Making loops is easy. Making fully structured EDM tracks is not.

Consider this scenario that many music producers go through:

You open up your DAW, find a sample or loop that you like, get a solid melody or beat going, and everything sounds pretty good. 

However, after about 4, 8, or 16 bars, you get stuck.

The idea of trying to create an entire arrangement out of this small loop is overwhelming. 

We’ve all been there, which is why we’ve crafted this guide with five unique strategies to help you break out of the loop whenever you’re feeling stuck.

Why You’re Falling in the Loop

You want to start by saying that creating loops is not a bad thing. There are many electronic artists that work with loops.

The problem is many music producers stick with what they are comfortable with.

It can be so much easier to program a drum loop and add a bass line than to draft up chord progressions or write interesting melodies. This often lends itself to loop-based workflows. When you eventually reach the point where you need to move on to the more difficult aspects of the track, there are often two things that happen:

• You fool yourself into believing that your loop idea isn’t good enough and that you should start working on something else entirely. 
• You fool yourself into believing that you are stuck in the loop and you’ll never be able to get out, leading you to abandon your project and start something new.

Music producers often fall victim to these inclinations because they don’t want to perform the difficult tasks.

Luckily, there are many strategies you can use do help yourself break free from these inclinations. 

Tip #1 – Single-Instrument Arrangement

The main goal of this strategy is to write your core idea with a single instrument, such as a synth or piano. Once your idea is locked in, you can begin arranging it into a basic EDM structure before you begin adding other samples, instruments, or additional elements. 

I often like to start by drafting up a core idea, such as a chord progression, with a VST that I like. Once the chord progression is down, I might add a melody to it. 

Altogether, it might sound like a solid course, so I’ll duplicate and simplify it to start working on a verse idea.

Once that is done, I’ll begin flushing out the bones of an arrangement for my song. Though I am only working with a single instrument right now, I have my fundamental arrangement in place. Getting out of the loop track was pretty quick, and now all I need to do is find the right instruments and sounds you finish it. 

The Benefit of This Approach

There are a few reasons why I really enjoy this approach:

• Focus – It helps me hone in on the most important parts of my track, such as chord progressions and melodies. 
• Hard Things First – It helps me get the most difficult part out of the way first. Many producers dread songwriting, so knowing that they have good ideas nailed down already will motivate them to continue moving forward.

Tip #2 – Linear Arrangement

The idea of this strategy is to work systematically from left to right, focusing on a single section at a time before moving on.

Rather than starting with a verse or chorus, you begin with the intro, adding a few instruments, sounds, and ideas until you’ve come up with something you are satisfied with.

After completing the full arrangement and structure, go back to the beginning and make improvements and adjustments moving left to right. Continue this linear motion until you feel fully satisfied with your track.

For example, let’s say I was biting a deep house track.

I might start out my intro with a simple 8-bar drum beat, using a standard 4/4 kick pattern, a few percussion loops, and some ambient sounds. I’ll keep it pretty simple at the start, as I’m just using this to give me a better idea of where I want to go with the track.

Once I feel content with my intro, I’ll move forward into the first breakdown. The difficult thing here is resisting the temptation to continue working on the initial intro loop.

However, I resist the urge and decide to extend my percussion loops and begin writing a basic chord progression. Once I’m happy with this section, I’ll continue moving on to the next eight bars.

The Benefit of This Approach

• Less Focus On the Hard Elements – The benefit of this approach is that you don’t need to start by writing melodies and chord progressions you like.
• Greater Focus on Single Sections – Because you’re only focusing on a single section at a time, rather than the overall structure, you’re not weighed down by the pressure of creating an entire song.

Tip #3 – Subtractive Arrangement

The subtractive arrangement strategy assumes that you already have a loop going.

For this to work, the loop you have in place must be well-developed. This means you have about 8 to 10 individual tracks playing together.

Start by duplicating this loop until your track is laid out across your timeline at the desired length. For now, you might consider starting with 3 to 4 minutes.

Then, begin removing sounds and instruments from your loop in different 8-bar sections to create a rough arrangement outline.

For example, you may not want to have the drums playing right away in your intro, so start by removing those in the first eight bars. Next, you might want your bass line to drop out in the breakdown, so remove that next. 

As you continue making wide brushstroke decisions, the structure will begin forming. From there, you can begin making more detailed decisions.

The Benefit of This Approach

• Great for Loop-Centric Genres – This approach is great for genres that heavily utilize loops, such as techno, tech house, and house music. 
• Quick Composition –  You essentially start by creating the densest and fullest part of your track first, getting the composition out of the way before you begin stripping elements a way to craft an arrangement.

Tip #4 – Skeleton Arrangement

The skeleton arrangement strategy is when you arrange your instrumentation and structure with blank MIDI clips. To do this, I will often import a reference track into my session.

Start by adding a reference track that is similar to the type of track you want to make.

Get the basic song structure down markers (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.) or blank MIDI clips. Then, listen closely to all of the sections, creating blank MIDI clips and tracks for each instrument you here.

For example, if you hear a hi-hat, create a blank MIDI clip labeled “hi-hat” and place it in any sections where you hear the hi-hat playing.

Don’t worry about creating blank MIDI clips and tracks for every sound and instrument. For now, just focus on the major elements. Once you have your instrumentation and arrangement set up, you can begin filling in the blanks.

The Benefit of This Approach

• Reference – The main benefit of this approach is that you have all the inspiration you need to begin creating your track right in front of you in the form of a reference.
• Templated – When it comes to the arrangement process, the template is already well-defined. All you need to do is fill in the blanks.

Tip #5 – Use Different Instruments

The strategy here is to use your core ideas, such as your chord progressions or melodies, and play them with different instruments. 

Let’s say you’re creating a house track and using a funky, staccato chord progression that you are playing with a Rhodes keyboard. You don’t know where to go next.

Take that MIDI chord progression and manipulate the rhythm so that the notes are long and sustained. Swap out the Rhodes VST for an atmospheric pad.

At this point, you’ll have an entirely different section of the song that gels nicely with your original loop, as it uses the same chord progression. 

The Benefit of This Approach

• Simple – The main benefit of this loop-sitting strategy is that it’s really easy. Once you have a good chord progression for melody using MIDI, all you have to do is repurpose it.

• Great for Certain Tracks – This strategy is excellent for certain tracks where the subtractive approach doesn’t work.

Where To Go Next

Feeling a bit less overwhelmed now?

Use these five strategies and we guarantee you’ll have a much easier time avoiding or breaking free from the loop and finishing your tracks. 

To start implementing these ideas, revisit some of your old loop projects that have been collecting dust and apply the ideas to finish them off. 

You’ll feel so much better having songs that you can release and show people.

If you’re looking to learn more about arrangements and how to turn loops into perfectly-formed songs, make sure to hop over to our Arrangement and Storytelling course to learn more. 

When you download this of course, you also get access to more than 40 industry arrangement templates to help turn your small ideas into full-fledged masterpieces.