Introduction

In our last lesson we learned that music can be made with computers as well as traditional instruments. Recap the programs and websites they looked at in the last lesson, what could each one do? Which do you think was the most unusual? Why?

In this lesson we'll be looking at a tool that lets us layer sounds. What do you think that means? What are layers?  This means where we can play more than one sound at the same time. We can add one layer of sound on top of another layer so we hear them together, a bit like a sandwich where we could layer fillings up and taste them together when we eat it.

 

 

Rhythm - Chrome Music Lab

musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Rhythm/

Today we are going to start with a rhythm or beat. A rhythm is usually the backbone to a song, it is often the first part to be added to the music and can set the tempo (speed). Experiment with different rhythms using this tool from Chrome Music Lab. You can add up to 3 layers.

 

2Beat

Next try layering sound with 2Beat. Open Purple Mash and go to the Tools section (or use the Music Toolkit in the old 2Simple collection.)

 

 

Open 2Beat from the Music and Sound section.

 

 

Open 2Beat. A short tutorial video is available at the top right of the page if needed.

 

 

Ask the class, what features do you think 2Beat has? 

 

 

Demonstrate making a simple beat on one layer. Can you clap it back to me?

 

 

How about this one?

 

 

Show how 2Beat contains layers. Ask the class - Can anyone explain what layers are?  Just like in a sandwich, it's when we place things on top of other things, and in this case, we can do that with sounds. We can compose four different layers of sounds and make them play at the same time.

Show an example using the sounds provided.

 

 

Show how you can select different sounds with the arrows on the instrument circles. Let them explore the different sounds and create a beat using up to four layers.

 

 

After a few minutes, show the class some of the other playback options we get with 2Beat. We can again control the tempo of our track with the slider at the top of the screen, but now we also have separate volume controls for each layer, so if you want some sounds to be louder than others, you can do that.

 

 

Ask the children experiment with both. How does it change your beat? Do you prefer it fast or slow? Why?  Which of your sounds should be the loudest? Why?

 

Longer sequences can be made by altering the the beats at the top of the screen. There are options for 6, 8, 12, 16 and 24 beats.

 

 

This can give you more space to create different and longer pieces of music.

 

 

Saving their work

You can save your work in a few different ways. First click the three lines in the top left of the screen.

 

 

Clicking Save lets you choose to save it to your My Work area in Purple Mash, or your class folders. Or you can click 'To my PC' and you will be able to download the 2Beat file to your computer.

 

 

Alternatively, you can download your creation as a sound file if you wanted to play it back outside of Purple Mash, or use it with some other software. For this, choose Export from the file menu. Then select how many repeats of your beat you want to be in the saved file and export it as an mp3 file.

 

 

Compare the beat makers

Ask the children to compare the two beat makers they have used so far. 

 

• How are they similar? 
• How are they different? 
• Which do you prefer? Why? 
• What would you add or change to each one?

 

2Sequence

If you want to extend things further, take a look at 2Sequence, which is also in the Music and Sound section on Purple Mash. 

 

 

Let the children explore it on their own to begin with. What is similar and different to 2Beat? What else can you do now?

2Sequence gives you a much bigger range of sounds to choose from with the categories at the bottom of the screen. One of which is sound effects (SFX) which can be interesting - try adding them in for atmosphere or mood. You can also add multiple sounds on one layer such as the two different drum beats below, and longer clips like some of the guitar riffs, scales and ‘short clips’ which need to be used carefully as they last for more than one beat.  

I can be useful to add just one of these to begin with, press play and watch the playback indicator to see how many beats it lasts, then you can decide where to put your next sound, and if you want it playing at the same time, or afterwards.

 

 

Don't forget there is a short tutorial video at the top of the page if you need it to help you get started.

 

 

Can you use the tools to compose a short tune by combining up to 4 layers?

 

 

Plenary

What is a layer? How have we used layers with our musical creations today? What makes computers good for creating music in this way?  They can provide sounds for us to use even if we don't know how to play instruments, they also let you experiment and try things out easily by changing which sounds we use, where we use them, how loud they are etc.