The number of bars used when sequencing drum samples can vary quite a lot. Usually, the total number of bars will be equal to the length of the song as a whole, and if you’re making loops to start with, it can be a bit more complicated.

When composing an average loop, four bars is a good, solid number to start with musically. Often enough, this number can give your listener a good idea of the outline of the song and the way things will end up sounding eventually. Going any more isn’t really worthwhile, while a few bars less (let’s say, two) will not be a good enough sample to base any opinion on. Four bars is usually enough to also add some variance in the drum samples towards the end. While velocity modification is a great technique to make use of, also introducing instruments towards the end can be a great way to spice things up in your beat. You want to keep the listener comfortable and on the edge of his or her seat at the same time.

The second most popular number of bars to base a musical loop on is sixteen. Why is this? Well, in hip hop and rap, 16 bars is the standard length for a rapper’s verse. So it turns out that using this figure to structure a loop on is great. Your creative limits are really tested, and to keep things moving through the whole verse length can be quite a challenge. One common tip is to introduce the hi-hats at the half-way point, and this will add another layer to the variance required to develop a great beat. At the end, start working on your pre-chorus skills.

When considering changes to the music, you can easily look beyond drum samples and even instrument patches and notes. The more advanced composers will start some new harmonic progressions or expand the note selection in current form. If you change multiple things at once, this is a very powerful message to your listener that things are not at rest; movement is in the air!

Looking outside instruments and drum samples, vocals can also be a great trigger tool. A singer or rapper may perform the first four bars in a very monotonous tone and then simply explode with emotion. This is a wake-up call on its own, but coupled with the other techniques, you could really run wild in your listener’s mind.

Having said all of this, though, drum samples are definitely the easiest way to introduce some change into an existing musical piece. Your singer does not have to sing anything different to switch up their vocals and you don’t need to play new harmonies or anything else to add that subtlety.

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