Modern Music Creation with BeatLabs.com

Students will adapt their current knowledge of rhythms to a modern music technology format. Students will analyze their favorite style of music and create their own rhythms on the website BeatLab.com, using the popular grid format. Students will touch on math and fractions, blogging, and technical computer skills such as exporting and uploading data.

Subjects

Music

Keywords

Beat, free, music, online, rhythm, Technology

Grades

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 >12

Objectives:

Objective One: Relate modern music creation with the classical theory and music knowledge learned previously in general music class.
Objective Two: Relate modern music creation tools to the type of music that they currently listen to.
Objective Three: Students will work in groups to create.
Objective Four: Students will critique/evaluate their class creations.

Materials:

Laptop(s)
Beatlab.com website
Typed handouts for students (attached)
Rubric (attached)
SmartBoard preferred

Lesson Files

BeatLab_Rubric.pdfDownload

STEVE KAPPRE

About the author

Middle School Music Teacher, South Jersey

Procedure:

• Review with students rhythm syllables as performed in music class (Kodaly, ta, ti-ti, and ti-ki-ti-ki) (Comprehension/Knowledge)
• Show students picture of BeatLab grid and designate the squares as quarter notes and 16th notes. (also, Ta’s and ti-ki-ti-ki’s) (Comprehension)
• Mark several patterns on the grid and then divide the class up to perform aloud these patterns as a class. (Application)
• Students are placed in groups of 2-4.
• Students open their laptops and go to www.BeatLab.com.
• Student groups to come up with team names.
• Students to discuss and decide on the style of music their group will create. (Organizing)
• Students may listen to examples of styles for the first 5-10 minutes of the activity, notating what instruments and sounds they would like to use. (Suggest no more than 4 sounds/instruments). (Evaluation/Analysis/Synthesis)
• Students to create a 1 or 2 bar (measure) music example of their style of choice. (Evaluation/Creation)
• Once completed, students will plug in their laptops to the classroom speakers and SmartBoard to visually and audibly share their creation to the class.
• Students listening will share opinions with their group and one speaker will critique their experience using the RISE method. (Evaluation/analyzing)
• FUTURE /ALTERNATE ACTIVITIES: Have students export sound clip and upload to the class blog for RISE critique. (Evaluation)

Assessment:

See attached rubric.

Assessment also takes place via student’s posting of MP3 BeatLab.com creation on the class blog.

Technology:

Laptops, preferably per student, but at least per group (2-4 students per group).

Reflection:

The learners will reflect by blogging their own thoughts on the classes’ blog. They will answer this question:
o What was your favorite part of BeatLab?
o Do you feel you were successful as a group member? Why or why not?
o Do you feel you were successful as a group? Why or why not?

The educator will review the delivery and pace of the lesson as a whole and reflect on the students’ overall grasp of relating their prior knowledge to the format of BeatLab. The educator must also review the ability of students to take their own preferred music style and synthesize it and recreate it. To improve the educator will also reflect on the answers the students posted on the class blog. Students are good at creating beats, however getting them to create specific beats (hip-hop vs. country vs. rock vs. Reggae) can be a challenge. This might take quite a few classes/

Audience:

Middle school students.

Making Connections:

Students will make connections with:
• Previous knowledge in order to create new knowledge. Students know how to perform rhythmic patterns orally and instrumentally. Students will have to apply this knowledge to properly notate the musical rhythms in a grid format.
• Students listen to music every day. In fact getting them to keep their iPods and ear buds hidden might be a daily task. Teaching students how to create the music they already love is ultra relevant. Students will have to listen critically to their preferred style, analyze it, and do their best to recreate it.
• The experiences students have with this lesson will be relevant to their current music choices and because it is relevant it will deepen their understanding and remembrance of music as it relates to traditional or classical music concepts.
• Students will connect with their classmates by sharing their music creations in class. They will connect with their school as a whole by sharing their ideas on the class blog. They will connect with the world as a whole by listening to what others have created online using the same tools.

Comments

mitchelld I like how you incorporated this tool for engaging learners by helping them connect classical theory to modern music. What might happen if the students were able to take this further and apply this tool as a drum machine for a musical piece they create and perform? I think it not only engages the

mitchelld After reading your RILS, I had to go and play on the beatlab.com tool. I enjoyed making beats and manipulating the controls. I have enough background in music to experiment and what I like most of all is the visual interface. I actually found out that if I held down the cursor I could literally dr

jessandbrad Steve, that is an awesome tool. I have never heard of it before. I heard that it was an app, is that true? This can also be used in math as well. I like that its very user friendly and anyone can do it. You could also give a rhythm on the board and they can produce it online for you. Great tool.

njhoorn Hey, Steve! I really, really like this app! I can’t wait to see what our music team will come up with using this and other software, like garage band and audacity (or other audio software to add their own notes to work with.)

Medprof OK, so I don’t want to be writing these comments…I want to go use BeatLab.com NOW! How fun! In my first life all I ever wanted to be was a music teacher and even started my undergrad studies to become one and then…well, here I am in medicine. Your description and illustrations of BeatLab were so cle