Modern Day Composition: Creating Two Pieces in Two Contrasting Genres

• Music
• Higher Education (non-degree)
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Modern Day Composition: Creating Two Pieces in Two Contrasting Genres

Due in: End of this week!

Learning Objective

At the end of this week, you will have created two compositions in two contrasting genres that demonstrate knowledge of stylistic characteristics, mix them, and evaluate your success.

Introduce the learning objective and explain the importance of being able to compose in different genres as a modern day composer.

How far have you already gotten in this unit?

Composition 1: Genre 1

Begin composing your first piece in Genre 1, making sure to incorporate the stylistic characteristics you researched.

Explain the importance of starting to compose as soon as possible and encourage students to experiment with different sounds and instruments.

Composition 2: Genre 2

Begin composing your second piece in Genre 2, incorporating the stylistic characteristics you researched.

Remind students to keep in mind the contrasting nature of the two genres and encourage them to explore different sounds and approaches.

Mixing

Mixing

Task 3: 

Within the mixing and mastering process you need to develop your composition by applying dynamic processing techniques, including creative and corrective use of the following: 

Compression 

Expansion

Gating

Limiting 

Side-chaining  

Explain the importance of mixing and demonstrate different mixing techniques.

What is compression?

Compressor Overview in Logic Pro X

Using a Compressor in Logic

The compressor emulates the sound and response of several professional-level compressors. It tightens up your audio by reducing sounds that exceed a certain threshold level, smoothing out the dynamics and increasing the overall volume—the perceived loudness. Compression helps bring the key parts of a track or mix into focus, while preventing softer parts from becoming inaudible. It is probably the most versatile and widely used sound-shaping tool in mixing, next to EQ.

How to use Compressor?

You can use Compressor with individual tracks, including vocal, instrumental, and effects tracks, as well as on the overall mix. Usually you insert Compressor directly into a channel strip, but it can be used on aux channels or elsewhere in the signal path.

Step-by-step

To add Compressor to your project, choose Dynamics > Compressor in a channel strip Audio Effect plug-in menu

The interface is divided into two main areas:

Main parameters: The bulk of the interface contains the meters and Threshold, Ratio, Knee, Attack, and other controls. 

Output or Side Chain parameters: The right side of the interface is shared by two discrete groups of parameters. Click the Side Chain or Output button to view and use the parameters in each group.

What is the most widely used sound-shaping tool in mixing, next to EQ?

1. Reverb
2. Compression
3. Distortion
4. Delay

What is the benefit of using compression in mixing?

1. To bring key parts of a track or mix into focus
2. To make the mix sound more distorted
3. To prevent softer parts from becoming inaudible
4. To add more bass to the mix

What is the purpose of a compressor in Logic?

1. To add reverb to the mix
2. To distort the sound
3. To reduce sounds that exceed a certain threshold level and increase overall volume
4. To tighten up audio and smooth out dynamics

What is sidechaining?

Sidechaining

Sidechain is an effect that you have on one sound that is triggered by the level of another sound. The classic example is when you have a compressor on a bass track and you set it so it ducks the level of the bass whenever a kick drum hits. This is so the kick can poke through for that moment when they’re sharing a lot of the same frequency space. So, rather than EQing to remove some of those frequencies from the bass, it can be nice just to duck it a little bit. It’s also a great way to get a track pumping if you use it in a more extreme way.

What is the benefit of using sidechain compression on a bass track?

1. Increasing the reverb on the bass
2. Allowing the kick drum to poke through for a moment when they’re sharing a lot of the same frequency space
3. Making the bass louder
4. Adding more distortion to the bass

What is the classic example of sidechaining?

1. Adding reverb to a vocal track
2. Panning a guitar track to the left
3. Increasing the tempo of a drum loop
4. Using a compressor on a bass track to duck its level when a kick drum hits

What is sidechaining in audio production?

1. An effect triggered by the level of another sound
2. Making a sound louder
3. Removing frequencies from a sound
4. Adding a new sound to an existing track

More about Sidechaining...

Sidechaining is all about interaction between a signal processor and an audio source (usually one that’s different from the audio that’s being processed). Stated that way, I know it sounds kind of dull, but consider some of the reasons why sidechaining is cool:

Automatic mixing — If you’re recording a singer/songwriter and want the guitar level to dip a bit during vocals, sidechaining can do that.

Tighter rhythms — Gate a bass so that notes hit exactly when the kick drum hits. Or cause level variations in power chords that track the drums’ dynamics.

Audio for video — Use sidechaining to reduce the level of a music bed during narration.

Special effects — Alter a filter’s resonant frequency with the dynamics from snare drum hits, guitar chords, bass notes, and more, and then use the filter to process, well — anything from reverb to hand percussion.

Gating

Gating is the process of using a dynamic threshold as an on/off trigger. The simplest form would be with gain, where everything below a certain decibel level would automatically have it's gain set to zero. This is called a noise gate and is used often by producers to not let background sounds get through to the mix.

What is Gating?

What is gating? 

Audio gating is the control of when and to what degree audio passes through a channel. It’s based on factors including the signal level strength. In some cases, it’s referred to as a noise gate.

Imagine standing in front of a fence gate and whispering, “I want to come in.” Nothing happens. Then you yell, “I WANT TO COME IN” and this time the gate opens. The higher volume level is what opened the gate.

Gating is more than controlling if a signal passes through the channel. Other properties can be controlled:

The speed of the opening and closing.

The time the gate stays open.

How soon the gate can be fully opened again.

Using these properties, a number of audio gating techniques can be used.

What is audio gating also known as?

1. Amplifier gate
2. Reverb gate
3. Noise gate
4. Echo gate

What other properties can be controlled with gating?

1. Type, font, and style of the gate
2. Color, size, and shape of the gate
3. Speed, time, and reopening of the gate
4. Location, orientation, and perspective of the gate

What is gating?

1. The control of text passing through a channel
2. The control of audio passing through a channel
3. The control of images passing through a channel
4. The control of video passing through a channel

Why?

Why?

1. Reduction of unwanted external sounds

2. Reduction of natural channel noise

3. Use as an effect

Evaluation Criteria

Create a list of criteria to evaluate your compositions such as originality, use of stylistic characteristics, and overall sound quality.

Explain the importance of evaluating one's own work and provide examples of criteria for evaluation.

Evaluation: Composition 1

Evaluate your first composition based on the criteria you created.

Encourage students to be honest with themselves and provide constructive feedback.

Evaluation: Composition 2

Evaluate your second composition based on the criteria you created.

Encourage students to be honest with themselves and provide constructive feedback.

Reflection

Reflect on your experience creating two compositions in two contrasting genres. What did you learn? What would you do differently next time?

Encourage students to think critically about their experience and provide guidance for reflection.

Conclusion

In conclusion, creating compositions in different genres is an essential skill for modern day composers. By demonstrating knowledge of stylistic characteristics and evaluating their own work, students can create professional-level compositions.

Summarize the lesson and reiterate the importance of being able to compose in different genres for modern day composers.

References

Include a list of references for the research conducted on the stylistic characteristics of the chosen genres.

Provide guidance on how to properly cite references and explain the importance of giving credit where credit is due.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.