Objective: Students, working alone or in pairs, will arrange and produce a setting of a public domain or original tune using multi-track software and principles of good songwriting.
The General Idea: Create your own fresh, popular music style arrangement of a public domain baroque or classical period keyboard piece (or section of a piece depending on the total length). A successful project will exhibit elements of thoughtful arranging and orchestration, as well as an understanding of the concept of musical fusion.
Procedure:
1. Listening: Listen to commercial recordings of music, arranged in a variety of styles. Listen to examples and discuss:
What gives each arrangement its stylistic characteristics?
2. Search for and select a source tune:
This can be done in a few different ways:
You can search through piano, guitar, or instrumental books for a song.
You can find a midi file that contains a basic arrangement of a song to start with.
Here are some sites that contain MIDI files that can be imported into GarageBand:
3. Develop a rhythmic and/or harmonic groove that gives your song a specific feel.
Loops or live instruments can be used to create this groove
Map out your song:
What is the groove or feel of your arrangement? (swing, funk, rock, country...)
List the instruments, loops, or voices that will be used.
4. Plan out your parts for your arrangement.
Students may work alone on this project, but can collaborate, especially where you need help. For example, one student might employ several tracks of drum loops, play the melody for his tune on a keyboard himself in another track, ask a classmate to strum accompanying guitar chords in another track, and program a bassline in another track.
5. Thinking about the arrangement: Based on you experimenting done thus far with the tune and a groove, create the tracks you need. Those that feel comfortable with written music may want to develop a "lead sheet" or even a simple score. Those that just want chord changes over lyrics may use that. Others will work exclusively in the software, playing or programming notes, but not worrying about notation. A chord sheet, tablature, or conventionally notated part, however, may need to be developed for a classmate that will play a part. In this case, the collaborating student or a teacher may need to lend a hand.
6. Fill in the arrangement: Adding music to some tracks of the arrangement will be as simple as inserting loops. Other tracks may be MIDI or audio recordings done in real time, as well as MIDI programming. Here are some tips for recording.
Real-time MIDI recording: Record-enable a track, click the "record" button, and use a MIDI keyboard to record the notes desired. The program's tempo slider can be set to a much slower speed while recording and then increased later. One very important suggestion is to always real-time record along with a metronome or drum loop.
Real-time audio recording: Students more comfortable expressing themselves with a live instrument or voice can record into tracks via a microphone or instrument. I recommend that students record to a drum loop to keep the timing true. When using a microphone, be sure you monitor all accompanying tracks with headphones as you sing or play.
Step recording: Parts for which a student cannot find a performer can be programmed note by note. GarageBand allows you to draw or paint notes in. You could also write you music in a another music notation program ( Finale, Sibelius, or Noteflight), export it as a MIDI file, then import the MIDI file into GarageBand.
7. Replace synth tracks with live players: If you have the time, and a willing player, some of the synthesized or looped tracks may be replaced by recording live players. This can greatly improve the sound of your project. For example, a student with some piano talent plays in a simple accompaniment track. Later a classmate uses a chord change sheet and records the part with more feeling. On the other hand, sometimes a synth track turns out to be better than a live player. Often this is the case with drum loops versus recording a live drum set (due to the difficulty in recording an acoustic drum set).