are compelled to bring that which represents the best of our work–that which clearly shows the value of the offering. With everything we offer to God – art, music, poetry, time, effort, energy, money (and many others) – must carry a value that represents the best we have to offer. The sounds (all our offerings unto God) we make must be as sweet of a sound as the grace offered to us in return.

We will continue to toil so that we may offer to God the full excellence that he deserves.

Technology As An Offering

If you’re reading reading this post, you probably use technology on a daily basis. Many of us are very good at using it artistically (i.e., creating audio, video, other visual elements), but some rely on technology (the devices and their connections) as our bread-winning means. Either way, technology will continue to be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future.

As bible believing Christians that desire to give the best we have to offer, we must also treat the use of technology as an offering to God. God deserves our excellence and if we can provide excellence in the use of technology, we are called to offer it to God in worship. Churches should seek out ways to implement technology that represents the very best of our abilities. Here are some simple ways to use technology that both help to create distraction-free worship services and represent the best we can offer.

1) Implement video elements that are excellent. They don’t have to be expensive. Remember, it does not have to be expensive to be excellent. Carefully weigh your options, which could include volunteers to create this content, and implement video that does not detract from the experience. Use video/audio when it is the best option available, not simply because using technology is the goal. Utilizing video for announcements or other awareness issues is actually detrimental if the quality is not excellent.

2) Use technology to create transitions between the elements of the services. Simple lighting fades, looped audio, and simple video transitions can make a huge difference in your services when you’d like to change the focus or the attention of the audience. Again, these things detract when they are not done with excellence. We use looped audio for every song to provide excellence, even in the transitions between songs. The tracks found here on LoopCommunity can aid with this as well.

3) Implement smart phone technology into your production. At YouVersion.com, a service hosted by Lifechurch.tv, you can create guides for your messages for free. Many smart phone users use the YouVersion bible app which allows them to search for live events. This is a free solution to keep the focus on the message at hand. With just 30 minutes of time, you can create a mobile guide for following along with the message, including note-taking, scripture readings, prayer requests, and many other elements.

Why utilize technology? The answer is simple. We can give an excellent gift to a God that deserves such an excellent gift.

About the Author:
Ben Worcester lives with his wife Sharyn in Manhattan, Kansas where he is the Contemporary Service Coordinator at University Christian Church. He holds a B.S. in Bible degree from Manhattan Christian College as well as Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music Composition from Kansas State University. His main duties at UCC include creating music content for the services. These include selecting songs, writing backing tracks, and writing for the church’s choirs and orchestra. Many of the loops that UCC uses are available on LoopCommunity. Visit his seller page to find them!

You think our loops are awesome? Excellent – we agree with you! But if you’re like most people, you have no idea how to use them in your worship set yet. Luckily, most churches fall into one of three categories based on how your worship environment is setup. Go ahead and scroll down to the section that best describes your church.

I’ve got a digital mixer and Avioms (or similar system)

You’re in the best possible case. Using loops in your worship set is as easy as it gets. You can play your loops from an iPod/MP3 player, computer, or even burn them to a CD. Have your sound engineer route the outputs of the loop track to two different Aviom channels. These two channels should not be paired so you can have individual control over the click track (usually the left channel) and the loop itself (usually the right channel). Some musicians prefer the click in both ears while others may want it in both. Your sound engineer can then send only the loop track to the main speakers. This approach ensures that your band stays in sync with the track and that they can hear and use the vocal cues in most tracks. If you already use a click track, have the engineer use a mix (sometimes called a bus, or aux) to combine both click tracks to a single Aviom channel.

I’ve got an analog mixer and Avioms

Good news, you can run our loops no problem off an analog mixer! If you are using Avioms and an analog mixer, you probably have an Aviom line level input mixer. The easiest thing to do in this scenario is route the click track (usually the left channel) directly to the Aviom input module. The click isn’t needed in the main PA, so you can save on available channels at the mixer by bypassing it completely. If you have the mic/line mixer from Aviom instead, the same methodology applies, just make sure you use a 1/4 cable to hook up, not a mic cable (XLR). Send the loop track to a channel on the mixer. If it has line level inputs (these are usually 1/4 or RCA jacks and may be labeled as ‘Stereo Inputs’), you can go directly from the MP3 player/CD to the mixer. If it only has mic inputs (XLR connectors), you’ll have to use a direct box. Direct boxes adjust the volume of mp3 players and cd players and makes them suitable for connection to your mixer. Direct boxes are available at most music stores for about $40. Your sound engineer can then mix in the loop track with the rest of the band, just as they would mix in another guitar player or vocalist.

I’ve got an analog or digital mixer, but no Avioms

Really? That’s too bad, Avioms can do amazing things for most churches, but that’s a topic for another day… The good news is that you can still use our loops! The setup is slightly complicated, but not difficult to support or maintain once it is in place. Start by getting the click track to your drummer’s ears. Often the easiest way to have your drummer engage the loop track from your mp3 player at the right time. He gets to wear just 1 headphone – the one playing the click, and keep time with it. The drummer stays on the click track and the rest of the band follows him. If headphones aren’t possible for some reason, you can send both channels from the playback device to your mixer and have your sound engineer mix the click track into the drummer’s wedge, or even better – a mini-mixer that the drummer can use for a headphone mix. There are of course, other setups and more complicated solutions. We want your worship sets to be as good as possible, so if you have questions about a specific implementation or just need clarification, shoot us an e-mail at support@loopcommunity.com and we’ll work with you and your sound team to get you going!