Will using a looper help me learn to jam with others better?

Will it be a fun toy?

Do you have or want one?

I don't like delays in getting the music going.  Some, (bemuzic) can do a quick, smooth and entertaining transition from starting the looper to really having the song going.   Some folks... well, not so quick or smooth. 

Are they cheating?   I think music snobs would say so.  I don't want to be a music snob, but I do like my music honest and straight forward.

Can you correct and enlighten me? 

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I watched some how to videos and made an ebay bid on a looper.   If I don't get that one, I will likely try another.   Besides hoping for a fun toy, I hope to learn to improve my listening to the other 'person' and improve my timing.   I really like the freedom (and sometimes sloppiness) of playing alone.   But maybe I can learn some new things.

I have this simple one, I use it to learn to solo.  I'll just play a simple progression, then try and improvise of top of it. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BGT786C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_...

Great way too practice and performance. Anyone who hates loopers would hate drum machines but they are great ways to learn to keep time and play counter parts. You can get a Ditto clone for $60 bucks now they are small I have been wanting to put one in a RTZ amp. Has not hurt Ed Sheeran's career. Some people do amazing things with loopers with just microphones plugged into them. You can load backing tracks on them to jam with they are just recorders but handier then a hole in your axe.

Back in the old days I used to record a rhythm track on a tape recorder. Then play it back to solo over it. When you were done, you had to rewind it back to the beginning to do it again.

Eventually I had a two sided boom box where you could dub from one side to the other and layer several tracks (before it turned into mud). 

The looper really isn't that much different except for it "rewinds" it for you automatically, and the tracks are all clear sounding. 

Wife got me a looper as a gift. It is very basic but works well. The first thing it taught me was how bad my timing is! I got a bit better with it after watching some videos on how to actually use one. Even though it is simple to operate, I find I don't use it as much as I thought I would initially. I think it will be a great learning tool once my ego recovers............

I would not consider it cheating though since I have to play all the parts, get the timing right etc, quite the contrary , it is a whole lot more to do while playing, requiring more skill and manual dexterity. I can tap my foot OK, but tapping that thing at just the RIGHT time is not easy to do.

The timing thing is partly why I want one.  Ha! On the ego.   Double agreed on the foot tapping.   Funny, I can play git and harp at the same time. but NOT tap my foot in time.

I watched someone use a looper live. It was just her and a stand up bass. She was not only a fantastic musician and singer but really new how to use that tool. She never overdid it. Everything she did was seamless. Toward the end of her show she would sing the chorus of a song into a different mic. Then when the chorus came back around she would sing harmony or just add extra feeling to the song. Again never overdoing it. Her entire show was a showcase of her talent. Not how well she could use toys. 

I have a dido. Havent had the chance to play with it much. 

Im neutral on loopers-dont use em meself but certainly have no problem with others using them.I don't care what tools are used to form the art..a kick ass tune is a kick ass tune whether you play it with your bare hands or you assembled it in a sampler..What I will say though is the song should always be king.What I often see is peeps setting up a rhythm track with the looper then noodling over the top with endless lead parts-great fun for the player, not so much for the listener!

Agreed on that.

I'm gonna take some shit for saying this, but I think loopers are excellent tools to build walls up between yourself and the audience.   I've seen it over and over at the open mics I've hosted along with music fests.  

In my opinion, loopers are exciting to witness at the beginnings of each song, where there's an element of danger as the artist builds the foundation.  However, it starts to sound like a general pre-recorded track once the song gets going and loses the spontaneity.  

There are exceptions.  KT Tunstall knew how to make it look dangerous. 

I use a long digital delay in my shows, especially for my ragas.  However, these repeats only last a second or two before they disappear.  You constantly need to keep improvising more through the delay to keep it alive.  Here's a sloppy, shitty example that takes too long before it gets interesting...but you get the idea.

That is a pretty song, Shane.

I don't have a long attention span and neither does an audience.   I saw a pro level player totally lose the audience messing with his equipment.    Loopers, etc.  A performer needs to get into the song PDQ.   If you can do it like Bemuzic (PDQ), I think it's okay.

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