This project takes students on a musical journey through the genres of NYC. Along the way, students learn basic music theory and develop lyric writing skills culminating in a songwriting project.

Genres of NYC Syllabus

This section details a path for setting up your Google Classroom to teach the Musical Genres of NYC, including ready made Prezis, student examples and suggestions for incorporating SoundTrap lessons into the various genres.

Classroom Posters (for your physical or virtual classroom)

For this brief introduction to Elements of Music, I like to show harmony and melody were developed out of the overtone series, and explain why certain chord progressions and rhythms work best for songwriting and production. You will find excellent support materials and assessments on Berklee PULSE, depending on how much time you have to teach students this material.

• The Overtone Series

• Overtone Series Diagram

• Major/Minor Scale Diagram

• The 7 Triads in C Major

• The 4 Chords of Pop Explained

• Tresillo Rhythm in Hit Songs

• The Human Voice System

• Skrillex on Vocal Sound Design

• Prezi - The Blues: The Sound of Rural Poverty

• TeachRock Lesson Plan & Resources

Student Work:

• Blues Scrapbook

• Music Production Extension - In lieu of the scrapbook project, or in addition to it, this would be a great time to introduce students to SoundTrap, or a similar DAW, to create a 12-bar Blues pattern consisting of I, IV and V chords. SoundTrap Lesson Plans

Note: This lesson is modified from the TeachRock lesson and features a 12-bar blues songwriting project using additional resources from Little Kids Rock and YouTube.

• Prezi - Blues, Poetry & The Harlem Renaissance

• TeachRock Lesson Plan & Resources

• Blues Backing Track

• 12 Bar Blues Worksheet (LKR)

Student Work:

• Blues Lyrics

• Music Production Extension - As a suggested music production activity, teachers may have students download (or create, depending on skill level) a blues backing track and perform and record their original blues song using a DAW like SoundTrap. SoundTrap Lesson Plans

• Prezi - Music from the Harlem Renaissance

• Note Catcher

Student Work:

• Completed Note Catcher

• Music Production Extension - Depending on the skill level of your students, this unit may be used to introduce students to the software instruments and loops available in a DAW like SoundTrap. One example would be to ask students to find instruments they have identified on their note catchers in SoundTrap ,and create an 8 or 16 bar beat using only those instruments (e.g., piano, double bass, drums and brass). SoundTrap Lesson Plans

• Prezi - Tin Pan Alley

• Lyric Writing Activity #1: "My New York" - Write your own version of the lyrics for Irving Berlin’s “My New York” by plugging in the name of your suburb, adding personal observations about where you live and other ethnic groups who share your neighborhood with you.

• Lyric Writing Activity #2: "Thou Swell" - Underline the slang from 1927 (when the song was written) and replace those words with contemporary slang (keep it classroom appropriate).

• Activity #3 - Listen to the song “Brother Can You Spare A Dime?” and answer the questions.

• Activity #4 - In the 1930s, many musical theater pieces spoofed the government and its problems in songs and sketches. Create a playlist of songs as a starting point for a new musical which spoofs on the current political landscape. Include lyrics. Some topics: immigration, impeachment, artificial intelligence stealing jobs, same-sex marriage, pandemics.

Student Work:

• Activity #1 - "My New York"

• Activity #2 - "Thou Swell"

• Activity #3 - "Brother Can You Spare A Dime"

• Activity #4 - Playlist for a New Musical

• Music Production Extension - Have students place the songs from Activity #4 against visuals which express the emotions of their Musical using visualizer software and a DAW like SoundTrap. SoundTrap Lesson Plans

• Prezi - The Birth of the Microphone

• TeachRock Lesson Plan & Resources

• Music Production Extension - Have students record their voice into SoundTrap or a similar DAW and use an equalizer plugin to create the "phone filter" effect of the carbon microphone (e.g., cut frequencies below 1 kHz and above 4 kHz) SoundTrap Lesson Plans

What happened when the founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun, tried to create an authentic Blues sound working with NYC Musicians? (Hint: It wasn't the Blues, but it was something entirely new!!!)

• Prezi - The Influence of R&B

• TeachRock Lesson Plan & Resources

• Music Production Extension - Have students use the instruments they see and hear in Chuck Berry's Maybelline as the basis for a new SoundTrap project. Teach students how to use the distortion plugin to emulate the sound of the electric guitar. Draw comparisons between the frequency spectrum of the distorted electric guitar and brass instruments, the latter being replaced by the electric guitar in Rock & Roll ensembles following WWII. SoundTrap Lesson Plans

Note: This lesson is modified from the TeachRock lesson and features a call-and-response songwriting activity which will get your entire class collaborating together writing lyrics!

• Prezi - Gospel Origin of Chain of Fools

• Chain of Fools (Karaoke Track)

• Banana Boat Song (Example of Call-&-Response)

• Call & Response Songwriting Workshop

Student Work:

• Call & Response Songwriting Workshop

• Music Production Extension - Use the "Chain of Fools" karaoke track to have students record their call and response lyrics into SoundTrap or a similar DAW. SoundTrap Lesson Plans

• Prezi - Latin Music in Postwar NYC

• TeachRock Lesson Plan & Resources

• Cultural Mixing Worksheet

Student Work:

• Cultural Mixing Worksheet

• Music Production Extension - Have students use Latin Percussion instruments and loops mixed with instruments from their own cultural background to create an original composition in SoundTrap or a similar DAW. SoundTrap Lesson Plans

Prezi - The Rise of Disco

TeachRock Lesson Plan & Resources

Student Work:

• Disco Tableaux

• Music Production Extension - Have students use SoundTrap or a similar DAW to create a disco infused beat to play along with their tableaux. SoundTrap Lesson Plans

• Prezi - The Historical Roots of Hip Hop

• TeachRock Lesson Plan & Resources

Student Work:

• "The Message" - Original Verse Lyrics

• Music Production Extension - Have students use SoundTrap or a similar DAW to create an original musical underscore for the South Bronx news clip included in this lesson. SoundTrap Lesson Plans

• Prezi - The Ethics of Sampling

• TeachRock Lesson Plan & Resources

Student Work:

• Ethics of Sampling - Student Arguments

• Music Production Extension - This is a perfect time to introduce a remix project to your students. Have your students suggest a few songs they might like to remix and find the A capellas on YouTube. Download the A capellas and create project templates for your students to build new backing tracks with (a.k.a., to "re-mix"). Be sure to set the project tempo and the key signature correctly for the A capellas, and line up the vocal to the grid for best results using SoundTrap or a similar DAW. SoundTrap Lesson Plans

• Prezi - Greenwich Village Folk Scene

• TeachRock Lesson Plan & Resources

• Music Production Extension - Have students use SoundTrap or a similar DAW to build an original track using instruments from the Greenwich Village Folk scene like acoustic guitars, hand percussion and vocals. For advanced students, have them create a B section in a Rock style that features distorted electric guitars for high contrast against the acoustic guitars of the A section. SoundTrap Lesson Plans

Depending on the level of your students and the absorption of the material throughout the Musical Genres of NYC curriculum, you can either have students chose a song representative of a particular genre from this class to parody, or deliberately have them mix genres in an original composition. Please see the Songwriting Parody Project from this web-site for more details.