Rhythm (riT͟Həm) Research, Analysis, and Recording Project

Posted on by sleduc

 

Creative Commons image of drum sticks by Kamal Aboul-Hosn at Flickr

Goal

  • Convey knowledge of drum and percussion terms and understanding of concepts of rhythm production in GarageBand.

Recording Techniques Demonstrated

  • Control Timing with Groove Tracks
  • Follow the Rhythm of Another Track
  • Record Multipass Drum Beats
  • Record Arpeggiated Drum Machine Beats
  • Make Recorded MIDI Regions Loop Ready
  • Make Recorded Audio Regions Loop-Ready
  • Add Regions to the Loop Library
  • Work with the Tempo of a Track

Terms and Concept Definitions

How Music Works: Rhythm

  • Rhythm
  • Beat
  • Accent
  • Pulse
  • Sub-division
  • Syncopation
  • Jazz
  • Cross Rhythm
  • Latin Push

Rhythm Recording Terms

  • Meter
  • Pacing
  • Tempo
  • Out of the Pocket
  • Quantize
  • Single Take
  • Multipass Recording
  • Overdub
  • Loop

Product

  • Create a blog post with embedded media from YouTube, SoundCloud, and/or Flickr off your composition and explanation of the rhythm recording techniques used.

Examples

Steps

  • Day 1 – Create Blog Post, Add Section Headings,  and Define Terms
    • Create blog post titled, Rhythm Recording Project
    • Create the headings
      • Summary
      • My First Rhythm
      • My Favorite Rhythm
      • My Second Rhythm
      • Terms and Concepts
      • What I Learned
    • Create a simple rhythm
      • Upload to SoundCloud
      • Take a screenshot of the beat pattern in the software (GarageBand) and upload to Flickr
      • Embed both under the My First Rhythm heading
  • Day 2-5 – Refine Terms and Start Drum and Percussion Lessons in GarageBand
    • Under the Terms and Concepts Defined heading
      • Copy and paste all the terms
      • Working in teams: start writing the definitions in your own words
    • Watch the Howard Goodal video on rhythm
      • Take notes
    • Finish tutorials/training
  • Day 5 through second to last day of project
    • Work on composition
    • Project parameters
      • 8 measures (can be longer, but only publish the first 8 measures)
      • Needs a distinct rhythm and melody track
        • So we can hear each piece clearly
        • Needs to have at least one real-world sound, not computer generated
        • Needs to be hosted on Soundcloud and the link embedded into a blog post
          • So we can hear it on the class sound system
      • Melody decisions
        • Compose in the key of C
        • Start on the end on the tonic note (C)
        • Build tension in measures 4 and/or 5 (green notes)
        • Decide on pitches (notes)
        • Think about how many notes
          • Fast = happy
          • Slow = sad
        • Think about notes rising or descending
          • Rising = happy
          • Descending = sad
      • Rhythm decisions – what to use and when
        • Pulse
          • What timing 4/4, 2/4, or other
        • Tempo
          • Think about how many beats per measure
            • Fast = happy
            • Slow = sad
        • Accent
          • Pick a beat in each measure to be the strongest beat
        • Syncopation
        • Cross-rhythm
          • You could have overlapping rhythms like in rap
        • Rhythm decisions
          • Pulse
          • Tempo
          • Accent
          • Syncopation
          • Cross-rhythm
    • Create the Recording Techniques Demonstrated heading
    • Gather evidence of rhythm recording techniques
      • Include evidence as audio from Soundcloud, video from YouTube and/or images from Flickr
  • 2nd To Last Day
    • Create What I Learned heading
      • Explain what you learned and at least one problem you overcame
  • Last Day
    • Present project

Tools

  • MuseScore
  • GarageBand 10
  • Soundcloud
  • YouTube
  • Flickr

Resources

  • Syncopation in pop/rock music
  • GarageBand Basics
    • Working with Drum and Percussion Tracks
    • Controlling Timing with Groove Tracks
    • Following the Rhythm of Another Track
    • Recording Multipass Drum Beats
    • Recording Arpeggiated Drum Machine Beats
    • Making Recorded MIDI Regions Loop Ready
    • Making Recorded Audio Regions Loop-Ready
    • Adding Regions to the Loop Library
    • Working with the Tempo of a Track
  • Adding ID3 tag information and art in iTunes
    • Work on this in class with either GarageBand or Audacity
  • Music Theory
  • GarageBand Basics Screencast Video Tutorial

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