Fundamentals of Music and Sound Unit 6: Creative Demonstration For your final creative project, you will be combining the work we have done with found objects and rhythm into the creation of a sample-based beat. You will need to have the ability to sample from an audio source, the ability to edit/process those samples, and the ability to then organize those samples in time. There are many digital audio programs that can be used for these purposes, but if you are not sure where to start, you can start with the following suggestions: Audio Capture Audio Hijack (for Mac): https://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/ Free Sound Recorder (for Mac and PC): https://www.freesoundrecorder.net/ Audio Editing Audacity: https://www.audacityteam.org/ You are free to experiment and go beyond the parameters of the assignment as they are laid out here, but please make sure that you at least satisfy the following requirements:

• You are working with drum samples that you yourself have found, not pre-packaged drum sounds or samples.

• You are using at least three separate drum sounds to create your basic beat: hi-hat, kick, and snare. You are also encouraged to use more samples for the sake of variety.

• You notate at least one bar of your beat’s drum pattern. • Your beat is at least one minute long and includes the introduction of variation instead

of just exact repetition.

Marley Marl was one of the pioneers of

sample-based hip-hop beatmaking

For a demonstration of how to go about making your beat, you can follow the steps below. Step 1: Assemble Materials The first step is going to be to assemble the samples you want to work with. For the drum part, we want to have at least the following three sound types: 1) hi-hat, 2) kick drum, 3) snare drum. Part of the challenge in working with samples is finding a source where the samples you want are isolated or uncovered. In other words, you want to be able to extract just the desired sample without any other parts of the musical texture. For drums, it is very common to find exposed samples at the very beginning or end of a song, in a drum break, or in fills between sections. Document your process of sample finding by listing the source and the timestamp of the sample. Once you have extracted the audio, you will also want to clean it up by removing any excess audio from before or after the desired sound and adding fades as needed to prevent any clipping. Here are my three drum samples: Hi-hat Source: Skull Snaps — “It’s a New Day” (04.170)

Notice that I have trimmed the audio file here so that there is no excess audio before or after the specific sound that I want. If necessary, you can also try to edit out any background noise.

Kick drum Source: The Commodores — “I Feel Sanctified” (09.667)

Snare drum Source: Little Richard — “Rill Thing” (00.294)

I also want to find at least a couple other samples that I can use to provide some pitch material for my beat. As with the drum sounds, I am going to be looking for samples that are uncovered so that I can extract them and introduce them into my own beat without bringing along too much of the original texture. This is one of the things that really differentiates between biting (plagiarism) and originality in how a beat is constructed. This will most likely be a process of trial and error, so you should always be prepared to go back and try different samples until you can compose a texture that works. Some elements you can try to find samples for include: bass lines, keyboard parts, horn lines, vocals, etc. I am going to use the following samples in my beat: Bass line plus tambourine Source: Dorothy Ashby — “Come Live With Me” (00:000)

I take note of the fact that the level of this sample is relatively low so I will most likely need to boost it once I assemble the beat.

Saxophone Source: Tyrone Washington — “Submission” (04:323)

Keys Source: Art Tatum — “I Cover the Waterfront” (20.891)

Other samples used Vibes (Chick Corea & Gary Burton — “Crystal Silence”) Saxophone (Marcos Balter — “Wicker Park”) Step 2: Compose Basic Drum Pattern Once your starting materials are assembled, the next step is to put together a basic drum pattern on which the rest of your beat will be layered. To do this, I am going to use my hi-hat, kick, and snare samples and I am going to use as a model the beat to Tribe Called Quest’s “Mind Power.” Feel free to model your beat on an existing one in a similar fashion. Once you have assembled your beat, please notate at least one measure of it. There is not a completely standardized method for notating drum parts, but you can use the following techniques:

• Notate the hi-hat on the top line. If possible, use X noteheads (this is standard for any kind of cymbal).

• Notate the snare on the middle line. • Notate the kick on the bottom line.

You can see one measure of my basic drum pattern notated below. Make sure to include the meter you are working in. This example, like most classic hip-hop beats, is in 4/4. You can stick with 4/4, but feel free to explore writing beats in other meters too.

You should also pick a tempo for your beat. I have chosen ♩ = 90 (90 beats per minute). If the software you are working in can provide you a rhythmic grid, you can use that. Otherwise, you can easily make your own rhythmic grid by calculating the rhythmic duration of each rhythmic value in your chosen tempo. In my chosen tempo of ♩ = 90, the quarter note has a value of 0.667” (60”/90). The 8th note would therefore have a value of 0.333”. Here, the hi-hat will be placed at 0.000, 0.333, 0.667, 1.000, 1.333, 1.667, 2.000, 2.333; the kick will be placed at 0.000, 0.333, and 1.333 (with the grace note placed right before; the snare will be placed at 0.667 and 2.000. I can just copy and

paste the pattern as a foundation for my subsequent layering of samples. Since the 4/4 bar is 2.667” long, I can paste the pattern at 2.667, 5.333, 8.000, etc. Note that, if your sample is in another tempo or another meter, you might have to time-stretch it to allow it to fit into your chosen tempo. Step 3: Add Other Layers and Develop Beat Now that my basic pattern is established, I want to add on other layers to introduce pitch content and textural complexity. I also want to carefully think about how my beat will develop over time. For the purposes of this assignment, the full duration of the track should be at least one minute and variation should be introduced so as to maintain the interest of the listener. In order to consider how to do this, one helpful approach is to listen to the types of variation introduced in beats that you find particularly appealing. Some possible approaches to adding variation include:

• Adding new layers of samples (or, if you prefer, original vocal or instrumental material). • Removing layers of samples or original material. • Moving the rhythmic position of your samples. • Removing samples in order to create a break. • Creating a complete change of section by introducing a whole new set of samples (with

contrasting pitch, timbral, or rhythmic characteristics).