Composing Music with FL Studio
How do we know when we are finished composing a song?

By
Maureen Spranza

Table of Contents:
Overview
Singing into FL Studio
    • Adding Cubasis VST recordings to FL Studio
Instruments with FL Studio
    • Recording percussion instruments in FL Studio
    • Using FL Studios Instruments
Improvising with FL Studio
    • Recording your Improvisations
Composing with FL Studio
    • Writing your own Beats
Reading and Notating
    • Transcribing from FL Studio
Listening and Analyzing
    • Talking about Your Classmates Music
Evaluating Classmates
    • Learn to record your voice in FL Studio
    • Talking about Music on FL Studio
Final Projects
    • Final Projects

Topic: Music Composition Themes: Composition Improvisation Instruments Reading and Notating Music Singing Focus Content Area: Fine Arts Secondary Content Area: Other: Music Grade Level: 5

Overview:
 
Rationale
This project is significant and important because it allows students to create real-world music of the 21st Century.

This project addresses the needs of our audience in that it allows us to connect with others on the basis of our musical expression.

This project meets all curricular goals and music standards.  It also meets technology and literacy standards.

Learning Objectives
Students will also learn how to write a song. Students will evaluate each others work.

Core Understandings
We can combine many different arts and subject areas when we write music. Expressing ourselves through the medium of sound. Students will understand how artists create songs in the real-world that are a art of their prior knowledge.

Summary
Students will write original lyrics and music to create their own song with the software FL Studio (kind of like the GarageBand for the PC). The songs will be published online here (see Final Projects link) and students will analyze and evaluate each others’ work.

The Learning Objectives of this project are for the students to learn the features of FL Studio Music software.


Singing into FL Studio:

Adding Cubasis VST recordings to FL Studio

Cubasis VST Skills

 Import Audio File

 Save as Cubasis song file .all

 Export mixdown and encode as .mp3 file

 Record MIDI track from piano

 Record Audio track from microphone

 Move right locator

 Move left locator

 View mixer

 Adjust volume of tracks in mixer (mix)

National Performance Music Standards Grades K-4 Content Standard 1 Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music Achievement Standard 1a. Students sing independently, on pitch and in rhythm, with appropriate timbre, diction, and posture, and maintain a steady tempo Achievement Standard 1b. Students sing expressively, with appropriate dynamics, phrasing, and interpretation Achievement Standard 1c. Students sing from memory a varied repertoire of songs representing genres and styles from diverse cultures Achievement Standard 1d. Students sing ostinatos, partner songs, and rounds Achievement Standard 1e. Students sing in groups, blending vocal timbres, matching dynamic levels, and responding to the cues of a conductor

Instruments with FL Studio:

Recording percussion instruments in FL Studio

                    Class 2

Checklist for FL Studio 8

 

Name and Date:_________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Performance Music Standards Grades 5-8 Content Standard 2 Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music Achievement Standard 2a. Students perform on at least one instrument accurately and independently, alone and in small and large ensembles, with good posture, good playing position, and good breath, bow, or stick control Achievement Standard 2b. Students perform with expression and technical accuracy on at least one string, wind, percussion, or classroom instrument a repertoire of instrumental literature with a level of difficulty of 2, on a scale of 1 to 6 Achievement Standard 2c. Students perform music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being performed Achievement Standard 2d. Students play by ear simple melodies on a melodic instrument and simple accompaniments on a harmonic instrument

Using FL Studios Instruments

National Performance Music Standards Grades K-4 Content Standard 2 Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music Achievement Standard 2a. Students perform on pitch, in rhythm, with appropriate dynamics and timbre, and maintain a steady tempo Achievement Standard 2b. Students perform easy rhythmic, melodic, and chordal patterns accurately and independently on rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic classroom instruments Achievement Standard 2c. Students perform expressively a varied repertoire of music representing diverse genres and styles Achievement Standard 2d. Students echo short rhythms and melodic patterns Achievement Standard 2e. Students perform in groups, blending instrumental timbres, matching dynamic levels, and responding to the cues of a conductor Achievement Standard 2f. Students perform independent instrumental parts while other students sing or play contrasting parts

Improvising with FL Studio:

Recording your Improvisations

FL Studio 4 Skills

 Adjust Audio Output Soundcard

 Counter:  Select Measures or Seconds

 Adjust Tempo

 Change Patterns

 Add Patterns

 Create Song

 View Browser

 Select Packs

 Choose Sample/Patch

 Add Sample/Patch in New Channel

 View Step Sequencer

 Enter notes in Step Sequencer

 Adjust Volume of Channel

 View Playlist

 Save as .flp

 Export and Render as .mp3

National Performance Music Standards Grades K-4 Content Standard 3 Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments Achievement Standard 3a. Students improvise "answers" in the same style to given rhythmic and melodic phrases Achievement Standard 3b. Students improvise simple rhythmic and melodic ostinato accompaniments Achievement Standard 3c. Students improvise simple rhythmic variations and simple melodic embellishments on familiar melodies Achievement Standard 3d. Students improvise short songs and instrumental pieces, using a variety of sound sources, including traditional sounds, nontraditional sounds available in the classroom, body sounds, and sounds produced by electronic means Grades 5-8 Content Standard 3 Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments Achievement Standard 3a. Students improvise simple harmonic accompaniments Achievement Standard 3b. Students improvise melodic embellishments and simple rhythmic and melodic variations on given pentatonic melodies and melodies in major keys Achievement Standard 3c. Students improvise short melodies, unaccompanied and over given rhythmic accompaniments, each in a consistent style, meter, and tonality

Composing with FL Studio:

Writing your own Beats

1. Working with Sequences
2. Using Locators
3. Creating Sequences
4. Using the Mixer
5. Creating Sound Modules
6. Adding Sound Patches
7. Recording Sequences
8. The Editing Window
9. The Keeper Piano
10. Pads and Polysynth Parts
11. Bass and Comping
12. Final Form
13. Using Effects
14. Adding Effects
15. Ornamental Synth Parts and Percussion
16. Mixdown Stage

National Performance Music Standards Grades 5-8 Content Standard 4 Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines Achievement Standard 4a. Students compose short pieces within specified guidelines, demonstrating how the elements of music are used to achieve unity and variety, tension and release, and balance Achievement Standard 4b. Students arrange simple pieces for voices or instruments other than those for which the pieces were written Achievement Standard 4c. Students use a variety of traditional and nontraditional sound sources and electronic media when composing and arranging

Reading and Notating:

Transcribing from FL Studio

Finale Notepad Skills

Label with Title and Composer

Select Instrument Families and Instruments

Select Time Signature

Enter and erase notes and chords

Delete measures

Save as .mus file

National Performance Music Standards Grades 5-8 Content Standard 5 Reading and notating music Achievement Standard 5a. Students read whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, and dotted notes and rests in 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 3/8, and alla breve meter signatures Achievement Standard 5b. Students read at sight simple melodies in both the treble and bass clefs Achievement Standard 5c. Students identify and define standard notation symbols for pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, articulation, and expression Achievement Standard 5d. Students use standard notation to record their musical ideas and the musical ideas of others Achievement Standard 5e. Students who participate in a choral or instrumental ensemble or class sightread, accurately and expressively, music with a level of difficulty of 2, on a scale of 1 to 6

Listening and Analyzing:

Talking about Your Classmates Music



Pair and Share

Describe your partner’s music.

Use music vocabulary words such as:

meter (are the beats grouped in 4, 3 or 2?)

rhythm (short and/or long notes)

tonality (Major-happy or minor-sad)

intervals (space between the notes)

chords (groups of 3 or more notes)

harmonic progressions (I, IV and V  chords)

dynamics (loud and/or soft)

tempo (fast and/or slow)

timbre (thick and/or thin texture)

pitch - melody (high and/or low)

National Performance Music Standards Grades 5-8 Content Standard 6 Listening to, analyzing, and describing music Achievement Standard 6a. Students describe specific music events in a given aural example, using appropriate terminology Achievement Standard 6b. Students analyze the uses of elements of music in aural examples representing diverse genres and cultures Achievement Standard 6c. Students demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles of meter, rhythm, tonality, intervals, chords, and harmonic progressions in their analyses of music

Evaluating Classmates:

Learn to record your voice in FL Studio

National Performance Music Standards Grades 5-8 Content Standard 1 Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music Achievement Standard 1a. Students sing accurately and with good breath control throughout their singing ranges, alone and in small and large ensembles Achievement Standard 1b. Students sing with expression and technical accuracy a repertoire of vocal literature with a level of difficulty of 2, on a scale of 1 to 6, including some songs performed from memory Achievement Standard 1c. Students sing music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being performed Achievement Standard 1d. Students sing music written in two and three parts Achievement Standard 1e. Students who participate in a choral ensemble sing with expression and technical accuracy a varied repertoire of vocal literature with a level of difficulty of 3, on a scale of 1 to 6, including some songs performed from memory

Talking about Music on FL Studio



Students collectively construct a Judging Form / Rubric to use when evaluating their classmates.

Students participate in Kiss-Kill-Kiss to provide feedback to classmates.

     Kiss- Say something that was good about the song.

     Kill- Say something that could be better next time.

     Kiss - Say something that was good about the song.

National Performance Music Standards Grades 5-8 Content Standard 7 Evaluating music and music performances Achievement Standard 7a. Students develop criteria for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of music performances and compositions and apply the criteria in their personal listening and performing Achievement Standard 7b. Students evaluate the quality and effectiveness of their own and others' performances, compositions, arrangements, and improvisations by applying specific criteria appropriate for the style of the music and offer constructive suggestions for improvement

Final Projects:

Final Projects


Jedidiah
Subscribe Podcast: http://my-ecoach.com/podcast.php?rid=51310
Click here for original lyrics: Godzilla’s Revenge





Pablo
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Natasha
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Click here for lyrics to Paradise in Hawaii






Haley
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Click here for lyrics to Math, Multiplication!







Daniel


Wendy