What is Better? Melody loops or using virtual instruments? This is probably a question most music producers will ask during their process within music production overall, and I wanted to expand on this: what is better? Using melody loops or composing melodies with virtual instruments.

This is something which would probably bring up different opinions, but me personally, when it comes to producing music, I find that composing my own melodies and composing and coming up with my own chord progression is a lot more fun than using pre-made downloaded melody loops, which are usually royalty-free and can be used by the music producer to generate profit if they get lucky enough to go mainstream.

But the real question is what is better? Using melody loops or using virtual instruments and composing your own melodies?

Using Melody Loops (my personal opinion).

I believe that there is a certain section within music production in general which supports the use of melody loops, like the classic MPC music producers who create sampled beats. This style is going back to the 1970s and boomed within the mainstreamed music of the 1980s when sampled hip-hop and rap beats were very common within the music industry.

There are still many classic and old-school hip-hop producers who love using MPC pads to generate sampled beats; even today, the likes of Jay-Z, Timbaland, the producer, and many other artists still use sampled beats.

In my opinion it’s a form of art and a creative way of making different kinds of music and styles using an already composed melody loop.

But I personally find it quite boring to use already pre-made melody loops and build a music composition around them. Personally, I like to construct my own melodies with virtual instruments and then use some awesome unique melody loops and vocal loops on top of my construction.

I have in the past used this melody/loops plugin called Arcade VST, which actually held many melody loops and packs in one virtual instrument (advanced melody sampler). This plugin has got some perfect and ready-to-use vocal samples, loads of cool instruments, and this is a combination of sampling and a virtual instrumental sampler combined. But I quickly got bored of it. Don't get me wrong, it's probably one of the best melody samplers I have ever used, but it wasn’t free to use, and each new melody pack has to be pre-downloaded within the actual VST itself.

Will I ever get Arcade again?

Yes! Maybe in the future, but not to create sampled melody loops, but instead to add to my current composition and add distinct sounds to improve my composed beats.

Using Virtual Instruments to compose unique melodies (my personal opinion).

Well, this is something which I have used for over a decade as a music producer, downloaded free to use VST plugins and composed my own melodies.

Personally, using this technique instead of sampling melodies or using melody loops requires a lot more knowledge when it comes to playing the piano and some music theory and also involves a lot more creativity by the individual.

Don’t get me wrong, but when I started producing, I had basic knowledge on how to play the piano, which I learned back in secondary school (music class). In my first few years as a music producer who was composing his own melodies, using virtual instruments, I lacked the full music theory, which I didn't learn till afterwards. After this my musical compositions sounded a lot better.

So yes, composing your own melodies does include the composer/producer having a little bit more knowledge of music theory and how to play the piano.

So what is better? Melody loops or virtual instruments for creating unique and composed melodies?

Both melody-producing techniques are good in their own way, and both can be used independently or together as a hybrid, which is the most common style of music production in our modern world.

Personally, this is something not many music producers can answer, because they both have their own perks when it comes to music production in general.

It's all about the music producers' preference, in my personal opinion.

Both of these styles of music production involve loads of skills, knowledge and creativity.

This is a very interesting topic when it comes to music production overall. I would like to hear what other people think about this. Simply reply below to this topic; it will be interesting to see other music producers think about this. I am certain there will be divided opinions here.