Loop Cycle - Games for Music

Loop Cycle

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	~4-10
	7 min

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Included in Play in a band set/collection.

A great game that is easy to teach and play. One player improvises a repeated loop. Other players join one by one, adding to the loop. The last player gets to do whatever s/he wants. Repeat with a different player.

Setup

Players position themselves in a circle.
A Loop Leader is chosen.

Gameplay instructions

The Loop Leader improvises some kind of simple loop (1-4 bars). Continue to repeat it.
Within a short amount of time, the player to the right of the Loop Leader joins and adds to the loop.
Continue this process with all players.
Note that players can add slight variations and embellishments to their loops.
The last player in line has the choice to add to the loop or do anything they want with it (ex. solo on top).
Eventually, the Loop Leader will stop playing. From the right of the Loop Leader, in order, one by one, every player stops playing.
Now the player to the right of the Loop Leader becomes the new Loop Leader. Enter the second round by repeating the process with a completely different loop.
Try to create seamless segues from one round to the next.

Game end

Go through all the rounds until everyone had a chance to be the Loop Leader.
As a band bring the music to a natural sounding end.

Notes

When improvising a loop take into consideration the number of people in the group and how much ‘musical space’ you should leave in the loop. If you have something like 6 people in your group, leave a good amount of rests, and/or don’t play so busy. This way the other players will have room to fill in the spaces. However, if you have something small, like 4 people, you probably should fill up the spaces more.
Part of this game is thinking about how to leave room for the other players.