This is a serious question, not a jab at Sonar. In my life, real music was not the work of others that was cut and paste together. In 2015 that's no longer the case. Cakewalk seems to want us to do just that, as seen in the inclusion of loops and samples being a big part of the "membership" program.
 
I've tried to use these things and get nowhere. I fired up Sonar, loaded the matrix and went for it. Epic fail, as my daughter would say. I don't seem to have the requisite DNA to make music out of beats and loops. I tend to think linear and maybe that's the problem.
 
It seems as though that dance music is going to be Sonar's main focus going forward. Where can I get some info on modern music making so that the monthly releases have some value? 

Try taking lots of drugs and maybe hit yourself in the head with a hammer?  Electro-therapy might help as well... 

I'm not very good at playing other instruments (other than guitar) and these loops do help in getting rough ideas down (until I can work on  getting the bass, drums, keys  etc...to the way I want it). Some of these loops have very useful bass lines (i.e. Hardgroove) where you can use multiple intances of the variations where you can put together something quick as well as sounding good. (BTW, those Hardgroove bass lines are pretty good sounding).
 
Until I get better at 'fauxing' other instruments, I've kept an open mind to using these loop tools.

I didn't download them.

It's possible that Cakewalk are trying to attract younger users. Is the demographic of Sonar users as old as the forum membership would indicate? If so, I don't blame them for trying..

People who make loop-based music and don't make their own loops need an ever expanding amount of such things. Hence, content providers are always going to produce and distribute more of them than other types of content.

I guess what I need is some sort of book. Do they make an idiots guide to getting ahead on the work of others? Maybe beat oriented music for old white guys?
 
Perhaps Craig could do a how to guide for using his content.

I think you're missing the creative potential of loops. Yes you can just cut and paste them together, but there is also a serious art in processing and mangling loops into something musical, and usually something which bears little resemblance to the originals. You can extract anything you like out of loops, even if it's just a hit of a drum, a short phrase, a chord, a sound, or something as small as an impulse response. You can chop them into pieces and rearrange them in a different order. Reverse some. Pitch some up and down. Throw them into a sampler like Kontakt or Geist and get creative. If you have an imagination and a thing for refashioning things into new things, the creative possibilities are infinite.

There is also a fine art in choosing samples or loops which work together. Choosing a couple of loops at random and playing them together might yield interesting results but it usually doesn't. You have to be prepared to spend hours going through samples to find ones which work together musically. If you have an ear for it, you'll happen across accidental magic every now and then. What makes throwing loops together interesting (when it works) is that you have these totally separate, disconnected recordings that were made in different rooms with different reverb and processed on different gear by different people, and you end up with very interesting textures and depths. There is something very special about bringing together multiple samples and hearing them work together as if they were made for each other. Unless you've heard what's possible it's easy to dismiss loops and samples. But listen to DJ Shadow's debut album "Endtroducing," a 90's classic. Everything taken straight from albums, loaded into an Akai sampler and arranged into new music.

Is it cheating? Well, try it yourself and see how hard it is to get it right. Takes years of practice, no different to any other art form.

jamesg1213
It's possible that Cakewalk are trying to attract younger users. Is the demographic of Sonar users as old as the forum membership would indicate? If so, I don't blame them for trying..

haha-I would actually like to see that demo.
cant remember if age is requested when you sign up for the software account but most young people I know are using mobile apps to record and IMHO would struggle just installing Platinum.
pity old software doesn`t appreciate as well as old cars.
cheers  

ampfixer
I guess what I need is some sort of book. Do they make an idiots guide to getting ahead on the work of others? Maybe beat oriented music for old white guys?
 
Perhaps Craig could do a how to guide for using his content.

I say this as respectfully as possible because I know text can often get read the wrong way.  You seem like a cool person so please don't get offended:
 
Part of your problem is attitude.  Statements like this "getting ahead on the work of others"  seem to indicate an attitude that inherently makes it difficult for you to utilize these tools.   Is the guy who does not hollow out a log, skin an animal and stretch it to make a drum "getting ahead on the work of others?  or better yet, is the guy who brings in a musician to play a simple element that is pretty much the same used and re-used chord progressions getting by on other people's work?  No matter how many loops you have, the odds of becoming successful by simply tossing a few loops together are slim to none. People who actually use loops for production often put just as much work into creating their style of music as any other creator of music. Yes, occasionally there is the hit that is a blatant sample loop, but the cost of creating such a hit has made doing so too expensive for most. The peak of "throw a beat under a loop and have at it" passed in the 90's and will likely never return. Today most artists either use loops for idea generation or as extremely raw elements that are but a very small part.
 
There are many ways to use sample loops.  I will start with an example of a simple loop being turned into something the originator could not have possibly conceived.  I am guessing this is not a style of music you would listen to but it is for illustrative purposes. The original is a funk/soul break from "Amen Brother".  This break has been twisted into literally thousands of songs within several genres
 
Original sample:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwQLk7NcpO4
Turned into this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8uTXOlACmU#t=80
and this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnMFIeDhT5Y#t=99
 
The latter uses a section of the break almost like a percusssion instrument where as the former preetty much tosses the loop into a Ninja blender and spits it out in an altered form that does not resemble the original loop rhythmically in any way. It takes a lot of work, especially if one is going old school and manually  slicing every element of break into sub-elements.  Again, not everyone's cup of tea, but far more difficult than the casual observer can imagine.
 
As far as Cakewalk including these loops to appeal to younger, EDM audiences, nothing could be further from the truth.  The loops included are old, having been included with Sonar for years.  When hardcore EDM enthusiasts come to this board they are loaded with complaints about how "Sonar is geared towards old guitarists" .   Truth likely lies more in the middle.  Sonar tries to appeal to a wide variety of users and can certainly be used for any genre. For an artists doing strictly EDM, Ableton, FL Studio and even Reason are probably better choices.  For hip-hop creators, Sonar is certainly low on the wishlist even though it is more than possible to create either.
 
I think it is hard to understand how to make music of any type if you are not really a fan.  The types of music you do play, you likely listened to the pioneers and stars of that genre with respect and admiration for decades.  To expect to have it work any differently for any other genre is unrealistic. Using loops can be as straightforward or abstract as you choose, but if you are fixated on thinking of it as "work of others that was cut and paste together" you are doomed to find these things useless.