Customizing the Loop Browser

The Loop Browser is a complex organizational tool that goes beyond buttons and columns. There are many hidden features that you can use to customize the Loop Browser. Let's explore some of these features while we build the simple song using Apple Loops.

Resizing and Rearranging Columns in the Results List

A good place to start customizing your Loop Browser is in the results list. The results list has six different columns.

To view additional columns, you can click-drag the horizontal scroller below the results list.

1.	Press Cmd-K to close the onscreen keyboard, if it is open. Then press Cmd-L or click the Loop Browser button to open the Loop Browser.
2.	Click-drag the scroller toward the right to see the last columns in the results list, if you don't already see them. These columns contain information about the individual loops and can be used to sort the loops within the results list. All the columns can be moved or resized except for the Loop Type column, which always stays on the far left. To move a column, you simply click-drag the column header.
3.	Locate the favorites column, which is labeled "Fav."
4.	Click-drag the Fav column header toward the left and release it before the Name column. You can also resize the columns by click-dragging the right edge of the column header.
5.	Move your pointer to the right edge of the Name column header until it becomes a resize pointer.
6.	Click-drag the right edge of the Name column to extend the column to the edge of the results list. Extending the Name column makes it easier to read the names of the loops in the results list. The Fav column does not need to be very wide because it isn't used for text.

Selecting Favorite Loops

With over 1,000 loops to choose from, sometimes it's a good idea to mark your favorites or the loops you plan to use for a specific song. That way, when you are ready to start building the song, you won't have to break your creative flow to go hunting for loops. Instead, they will all be located in one categoryfavorites. Any loop that is marked as a favorite can be located easily with the Favorites button in Button view or in the Favorites column in Column view.

1.	Click the Reset button to reset (deselect) any buttons in the Loop Browser. The song is based around a piano melody, so let's start with the piano.
2.	Click the Piano keyword button to select the piano loops.
3.	Select 70s Ballad Piano 01 in the search results to preview the loop. This loop is perfect for the song. All you have to do now is mark it as a favorite so you can look for other loops that may go well with this melody.
4.	Click the box in the Fav column next to the 70s Ballad Piano 01 loop. The Favorites button is no longer grayed out, indicating that you now have at least one loop marked as a favorite.
5.	Click the Piano button to deselect the button and empty the search results list.
6.	Click the Favorites button to view the loop you marked as a favorite in the list.
7.	Click the Column View button to change the Loop Browser to Column view. Notice the Favorites option in the Loops column.
8.	Click Favorites in the Loops column, then Piano in the Favorites column. Notice that the Piano descriptors all have one selection.
9.	Click any of descriptors in the Piano column to select a favorite loop. These descriptors apply to the loop you selected as a favorite, and include all the categories you could use to search for the 70s Ballad Piano 01 loop in the Loop Browser. Later in this lesson, you'll see that there are keyword buttons for each of these descriptors that you can use with the Loop Browser in Button view.
10.	Click the Button View button again to return to the Button view.

Now that you have searched for a loop, marked it as a favorite, and found it in the Loop Browser using Button view and Column view, it's time to find and mark the rest of the loops for the song.

Moving Keyboard Buttons

Keyword buttons are not only easy to use, but also easy to move. To move a button, all you have to do is click-drag the button to a different button location. The button you move will swap places with the button in the current location. The only buttons that cannot be moved are Reset and Favorites.

Why would you want to move a button? Good question. Since you know that you want certain instruments for the song, it is useful to group all of the instrument buttons together near a common descriptor so you can spend less time searching for buttons and more time searching for loops.

For this song, you'll need a piano part (which you've already marked as a favorite), a bass, and some drums, so let's group them all together with the common descriptor Rock/Blues.

Let's start by moving the Rock/Blues button closer to the results list for easier access.

1.	Locate the Rock/Blues button in the Loop Browser.
2.	Click-drag the Rock/Blues button and move it on top of the Ensemble button, located at the top right of the keyword buttons. The Ensemble button highlights when you move the other button over it to show that you are moving the new button to that location.
3.	Release the mouse to complete the button move. The Rock/Blues button is now in the upper-right corner, and the Ensemble button has moved to the old Rock/Blues position. Let's move the other main instrument keyword buttons we need to the button positions below the Rock/Blues button.
4.	Locate the Bass button and move it to the position directly below the Rock/Blues button.
5.	Locate the All Drums button and move it to the position below the Bass button. Now that the buttons are in place, let's hunt for some more loops to use for the song.
6.	Click the Rock/Blues button to select it (if it is not already selected).
7.	Click the Bass button to narrow the search to Bass loops that are also classified as Rock/Blues loops.
8.	Click-drag the scroller to scroll down through the results list until you locate Muted Rock Bass 01.
9.	Click the Muted Rock Bass 01 loop to preview it in the results list.
10.	Click again to stop the preview.
11.	Mark the Muted Rock Bass 01 as a favorite.
12.	Click the Bass keyword button to deselect it. The Rock/Blues button remains selected.
13.	Click the All Drums button to search for Rock/Blues Drums loops.
14.	Locate Relaxed Drum Groove 01 from the results list and mark it as a favorite.
15.	Click the All Drums button again to deselect it.
16.	Click the Favorites button to view your current favorites. You now have three loops in your favorites list.
17.	Click the Favorites button again to deselect it.

Showing More Keyword Buttons

By default, the Loop Browser shows 35 buttons (including the Reset and Favorites buttons). You can easily increase the size of the Loop Browser to show up to 63 buttons.

Why would you want to see that many buttons? If you're just starting a song, you might not know exactly what type of loop you want. Some of the Genre or Mood buttons, like Cinematic, Experimental, Grooving, or Melodic, that are normally hidden from view might inspire you. If 35 buttons are a nice salad-bar-sized selection to choose from, 63 buttons are the full-blown keyword button buffet.

To resize the Loop Browser, you click-drag between the Record button and the Track Editor button.

Let's resize the Loop Browser to see more buttons.

1.	Move your pointer over the empty gray space to the left of the Record button to change the pointer to a Hand tool.
2.	Click-drag up the Loop Browser until all of the buttons are showing. Notice all of the new buttons from which to choose. The Part button will be perfect for the cymbal crash part that we need for the end of the song.
3.	Locate the Part button and swap it with the Intense button. When you release the Part button over the Intense button, they will swap positions, leaving the Part button below the Drums. Having all these buttons at your fingertips is great for browsing through loops and finding favorite loops to use later. Unfortunately, the expanded browser doesn't leave much room in the Timeline for arranging your song. Now that you've seen the full button spread and have rearranged the buttons you need, it's time to resize the Loop Browser back to the more compact Timeline-friendly default size.
4.	Click-drag the Loop Browser to resize it back to the normal size. Note Enlarging the Loop Browser can be very useful when you are searching for loops and marking them as favorites. However, a larger Loop Browser isn't recommended while you are working in the Timeline because it takes up too much of the Timeline workspace.

Changing a Keyword Button

Now that you have resized the Loop Browser, you have seen some of the additional keyword button choices that are available for you to use.

Instead of dragging buttons to a more convenient location, you can simply change a keyword button to a new keyword.

1.	Deselect the Rock/Blues button, then locate the Dark button at the bottom of the right column of keyword buttons.
2.	Ctrl-click the Dark button to open a contextual menu of keyword choices. The contextual menu has three submenus of keyword choices: Genre, Instruments, and Descriptors.
3.	Choose Instruments > Percussion > Tambourine from the contextual menu. Note Your contextual menu layout may differ from the picture depending on your screen resolution and the location of the contextual menu on your screen. The Dark keyword changes to Tambourine in the Loop Browser.
4.	Click the Reset button to make all the visible keyword buttons active in the Loop Browser.

Now that you know how to customize your Loop Browser, let's find the rest of the loops for the song.

Finishing the Loop Search

There are three loops left to find and mark as favorites. Let's start with the tambourine parts.

1.	Click the Tambourine button to view the different choices in the results list.
2.	Mark Tambourine 01 as a favorite.
3.	Mark Tambourine 07 as a favorite.
4.	Click the Tambourine button again to deselect it. The last loop we need to find for the song is the cymbal crash. The easiest way to find it will be to simply type cymbal in the Search text field.
5.	Type cymbal in the Search text field at the bottom of the Loop Browser and press Return.
6.	Mark the Long Crash Cymbal 05 loop as a favorite. You'll use this loop as the finale at the end of the song.
7.	Click the Favorites button to view all of the favorite loops. All of the loops you need to build the song IvoryGroove are now collected as favorites.
8.	Press Cmd-S to save your work.