Week 2

Objectives
-Continure to get on the same page fundamentally, with music and Garageband
-  Review: Notation of Frequency
- Intro to Rhythmic Notation
-Instrumentation Homework Review
-  GarageBand Example 
Assignments
-  DUE TODAY:  Signed Syllabus
-  DUE TODAY: Instrumentation Home
-  DUE next class:  Instrumentation GarageBand Homework

Review : Frequency Notation

Characteristics of Sound

Frequency               Duration                Amplitude

 Musical Notation              Grand Staff/Staff

​Trumpet Music

Bass Music

Keep in mind that we will be learning the the notes according the their lines and spaces on the staff!

A couple useful resources for this:

​Music Staff Games

Staff Instruction

Lines/Spaces

Intro : Duration / Rhythmic Notation

  • Most Music is divided into a series of beats or pulses, in simplest terms this is what you bob your head or tap your foot to. 
  • So we know with notation of Frequency / Range / Pitch, we are concerned with specifying how High or Low a note is
  • With notation of Duration / Rhythm, we are specifying how many Beats a note gets. 
Long Notes VS Short Notes
Long Notes = Many Beats
Short notes = few beats (or less than a beat)
  • In any given song, we see a variety of different rhythms (see trumpet solo above)  -  Just like with instrumentation where we see many different instruments, not a band of all one instrument -  Furthermore, Generally we will not see the different instruments playing the same rhythm, they are playing different rhythms that are agreeable and meet up at certain points
  • With Frequency, the pitch (high/low) is specified by a certain line or space on the staff
  • With Duration, the Length/Rhythm  (long/short) of a notes is specified by two parts of the note itself : The note Head, and the Stem
Stems
Picture
Example : Mozart K 545

Garage Band  -  "So Fresh So Clean"  -  Example

So Fresh, So Clean - Outkast
1. Drum Beat/Groove:  
  • The first thing we hear is the drum beat or groove. 
  • In this case, the DRUMS are taking the role of providing the RHYTHM
  • Almost all songs have an instrument responsible for this role 


​
***think about your instrumentation homework and what instrument was providing it***


​2. Timbre
  • The second thing we hear are the different instruments that enter a few seconds into the song
  • We hear different instruments creating different sounds , these distinct sounds made by different instruments are known as Timbres
  • Timbre: the character or quality of a musical sound or voice as distinct from its pitch and intensity.


3. Octave:       
  • Focus in on the main melody line - we can hear that there are multiple different instruments / timbres playing this melody at the same time - *Can you guess at what the different instruments are?* 
  • Not only are they different timbres, but also different ranges (i.e. some are higher, some are lower.) 
  • Octaves are specified in Notation by the presence of a clef.  
Bass Clef
Low Range/Register Instruments
Lower Half of Piano

Treble Clef
High Range/Register Instruments 
Upper Half of Piano
​
  • In the Majority of songs , Drums will take the role of providing the rhythm
  • In addition to grounding the rhythm, and giving us something to tap/bob our heads to, the drums groove can have a big impact on the style of the song.  **This drum groove is a very typical hiphop/rap groove. This would sound different in a country/funk/jazz etc song
  • Drums can be recorded into GB a couple different ways - I will manually input using the midi keyboard - we will cover this later!

​
  • GarageBand has a large library of instruments, or timbres.  All of these different timbres are controlled by the keyboard or midi controller. Depending on the type of project and style of music yo are working on , the combination of timbres will be different. 
  • INSTRUMENTATION = COMBINATION OF TIMBRES
  • It is important to be familiar with a variety of instruments so we can identify timbres by ear! (Example: hearing the difference between piano/electric piano etc. )

  • When mixing Timbres and Octaves we can create different unique sounds​
  • Remember that all songs have different ranges of instruments, not all the same timbre/octave
Think about different combinations of High and Low instruments:

Example 1:  Trumpet (high)        /          Tuba  (Low)
Example 2:  Violin (high)              /         Bass  (Low)
Example 3:  Synth Lead (high)     /         Synth Bass Pad (Low)
​
  • Octaves are controlled in GB by The midi controller, or changing the octave on the computer keyboard
Terms to Remember Here:  
​Drum Beat/Groove,  Timbre,  Octave
so_fresh_so_clean_tester.band.zip
File Size: 1647 kb
File Type: zip
Download File

Instrumentation Homework

Questions:
1. ​Why Do we see different instruments in each song?

-i.e why aren't there songs with just 10 guitars? 

2. Is there anything the different styles have in common in terms of instrumentation?  (is there something they all have?)

3. Is there a way that they differ? 

4. What are some of the most common instruments? 

5. What are the most unique instruments? 

6. Can you think of real examples (songs) where they use instrumentation that is not standard? 

Instrumentation: 
Definition: the particular instruments used in a piece of music; the manner in which a piece is arranged for instruments. (wiki)

-One song could be arranged for different instrumentations​

​Funk/Soul    Acoustic/Soul     String Section        Harmonica

Like most characteristics of a song the selection of instruments (instrumentation)  is not random, it is a conscious decision made the the composer

Musical Style / Genre

Definition:A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. (wiki)

Garage Band - Instrumentation Assignment

Objectives of Assignment:
  •  Listen to different styles and identify their instrumentation
  •  Start Garageband Projects as if we were working on one of these songs
  • Familiarize and practice using the library of timbres in GB

We will start this in class, and you will finish for homework. 
Description:
​The point of this assignment is to properly identify the instrumentation, and start a project as if you were going to work on a song like this.  Like we have discussed in class, the modern engineer must be proficient in a number of different styles, and thus a number of different instrumentations. for this assignment, you will be Starting (just starting, not doing anything in!) a number of projects for different styles and their instrumentations. For each different style, you will have a template for which you COULD do work on . 
Instructions
Use the song list provided.  Start a project for each of the songs, plus 5 songs of your choice. 
For each song, go through the following steps. 

Step 1
​Listen to the song, making a list of all the instruments you hear.  This may take a couple different listens. You may also use research for this step if you have having trouble, or hear an instrument you are not familiar with.  Another useful strategy is to look up a live performance so you can visually see the instruments. It should be a goal however to identify these timbres just by ear.
***    You may want to listen to the whole song, or skip ahead (sometimes instruments are added throughout the song   ***

Step 2
Open a GarageBand Project. Refer to the instructions from last class if you are not familiar with this. Add the instruments you hear in the song.  This may take a little searching through the library.  Ask questions about this in class if you are not familiar! (For Vocal tracks, don't add anything!! Although to voice IS and instruments, we are just concerned with the accompanying instruments)
Hint: The more timbres you hear in a song, the harder this assignment will be! Keep this in mind for your own selections. 

Step 3
When you are done adding the instrumentation and have all the timbres, take a screenshot of your project. This is don't by pushing (Command/Shift/3) simultaneously.  It should save a screenshot on your desktop. This is what you will turn in .  Rename the file to the  name of the song with your name in it.
Song List

Complete these selections, plus 5 of your own selections. 
Goal: Complete these in class today, and your own selections for Homework

Between the Bars -  Elliot Smith
The Old Apartment -The Bare Naked Ladies
Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles
Close to You - The Carpenters
Lovely Day - Bill Withers

Examples...
Song Selection:  'Adam's Song' - Blink 182
Song Selection: 'Use Me' - Bill Withers