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

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    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.

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    Composing a Hip-hop Song

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    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

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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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    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.

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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.

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    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.

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