6/2_Burning CDs (Last Day of Class!!!)

So for today, our last day of class, I wanted to just spend some time burning CDs of our music for you to take home. Here's what you need to do...

Export your Reason songs as audio files

1. Open your Reason session.
   
2. Listen quickly to make sure everything sounds right.
3. In the Sequencer Window, scroll to the right until you see the little E. 
4. Drag it back so it's right at the end of your song.
5. Now go to File>Export Song as Audio File.
6. Change the filename and make sure that you are saving to your folder. 
7. A little window will pop up. Make sure it the settings are Sample Rate = 44,100, Bit Depth = 16, then click Export.
8. Repeat this process for every song you want to include on your CD.

Import the audio file into iTunes

1. Open iTunes
2. Go to File>Make New Playlist 
3. Name this Playlist something that makes sense (like "Your Name Music")
4. Click on your Playlist so that you are looking inside it (it should be empty at this point).
5. Now open up your folder and find the audio files of your songs. Drag them into your iTunes Playlist.
6. Put them in what order you want them to play.
7. Get a CD from Mr. Runde.
8. Pop the CD into your computer.
9. If a window pops up, just hit Cancel.
10. In the lower right corner of iTunes, click on the button that says Burn CD.
11. Kick back and wait for the disk to burn.
12. When it finishes, hit the eject button on your keyboard (upper right corner) and get your disk.
    
13. Borrow a marker from Mr. Runde and label your disk.
14. Play your beautiful music for anyone who will listen!

Final Exam (Basic)

Part 1. Written

The first half of your exam will be a written test that includes multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. Be sure to turn in the sheet when you finish!

Part 2. Make a Song

For the second part of the final, please make an original song in Reason that has all of the following elements:

• At least 4 instruments (only 1 Redrum, 1 Dr. REX)
• Song Structure: 2 Verses, 1 Chorus and an Outro (fade out)
• At least one FX Processor (such as a Reverb)

When you finish, please save this as your name_FinalBASIC and turn it in to the Dropoff folder.

You have a total of 1 hr., 50 minutes to complete both parts of the exam. Please budget your time accordingly.

Good Luck!!!

Final Exam (Advanced)

Part 1.  Make a Song

For your final exam, you need to produce a short song that features ALL of the following:

• Written in a specific scale (example: C Minor) with all the keys marked on the worksheet.
• Use of 2 chords from this scale - one root form, one inversion.
• Structure:  an Intro, 1 Verse, 1 Chorus and an Outro/Fadeout
• At least 5 instruments (only 1 Redrum and 1 Dr. Rex)

Save this file as your name_FinalADV. and turn it in to the Dropoff folder. Also be sure to turn in the keyboard worksheet.

Part 2. Export an Audio File

When you finish, export your song as an audio file, also called your name_FinalADV.

Turn in BOTH your Reason file and your audio file to the Dropoff folder.

Congratulations on finishing the Music Production class!

5/28_Extra Credit/Final Review

Today I need to take some time and do a Final Review with the Advanced class so that the Seniors can take their final starting tomorrow.

Basic folks should continue working on the Extra Credit assignment from yesterday. If/when you finish, you can go check with Corina to see what assignments you are missing. Please take any extra time today to start completing this work.

5/26_Remake the melody

Basic and Advanced

So, today we're starting to wind down the term. 

Here is your assignment:

1. Open Reason and start a new song.
2. Turn on the Click at the bottom of the screen. 
3. Go to www.jamglue.com or any other music-related site and find a song that you want to try to remake.
4. Listen closely to the tempo. 
5. Now in Reason, hit Play and adjust the tempo to match the song.
6. Now listen closely to the song and focus on the main melody of the song. What kind of instrument does it use? Are the notes going up or down?
7. In Reason, create an instrument that you can use to recreate the melody.
8. Playing in time to the Click, record the melody.
9. If you have time, go on to recreate the drums.
10. Save this as your name_melodies.

5/19_Guest Lecture: Do DAT

Today we're going to be doing another writing workshop. Dat is going to be talking about using metaphors as tools for making your writing more interesting.

Please make him feel welcome in our class and give him your attention!

5/18_finish Live Drums/finish DayNNight

Using the drums you laid down last time when you learned how to play a drum beat live, please put together a short song. You have the chance to easily pick up some extra credit , so I suggest you take advantage.

Your song should include:

1. Drums for 2 verses and 2 choruses.
2. Additional instruments (1 point of ex credit each - NOT including Redrums, Dr. Rexes, or the Run patterns on Malstrom.)

Save this as "(your name)_Live drums.rns") and put it in the BAVAC dropoff folder (Pickupdropoff>BAVAC>Dropoff>Period 5).

Advanced
You folks NEED to finish up these beats and turn them in today! I have decided that the "Remake" part of the assignment is mandatory, but any original parts you add will be worth extra credit. Points will given as follows:

1. Original Verse (up to 5 points) - include drums (2 points) and up to 3 instruments (1 point each).
2. Original Chorus (up to 5 points) - include drums (2 points) and up to 3 instruments (1 point each).
3. An Outro/Fadeout (2 points).

Save these as (your name)_Live Drums and turn them in.

5/12_Live Drums/DayNNight

Basic
Today we're going to work on making a drum beat using two different methods other than the way most of us are used to: 1) playing live with the keyboard and 2) using the Pencil Tool to draw in notes.

Why would you want to be able to play drums live, rather than just using the drum sequencer?

Please do the following:

1. Open a new Reason session.
2. Create a Redrum and load a bass drum, snare/clap and a hi hat.
3. Zoom in on your track so you can see all the numbers of the bars.
4. Set a 4-bar loop (L on Bar 1, R on Bar 5).
5. Make sure the Click Track is on and hit play.
6. Listen to the tempo of the click and adjust it to however fast you want your beat to be.
7. Play some keys to make sure you can hear your drums. If you can't hear them, hit the Octave Down button once.
8. Find where your drum sounds are on the keyboard (probably the first 3 keys on the left side).
9. Find the bass and the snare/clap.
10. Practice playing a beat over the click and MAKE SURE YOU ARE PLAYING IN TIME WITH IT! Remember: Which drum sound goes on the 2nd and 4th beats? What about the 1st?
11. When you are ready, go ahead and record yourself.
12. Now go into the Edit View and check out the notes you just played.
13. Highlight them all and Quantize them (Edit>Quantize Notes).
14. Listen again and see if anything got moved in a weird way. If it did, just click on the bad note and drag it to the right place.
15. Now let's put in some Hi Hats...click on the Pencil Tool and draw in some notes on the Hi Hat lane.
16. Go back out to the Arrange View and use the Pencil Tool to draw a region around the 4-bars you just played.
17. Copy this pattern to make the whole beat play for 16 bars (end on Bar 17) - you might want to zoom out so you can see them.
18. Now let's make a 2nd beat for the Chorus section. You can use either a 2nd pattern or make another Redrum if you want to. Put this new beat in your
    
19. Save this beat to your folder as "(your name)_Live Drums".

We will be working with this Thursday, so make sure you have it saved before you leave today!

Advanced

Finish the remake part of your Day N Night beats today - try to focus on getting the chorus melody done today.

If you finish the remake part (Intro, Verse 1, Chorus 1), then go ahead and add your own section to the beat. Add at least

• A 2nd Verse
• A 2nd Chorus

You can do this any way you want - either add your own parts to the original beat, or come up with a completely new one.

Save this as your name_DayNNight and turn it in.

5/11_Single Ladies pt.3/DayNNight pt.3

Basic
Today I want you to finish your Single Ladies remixes and turn them in to the Dropoff folder. Call the file your name_Single Ladies.

Remember, to get full credit you need the following elements:

1. 2 Verses, 2 Choruses and an Intro. (extra credit for adding the Bridge).
2. 4 instruments (only 1 Redrum, 1 Dr. Rex).
3. A fade out at the end of the song.

If you finish everything and turn in your beat, then I want you to go ahead and try working on the same assignment as the Advanced class (remake of "DayNNight"). Click here to see where to start (scroll down past the E-40 part).

Advanced
Today, I want you to try to finish up the remake part of your DayNNight beats. By now you should have the drums pretty good and at least one of the melodies. Remember that there are two main melodic elements in the song: the main melody on the verse and the swooshy melody on the chorus. The key here is to find sounds that sound similar to the ones in the original!

5/8_Single Ladies pt.2/DayNNight pt. 2

Basic

Today we're going to finish working on the "Single Ladies" remix and turn it in.

I've put three more parts of the acapella in the Pickup folder. These files are:

• Single Ladies_Verse2 (8 bars)
• Single Ladies_Bridge (12 bars)
• Single Ladies_Whuh Oh (4 bars)

Please note how long each part of the song is.

To get full credit, you must include all of the following elements:

1. Both Verses, at least 2 Choruses (either A or B) and the Intro
2. At least 3 instruments, including at least one melodic instrument
3. A fade out at the end of the song.

EXTRA CREDIT if you include the Bridge!!!

Remember to do Song Self-Contain Settings before you save. Save this as "your name_Single Ladies.rns" and turn it in to the Dropoff folder.

Advanced
Keep working on your Day N Night beats. If you started with the drums yesterday, try to move on to the melodies today. If you started with the melodies, move on to the drums.

For the melodies, where do the two main melodies happen (what parts of the song)? How would you describe these sounds?

Save these to your folders so we can finish up next week.

Have a great weekend!!!

5/7_SingleLadies pt.1/OC vs. Kid Cudi

Basic
This week we're going to be working with another acapella and remixing the song. This one is going to be the song, "Single Ladies" by Beyonce.

Like last week, I have broken the song into different sections for you to import into your song using NN19s. The files are in the Pickup folder (look in the folder called "Single Ladies files"). For today, concentrate on the Intro (4 bars) and Verse 1 (8 bars).  Tomorrow we'll move on to the Chorus.

Couple things you should be aware of:

• The tempo is 97 BPMs.
• This song has a lot of swing to it, so you should probably want to turn on the Shuffle button on in your Redrum.
• Pay attention to the melody and figure out what key this is in. Play your own parts in the same key.
• Give me at least 4 instruments on the Verse (only 1 Redrum, 1 Dr. Rex)
• Save this as "(your name)_Single Ladies.rns"

Remember to do Song Self-Contain Settings before you save!

Advanced
Alright, so you folks are getting to be production ninjas, so I have a new challenge for you...

You are going to be working on the beat from the Kid Cudi song, "Day N Night". To hear the Instrumental, click here.

Your mission is to do the following 2 things:

1. As closely as you can, recreate the Intro, 1st Verse and 1st Chorus of this song exactly like the original.
2. Then, at the starting with the 2nd Verse, make your own version of the beat. You can use any/all of the elements from the original, but I want you to add at least 3-4 new instruments. Make a 2nd Verse, a 2nd Chorus, and an Outro/Fade Out.

Today, concentrate on the first part of the assignment - recreate the original beat. Things you need to pay attention to:

• Tempo - what is the pace of this song? Tip: listen to the clap. That should be your main point of reference.
• The Instruments - for most of the song, there are only 4-5 instruments playing. Try to break them down and find ones that are close to the original.
  
• FX - do you hear any kinds of FX happening on any of the instruments? Which ones? How much (Wet/Dry)?

Save this as your name_DayNNight. (Don't turn it in yet, since you are going to be finishing Thursday/Friday.)

5/5_Acapella pt.4/O'C vs. Kid Cudi

Today is your last day to finish your remix of "Tell Me When to Go". I've been hearing some amazing tracks so far!

Anyway, in order to get full credit, you need to include all of the following elements:

• All 3 verses and at least 3 choruses.
• At least 4 instruments (in addition to the NN19's for the vocals) with clearly different parts for the verses and choruses.
• Some kind of FX on the vocals.
• Basic mixing, including volume and panning adjustments.
• A fade out at the end of the song.

Remember to Self Contain the file before you save it. Name the file "(your name)_Tell Me When.rns" and turn it in to the Dropoff folder.

To do a fade out, do the following:

1. Highlight the Mixer track in your Sequencer Window
2. Now decide what bars you want to do the fade out at.
3. Click on the button to go to the Edit View.
4. Click the Envelope Button.
5. Click the Controllers Button and select Master Level from the menu.
6. Now find the bars where you want to do the fade out.
7. Select the Line Tool.
8. Click and drag the line tool diagonally down to the right to the zero

Advanced

Alright, so you folks are getting to be production ninjas, so I have a new challenge for you...

You are going to be working on the beat from the Kid Cudi song, "Day N Night". To hear the Instrumental, click here.

Your mission is to do the following 2 things:

1. As closely as you can, recreate the Intro, 1st Verse and 1st Chorus of this song exactly like the original.
2. Then, at the starting with the 2nd Verse, make your own version of the beat. You can use any/all of the elements from the original, but I want you to add at least 3-4 new instruments. Make a 2nd Verse, a 2nd Chorus, and an Outro/Fade Out.

Today, concentrate on the first part of the assignment - recreate the original beat. Things you need to pay attention to:

• Tempo - what is the pace of this song? Tip: listen to the clap. That should be your main point of reference.
• The Instruments - for most of the song, there are only 4-5 instruments playing. Try to break them down and find ones that are close to the original.
  
• FX - do you hear any kinds of FX happening on any of the instruments? Which ones? How much (Wet/Dry)?

Save this as your name_DayNNight. (Don't turn it in yet, since you are going to be finishing Thursday/Friday.)

5/4_Acapella pt.3/Finish Self-Critiques

Basic
So by now you should have the first chorus and verse from "Tell Me When To Go" in your song. Today, your goals will be to:

1. Add the second and third verses to the song.
2. Copy and paste the chorus in between the verses (and wherever else you want).
3. Add additional instruments to the song (at least 4 total).
4. Add some FX to the chorus.

You can find the audio files of the 2nd/3rd verses in the Pickup folder. (Pickupdropoff>Runde>Pickup>Period 5).

A few things you should be aware of...

• The original structure of the song is: Chorus-Verse 1-Chorus-Verse 2- Chorus-Verse 3-Chorus. If you want to switch the order up, I am fine with that, but I want all three verses in your song and at least 3 choruses.
• Verse 3 is 24 bars long!!! Remember to draw a note that is long enough. If you're not sure how long to make it, just take the number of the bar you are starting on and add 24 to it.

For example, if you are putting Verse 3 in at Bar 57, you would just do this:

57 + 24=81.

The note ends on Bar 81.

Please remember to Self-Contain your song before you save it. (File>Self Contain Settings>Check All).

Advanced
Most of you folks still haven't finished re-exporting the edits of your finished songs. If you haven't done this yet, please do it today so that we can move on. If you have turned everything in, please let me know and I'll give you the assignment that we're going to be starting tomorrow.

4/30_Acapella pt.2/finish self-critiques

On Tuesday we started working on our own remixes of "Tell Me When To Go" using the acapella of the chorus (aka "hook"). Today we're going to focus on making a verse section to the song.

Please do the following:

1. Go to the Pickup folder and find the file called "Tell Me When_Verse 1.wav". Copy it to the Documents folder where you copied the hook yesterday.
   
2. Open your Reason file from yesterday.
3. Create a new NN19 Sampler (you should have 2 now) and load this new audio file.
4. Move your markers so that they go for 16 bars AFTER the hook. Hint: if your hook goes from Bar 1-9, then your Verse should go from Bar 9 - 25. (L marker on 9, R marker on 25).
5. In the Sequencer, switch to Edit Mode and, use the Pencil Tool to draw in a note for this whole 16-bar section. Remember that to draw the note at C3.
   
6. Now switch to a new pattern in your Redrum and make a beat to go under this section. Please make it at least a little different from yesterday's beat.
7. Add at least one more melodic instrument (NN19/Subtractor/Malstrom/etc.)
8. Important: Please do Song Self-Contain Settings.
9. Save, save, save!
   

Advanced
Please turn in all of your Self-critique materials today. Again, the three things I need from each person are:

1. The original audio files of your songs (that you exported last week).
2. The Self-critique Word document.
3. The new audio files of your songs (with all changes/improvements).

If you have ALL of these items turned in, then you can have free time to work on your own music.

4/26_Acapella pt.1/Finish Self-critiques

Basic

Today we're going to start a new remix project using an acapella from a famous song...

Here's what you're going to do:

1. Go to the Pickup folder and find the file called "Tell Me_hook.wav". Copy it to the Documents folder on your computer.
   
2. Create a new Reason file.
3. Important! Set the Tempo to 107 BPMs. Hit play and listen to the loop.
4. Create an NN19 Digital Sampler.
5. Click the Browse Sample button and load the file you just copied to the Documents folder.
6. Switch the Sequencer Window to Edit Mode by clicking on this button:
7. Use the Pencil Tool to draw in a note at C3 that goes from Bar 1 to Bar 9. It should look like this:
8. Switch back to Arrange Mode by clicking this button again:
9. Set your L Marker to Bar 1 and the R marker to Bar 9.
10. Create a Redrum and make a 32-step beat to go under this (remember, it will probably work best if you put a snare or clap on 5 & 13!)
11. Create a Subtractor/NN19/Malstrom/NNXT/Combinator and make a melody to go with this.
12. Create a Dr. Rex and load a Percussion loop to go along with your drums.
13. Important! Before you save this, go to File>Song Self-Contain Settings.
14. Click Check All and OK.
15. Save this beat to your folder as "(your name)_Tell Me.rns".

Tune in tomorrow to start working with the verses!


Advanced
Advanced folks, I need three things from you by the end of the day. The first two are as follows.

1. Audio files of all the songs you burned to your CDs.
2. Copies of your Self-critique documents (see yesterday's blog entry).

The third thing I want is for you to do is as follows:

1. Go back to the Reason files of the songs you exported and make all the changes you listed in your self-critiques ("Things that could be better").
2. After you make the changes, do File>Save As and call them "original filename_edit". So if your song was called "Cesar Song 2", change it to Cesar Song 2_edit".
   
3. Export the songs as audio files again and turn them in to the Dropoff folder.
4. Import the files into your iTunes playlist.