Instructor: Dr. Erik Spangler
erikspangler_@_post.harvard.edu
This course is intended for people of all musical backgrounds and skill levels, from teens to adults, and assumes no prior experience producing groove-based music with a computer. Over the course of three weeks, students will hone basic musical skills related to compositional planning while exploring the creative possibilities of the technology at hand. We will cover a range of contemporary genres, including hip hop breakbeats, drum-n-bass, reggae, and any other forms that individual students want to work with. Taking a selected track as a model, students will first learn how to replicate the beat in a drum machine and program a number of rhythmic variations. From there, we will begin working with layers in other dimensions— adding a bass line, cutting with sampled material, etc. Moving from model-based imitation to open experimentation, every student will have assembled a repertoire of original tracks by the end of the course. Each class will combine lecture/presentation, in-class creative work, and group discussion/critique.
The first three-week course will begin September 20. Class will meet M,W,F, from 6-7 PM at the WOWnet Café. Tuition for the course is $90, which must be paid at the beginning of the course. No money will be refunded for missed classes.
We will do intensive work with the program Reason (stand-alone music station software) to build our own tracks. This program enables the user to create a virtual rack including mixer, drum machines, samplers, synths, and various effects processing. A song is then assembled using the built-in sequencer. Another program we will use is the free, downloadable program Audacity (multi-track recording/editing environment). The primary use of this program in the course will be for editing samples to use in Reason.
**Students will need to bring their own headphones to class**
Recommended additional expense:
In order for Reason to be used most effectively, a MIDI interface and MIDI keyboard are also necessary. I recommend the Oxygen 8, made by MIDIMAN, Keystation Series, as it combines the interface and keyboard in one and is well suited to the Reason program. If you are unable to buy a MIDI keyboard at this time, your work in the class will have to concentrate more heavily on programming patterns with devices such as the drum machine. While the creative possibilities may be more limited without a keyboard, it is not strictly required for this course.
To ensure a clear understanding of rhythmic pulse, syncopation, and polyrhythm, we will practice notating rhythms on graph paper. This may be used for the planning of drum machine patterns and as a method of transcription. After a study of basic phrase structure, we will delve into issues of pacing— maintaining energy, introducing changes, how different elements of a texture might be brought in and out, how to create peaks and valleys in the flow of the music. Approaches to repetition, contrast or rupture, and evolution will be discussed in detail and explored in the students’ own music. We will study pitch relationships between layers, either as a way of unifying the texture as a single entity or creating stratified levels of different effect. We will also focus on issues of tone color and dynamics, creating a sense of depth and perspective through filtering and effects-processing.
Monday- introduction to the drum machine; hip hop breakbeats
Wednesday- breakbeats continued— programming variations, working with sampled loops— editing, layering and basic phrase structure
Friday- drum-n-bass rhythmic style, aesthetic features
Monday- drum-n-bass cont.; basic synthesis and sound processing
Wednesday- dub and dancehall reggae riddims
Friday- reggae/dub cont.—highlighting different strata; working with song structures
Monday- song structures cont.— repetition and contrast, contraction/expansion, modes of transformation
Wednesday- new stylistic hybrids and experimentation: open forum
Friday- producing with a singer/MC; mastering a complete track