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8/2/2019 Compose Hip Hop Song
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ACCESS THE ARTS EXEMPLARS ONLINE AT www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/exemplars/arts/
This teacher's intended outcomes were for the students to:
listen to and analyse a popular New Zealand hip-hop song,
noting the features and characteristics of the music
develop their ideas individually and in groups to create a
group composition in the style of the music being studied
prepare and rehearse for a performance of their original
hip-hop song
perform their original song before an audience and reflect
on the experience.
The students can all play at least one musical instrument, and
most have school-based tuition from itinerant music teachers.
Their teacher is an enthusiastic musician and specialist music
teacher who incorporates audio recording sessions of student
work into their programme so that they can experience the
professional aspects of music making. The students learn in,
through, and about a range of music from past and present
contexts. Group composition and performance also feature in
the programme. The music room is equipped with a keyboard
laboratory, stereo with CD player, video monitor, electronic
instruments, and computers.
The teacher began by introducing the genre of hip-hop. He toldthe students they were going to create and perform an original
hip-hop song based on features in the song "Chains" by DLT
and Che Fu. He set them some focus points for listening to,
analysing, and discussing the song. These included the dominant
images, how the music gives expression to the lyrics, and the
distinctive musical features representative of hip-hop.
In groups, the students took ideas from "Chains" to make their
own song. One group worked on a short melodic riff in two
parts based on the keyboard riff in "Chains". Another group
worked on the rap and chorus hook, and others worked on
drums, turntabling, and bass and rhythm guitar. The teacher
circulated, providing feedback to help them to develop their
ideas. The groups then combined their musical contributions
to create their song and added break-dancing to complete the
performance. The students rehearsed fully and then presented
their performance to an audience of peers. The audience joined
in by dancing with the music and then questioned them about
their experience of making and performing a hip-hop song. The
students have also performed at the launch of the resource
Sweet: A Taste of New Zealand Music.
Teacher-student conversations
The next learning steps for these students could be to: evaluate their performance (for example, by identifying their
strengths and areas for improvement after viewing a video
recording)
compare and contrast their original composition with hip-
hop from New Zealand and overseas
appropriately notate their original song (for example, as lyrics
with a chord chart)
compose, perform, and record songs in another genre or
style (for example, reggae, rhythm and blues, ballad).
WHERE TO NEXT?
THE LEARNING CONTEXT
Composing a Hip-hop Song
LEVEL 1 5432
The Arts exemplars: Music
Creating
Page
1
of 4
Before composing, and during the listening and analysis:
Teacher: What's changed in the chorus?
Caspar: It gets more bassier ... the bass comes over well.
Teacher: Yeah. I noticed that the thing that's been going all the
way through changes.
Daniel: You can hear scratching .... You can hear that now,
but you can't really hear it in the verse.
Teacher: Okay. Good man. What else? What about the vocal
content?
Whitiora: It's got a little bit of echo.
Teacher: Yep, they've put an effect on the vocals. ... . It's a bit
of delay. It's bouncing back. And the vocal's changed.
How's it changed?
Mu: The rap's drowning out the sound. And when it comes
to the chorus, you can hear it better. ...
Teacher: But something's happening to the voice? ...
Rachael: There's another voice coming in and harmonising.
8/2/2019 Compose Hip Hop Song
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Composing a Hip-hop Song
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of 4
Ministry of Education (2000). The Arts in the New Zealand
Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education / Music Industry Commission (2002). Sweet:
A Taste of New Zealand Music(Edition 1). Auckland: Music Industry
Commission.
REFERENCES
ACCESS THE ARTS EXEMPLARS ONLINE AT www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/exemplars/arts/
The Arts exemplars: Music
Creating
LEVEL 1 5432
The Arts in th e New Zealand Curriculum
Achievement Objectives
Developing Practical Knowledge in Music (PK)
Students will identify through focused listening, and experiment
with, a range of patterns, effects, sound qualities, and structural
devices.
Developing Ideas in Music (DI)
Students will use musical elements, instruments, and
technologies to improvise and compose simple musical pieces.
Communicating and Interpreting in Music (CI)
Students will prepare, rehearse, present, and evaluate brief
music performances.
Understanding Music in Context (UC)
Students will identify and investigate characteristics of music
associated with particular contexts, purposes, and styles in
past and present cultures.
The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum, page 59
www.tki.org.nz/r/arts/curriculum/statement/pg59_e.php
CURRICULUM LINKS
8/2/2019 Compose Hip Hop Song
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Composing a Hip-hop SongWHAT THE WORK SHOWS: The students created and performed an original hip-hop song based on the features they analysed in"Chains" by DLT and Che Fu.
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of 4
ACCESS THE ARTS EXEMPLARS ONLINE AT www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/exemplars/arts/
The Arts exemplars: Music
Creating
LEVEL 1 5432
Progress IndicatorCreatingSelects, combines, and structures original musical ideas for a hip-hop song
based on an investigation of hip-hop style (PK, DI)
A group of boys who are the guitarists and vocalists have been working on the lyrics
and chord structure for the chorus. Here, they develop a chorus hook for their song.
The teacher encourages and advises them. One boy adds a vocal echo/harmony
part, and the chorus is complete. The group has carefully chosen guitar chords to
shift from the intense, two-chord minor-feel verse to an open, major-feel chorusreflecting the words "We can fly away". This is clever composition writing.
Next, the rapper adds his rap and the other vocalists add some "chorusing" for impact
on key words in this stylistic syncopated chanting. They know and understand the
genre of rap and can perform it well.
Two girls have listened to the rap and chorus chord structure and worked on their
own to develop riffs based on ideas from "Chains". Now they share their ideas, select
the best, and combine their parts to harmonise in an original two-part riff on violin
and cello. The riff they have added works perfectly as it combines long notes moving
in contrary motion and a small "turnaround idea" where the voices stop at the end
of the phrase "We can fly away". This complements the smooth melody line the boys
have developed. It has a strong sense of phrase, harmonic structure, and melodic
shape. Their verse riff has a strongly syncopated rhythmic pattern and is harmonisedas a two-part chord, its notes played a fifth apart. The effect of this clever idea is to
make the string parts stand out as they cut through the guitar chords.
Progress IndicatorAnalysing and AppreciatingIdentifies and describes the musical characteristics of a hip-hop song (CI, UC)
The teacher establishes the genre of hip-hop and sets the students some focus points
for listening to and analysing "Chains" by DLT and Che Fu. They are motivated to
do this, as they are to create their own song based on the ideas they develop from
this exercise. The students listen and follow a lyric sheet. The teacher then asks them
about the meaning of the song, its purpose, and its effect. Individual students accurately
analyse the intent of the song (that is, to highlight the impact of the Rainbow Warrior
incident on New Zealand and the more general issue of nuclear testing in the Pacific).
Through questioning and discussion, the teacher and the students deconstruct the
song, describing features of:
the vocal styles, notably the rapping and singing
the instrumentation, that is, the drums, guitars, scratching, and keyboard.
The teacher encourages the students to focus their listening by replaying a section
of the song. The students accurately identify changes in instrument techniques and
note the melody used in the chorus. They analyse the chorus in more detail, describing
features such as "more bass", "more scratching", and "echo on the vocals", which
the teacher relates to the use of delay in the recording. Finally, the teacher draws out
ideas on the shift from rap to harmonised vocals in the chorus. The students provideall their responses in a focused and knowledgeable way.
Clip 1
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8/2/2019 Compose Hip Hop Song
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Progress IndicatorPlayingRehearses a group composition from memory, using suitable instrumental
techniques and developing musicianship (PK, CI)
The teacher works the audio mixer, and the students complete microphone vocal
checks and sound checks for turntable, guitars, drums, violin, and cello. The dancers
have developed their breaking for this work. The students go through the song many
times, perfecting their performance. The clip shows a section of the song during
rehearsal.
Page
4of 4
ACCESS THE ARTS EXEMPLARS ONLINE AT www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/exemplars/arts/
The Arts exemplars: Music
Creating
LEVEL 1 5432
Composing a Hip-hop Song
Progress IndicatorPlayingPerforms a group composition from memory and reflects on the experience
(CI)
The students perform their composition with finesse, showing confidence and
competence as they proudly present their song to an audience of peers. All aspects
of the composition and performance come together, and the audience shows its
appreciation by getting into the whole dance genre and dancing with the music. At
the end of the performance, the audience questions the performers about the
experience of making and presenting a hip-hop song.
The performers respond to questions about the best aspects of performing, coping
with nerves, and how the music impacts on their lives. Individual students respond
with their views on this rewarding, positive learning experience. Their self-esteem is
high, their co-operative skills are well honed, and their musical skills and knowledge
bases well developed for future composing and performing.
Clip 5
Clip 6