Looping Objects in the Arrange Window

Loops, loops, loops! At the moment, you have two Regions in the Arrange window. One is in the form of an Apple Loop, while the other is a folder that contains individual audio samples. Both these Regions are just one bar long, and one bar does not make much of a song. Loops to the rescue!

Looped Regions are simply aliases that refer back to the original Object. There are many benefits to using loops. For example, because loops are just aliases with no extra audio content of their own, loops take up less system memory than copying the Objects would. But even better (particularly for looped MIDI Regions), if you change the data in the original Object, that change ripples through all the loops. Edit once, change all.

NOTE

The Song Information window allows you to inspect the amount of system memory used for the Objects in your song. To open the Song Information window, choose Options > Song information.

The Song Information window shows the amount of system memory used by the Objects in your song.

To create loops, you'll use the Region Parameter box. This box sits in the top left corner of the Arrange window, directly above the toolbox, and it always updates to display the unique parameters of any Audio Region or MIDI Region selected in the Arrange window.

1.	In the Arrange window, select the Bongo Groove 05 Region. The Region Parameter box updates to display the Region's name.
2.	In the top left corner of the Arrange window, click the disclosure triangle on the left edge of the Region Parameter box. The Region Parameter box expands to display the Bongo Groove 05 Region's properties. Notice the Loop parameter.
3.	Select the Loop parameter's check box. The Bongo Groove 05 Region now loops.
4.	Press CtrlLeft Arrow until you can see approximately 25 bars of the song. That loop sure goes a long way! It will loop all the way to the end of the song unless another region in the track blocks it. In fact, you can stop a loop at any point by placing an empty region in the way.
5.	From the toolbox, grab the Pencil tool.
6.	In the Bongo track, click the Pencil tool at exactly 25 1 1 1 (bar 25). An empty Object is inserted into the track at bar 25, and the loop is stopped dead in its track. Inserting an empty Object is a great way to stop a loop, but if you know in advance you need your loop to span only a certain number of bars, you can use the following trick:
7.	Position the Arrow tool over the top right corner of the Folder Object. The Pointer turns into a loop icon.
8.	Drag the right edge of the Folder Object to bar 25. The Folder Object now loops exactly 23 times. Furthermore, this trick works with any Audio Region or MIDI Region in the Arrange window. Remember this when you're laying out Apple Loops later in this lesson.

That's enough groundwork for now. Let's continue on to the fun stuff and explore Apple Loops.