This project takes you step by step through the process of setting up a remix project through the example of Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road".

Use a 3-song playlist assignment to discover what your students are listening to. Pick a universally favorite song for the class, or individualize the project and allow each student to choose their favorite song to remix.

Example: Make a 3-song playlist of your favorite songs or compositions and what you like about them (e.g. "Old Town Road" - I love how Lil Nas X never sat on a horse before he made the video for the song). This playlist will serve as a starting point for the remix project.

Student Work:

• "Someone You Loved-Lewis Capaldi" - I liked this song because of how well all the instruments and words went together.

• "Burn The House Down by AJR" - I love the beat, and the whole tune.

• "Riptide" - I love how it was played with one instrument and I also love the melody.

Find an a capella of the song on YouTube which you can provide to students for the purpose of building a new musical arrangement (i.e., the "remix").

Convert the audio from the YouTube video into an Mp3 file which can be imported into a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) like SoundTrap or GarageBand.

Locate the A Capella Mp3 file on your desktop and load the file into your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Some examples of desktop DAWs include Logic Pro X, GarageBand, Audacity and Ableton Live. Some examples of online DAWS include SoundTrap and BandLab.

Setting the Project tempo to match the a capella is paramount to creating a successful remix! This step can be a little tricky, and the first thing you should do is try SongBPM or a Google search before spending time figuring it out manually.

If the DAW Tempo is not properly set, your students will not be able to snap song elements like music loops and drum beats to a grid, or use quantization features to correct the timing of their recordings. Setting the song Key to match the a capella is an added bonus, instructing the DAW to adapt transposable loop elements like keyboards and guitars to instantly match the vocals.

• If you are using a desktop DAW like GarageBand, share the Project file you created on your desktop as an Attachment in Google Classroom. Note: you may need to ZIP your file before attaching.

• If you are using SoundTrap for Education, use it to create a new Assignment for your students and edit the Project before sharing it. This will allow you to import the vocal and set the tempo and the key for the project before assigning it to your students. Each student will then receive a unique copy of the Project which they can use for their remix.

Have students create section markers to build a roadmap of the song. This is a great way to teach your students how songs are structured. Note: currently SoundTrap doesn't support this feature, but you can create a hack using a blank synth track (named arrangement) and creating individual blank regions.

Additional Resources:

Berklee PULSE Study Room -> Form

Encourage your students to begin building their remix by exploring various drum beats and loops to see what works with the a capella vocal. Build the remix from the ground up, beginning with the drums, then the bass, adding rhythmic keyboards and guitars, and finally the "bells and whistles"–like strings, pads and vocal fx.

Adding effective transitions between various Song Sections is key to the art of professional sounding music production. The following video demonstrates some useful tricks of the trade.

Have your students explore the myriad sound sculpting possibilities in DAW software like GarageBand and SoundTrap to create a professional sounding final mix.