Loops and Layering
The first project of the course. No instrument required: students learn the Sound library by hunting for loops, then learn what separates four loops piled together from an arrangement. Skills live on Soundtrap Basics and Arranging Loops.
Schedule
| Project Day | Plan |
|---|---|
| 1 | Scavenger Hunt — five Soundtrap projects, four loops in each, every name on the worksheet |
| 2 | Finish and Pick One — finish the hunt, turn in the worksheet, choose the set to share |
| 3 | Share Out, then Layer — everyone plays one set; rebuild it so loops enter and exit over time and are balanced |
| 4 | Genre First — the four loop roles; build a new set by picking a genre, then filling each role once |
| 5 | Loop Song — a graded 8–16 measure song from at least five loops, exported as an MP3 |
Project Day 1: Scavenger Hunt
Students get a printed Loop Scavenger Hunt worksheet. Five separate projects, four loops in each — 20 loops total. Each set is its own mini song, so each set goes in its own project.
| Set | What to collect |
|---|---|
| 1 | One loop each from Drums, Bass, Synth, and Piano |
| 2 | Open the Genres menu, pick one genre, and take all four loops from it |
| 3 | One loop each from Percussion, Strings, Vocal, and Guitar |
| 4 | Four loops whose names start with the letters C, J, L, and S |
| 5 | Your choice — any four loops |
For every set: pick four loops that genuinely sound good together, stack them on the timeline, and write the loop names and the project name on the worksheet.
Every project needs a short, school-appropriate name. Stuck? Pick one theme for all five: colors (Red / Blue / Green / Cyan / Silver), animals (Falcon / Otter / Cobra / Bison / Heron), cars, sports.
Most people finish Sets 1–3 on the first day. Work carefully instead of racing.
Project Day 2: Finish and Pick One
Finish the hunt. The requirements have not changed. A project Mr. Willingham cannot find is a project that does not get graded, so every name goes on the worksheet. Twenty minutes is not enough time to browse: work in order, stop previewing after three or four options, take the best one.
Then listen back to all five and pick one to share — the set where the four loops fit together best, not the one with the single best loop. Circle it and be ready to say one sentence: what the four loops are and why they belong together.
Project Day 3: Share Out, then Layer
Every student plays one set on the big speakers and says their sentence. Listeners think about: which loop is most important, whether the loops start together or at different times, whether anything is hard to hear, whether they work together. “It sounds cool” is nice but not useful feedback.
Then rebuild the shared set as an arrangement, following Arranging Loops:
Project Day 4: Genre First
Warmup: put five guitar loops in one project at the same time and listen. It sounds bad on purpose — one role filled five times, three roles empty.
Then the four loop roles and the genre-first order. Build a new four-loop set that way, start to finish, in a genre not used in Set 2 of the hunt. Name it after the genre.
Project Day 5: Loop Song
A graded warmup-length build. Twenty minutes total, including the export.
- New project, named LastName_LoopSong
- At least five different loops — five separate sounds, not five copies
- More than one instrument family — drums plus at least one melodic or bass loop
- 8–16 measures (roughly 30–60 seconds)
- Loops line up on measure lines — nothing starts mid-bar
- Something changes — not all five from start to finish; bring parts in and out
- Exported as an MP3 and uploaded to CTLS (Turning In Work)
A song that never gets exported cannot be graded. Leave the last few minutes for the export.
Checkpoints
Day 1
- A new, separate project for each set.
- Each finished project has four loops that sound good together.
- Every loop name and project name is on the worksheet.
Day 2
- All five projects exist with four loops each, named, and saved.
- The worksheet is turned in with my pick circled.
Day 3
- My loops do not all start at the same time.
- At least one loop ends before the project does.
- I rebalanced the faders one track at a time.
Day 4
- I picked a genre before previewing any loops.
- One loop for each of the four roles, all from that genre.
Day 5
- Five different loops, more than one instrument family, 8–16 measures, something changes.
- The MP3 is uploaded to CTLS.
Teacher Notes
- The worksheet is the grade for Days 1–2. Collect it on Day 2.
- Day 3’s share-out takes most of the period with a full class; the rebuild is the back half.
- Day 5 works as a warmup on the first day of the beat-making unit, which is how it was originally run.
- If Days 1–4 land on shortened periods, push the worksheet due date to the end of Day 4 and let Day 3’s rebuild spill into Day 4.