4. In Practice

Unlike most floor effects devices, you cannot really just start using a looper without some prior practice - not without embarrassing yourself, at least! Every musician should know some basics about the phrase-based performance of loopers, but what is special about loopers is that they fire off phrases with a precision that is unprecedented - and unforgiving. Small timing errors can lead to grave consequences, and usable quantisation such as you may know from software sequencers is rarely available, and if it is, then always exclusively based on the pre-set or chosen tempo: without a pre-defined tempo there can be absolutely no quantisation. So, just keep practising, and you'll be able to approach your performance without trepidation, and the timing will be A-ok from the get-go.

If you want to use your looper in a performance, you should be pretty clear in advance what you want to feed into the device; without good preparation and an at least rudimentary plan it will be difficult if not impossible to weave a homogeneous and satisfying sound texture from individual loop phrases. Structure is the key word here: a well-prepared and interestingly structured performance will gain you appreciation and will be fun to realise, while an unprepared performance invites embarrassment. Improvisation is by no means taboo, but for beginners at least it should be the last step they take, and only once they know how to make a loop texture run smoothly.

As we mentioned previously, the particularities of operating a looper are also not ideally suited to solving personal tension during a performance: ideally you know how to operate your looper without visual feedback so that you won't have to worry about mixing up the "overdub" and "empty storage" commands when the stage lights are completely down. Admittedly, some loopers' designer have unhelpfully designed those commands to be very close to each other, which could be solved by a re-design, but as long as this problem persists it is important that you know how to operate your device instinctively.

Loopers can also be used as part of a band performance, but only if the band is playing together at an advanced level. Naturally, the monitoring environment has to be suitable for all involved, and everyone needs to possess some flexibility. Ideas like "I'm the one who sets the tempo" are completely unsuitable. Using a looper as part of a band's sound must be rehearsed properly.

This, too holds true: