5/29/25 Getting Loopy: Loop Pedals are Your Secret Practice Weapon

Lots of musicians have loop pedals these days. They bring all kinds of new possibilities to a live show.

But loop pedals are also incredible practice tools. Why?

1) Loop pedals force you to listen to what you just recorded
a. Most of us don’t record ourselves all the time, and if we do, we don’t always listen carefully to what we’ve played. When we use a loop pedal, we are forced to hear ourselves over and over, so if there is an intonation issue or a wrong note, we will hear it over and over. Hard to not notice.

2) You can work on both rhythm and lead playing.
a. Record a rhythm groove. The advantages are that you can customize the rhythm part to be exactly what you would like to improvise over. If you want to have an altered dominant chord, you can add the #9 or the b13 to the loop. You could even add it as an overdub if there isn’t a convenient voicing. And the recording of the rhythm part can be something you do over and over until you nail it, listening to previous “takes” and erasing them until you record a loop you want to keep.
b. Additionally, if you have an octave pedal which lowers the pitch by an octave, or a 5 or 6 string violin, you can add bass notes to your loop.
c. Then practice improvising over your rhythm groove.

3) Keeping the Tempo
a. Because it’s imperative to keep the tempo precise so that the loop doesn’t end in a different tempo than it begins, recording loops forces you to engage your body, the best way to keep the tempo steady. You could use a click track or a metronome, but I encourage you to also practice without a click to develop your steadiness.