Song structure in Nanoloop differs for each and every person. It also depends on the style of music you're writing and what it is you want to do. For now we'll start with some basics.
r channel - bass and kicks (bass drum)
l channel - good for either leads of accompaniment
s channel - also good for leads or accompaniment
n channel - for snares or hit-hats
Some sound examples:
r channel (kick & bass): kick & bass
l channel (accompaniment): accompaniment
s: channel (lead): lead
n channel snare & hi-hat: snare & hi-hat
all: all
Each loop is played at 142 bpm and the l channel loop is played at 1/2 speed.
What it looks like in Nanoloop:
r channel:
Kick: The notes for a kick sound should be on blocks 1, 5, 9 and 13 (this is what's known as a 4x4, your basic kick used overused in a lot of dance tracks). The picture to the left depicts this clearly. Each note is at the lowest octave and semitone. Next you will have to adjust the pitch in order to achieve a
kick sound, otherwise it will just sound like very low bass notes. The picture to the left shows a good adjustment for pitch. Use the cursor to help with placement. You can move it around to experiment with different sounds. Moving it to the left will make your kick sound cleaner (it may sound similar to a kick on a TR-606). Moving it to the right will add more bass tones to the note and it may sound more like a low tom rather than a kick. After you have
adjusted the pitch and found a sound you like, then you can add the bass notes. This is a very simple process. Place down the same notes as you
kick but make them an octave higher.
The smaller square controls the octave. The notes in the picture are at C when making them higher you can use A + up or down on from the function menu to adjust all the notes at once. When this is done the kick will match the bass notes and they will sound a lot better when added with leads or accompaniment. The steps I've shown are pretty basic try experimenting with note placement, attack, delay and tempo speeds to achieve different results. There is no pitch added to bass notes like there is with the kick, although you can add slight pitch shifts up or down to change the sound. Again, experiment and find something that works with the style of music you're composing. It's all a matter of personal preference. Even fm and arpeggio effects may sound interesting with bass notes.
