I need to use the loops in Soundtrack Pro to create the music for a corporate video (I don't have the budget to pay for music) but I'm finding the process of creating the music from loops very labour intensive and frustrating, any suggestions tips?

Hi Marshall23 and welcome to the forums! What exactly are you finding difficult? It's difficult for us to answer a very open ended question... Making music can be very labour intensive. Have you tried using Garageband - if you don't know STP2 very well, GB might be more intuitive? What genre of music are you creating? What are you presently doing that you are finding tough? Regardless of the above, I'd recommend having a clear idea of what kind of music you are looking to make. Check out the music beds included with STp2 (in loop browser) Listen to similar types of music to use as a template. Use the search field in the loop browser.. Control-click on loops to add them to a favourites folder, so you can preview them easily later. Decide on a beginning, middle and end to the piece of music... perhaps a verse, chorus, verse... depending on the type of music. Think about using motifs at varying points of the piece. Increase your budget! There are many composers around, including myself ;-) who would be happy to take the "intensive" out of your "labour" Cheers Rounik

Thanks, Rounick. What I find is that structuring the music itself, is very difficult. The loops are good for about 20 seconds but then become very repetitive? You can change instruments sure but the composition just isn't there?

Hi Marshall, STP2 isn't designed primarily as a composition tool. Logic is a true Digital Audio Workstation that can record, edit etc MIDI and Audio. Logic is a composers mecca IMHO! STP2 is great at what it does - use Apple Loops, edit audio, edit audio for video purposes and for it's noise removal tools. What you have outlined is the age old issue with using only loops. They can become repetitive very quickly. IMHO the trick is to use a variety of loops and introduce different elements like pads and other sound beds and atmospheres and smaller hits at different moments to create a dynamic range and give the listener different elements to focus on while allowing them to follow a common thread... You can cut and paste sections of loops, to create drum fills, add two melodies that "talk to each other" and are not playing for the whole project. Give the piece some space to breathe... Place the same loop on different tracks. At some points in the composition have track A playing normally, at other points, Track B panned differently or with a different effect placed on it... These might sound like cliches, but they are worth considering. Alternatively, see if you can find a composer who is willing to do the job for a small amount. You may be pleasantly surprised? Cheers Rounik