Lesson video

Hi everyone, I'm Ms, Friar and I'm going to be your music teacher for Lesson Eight of Unit Seven, looking at Fusion music.

Today is a really exciting lesson 'cause we're going to be doing lots of work all around composing.

First of all, we're going to do a listening activity, all based around melodic development.

So, I'm going to play a short melody on the piano.

I'll play it a few times, so you really have it clear in your mind of what it sounds like.

Then I'm going to change it and I want you to tell me what you think I've done to change that melody.

So here it is, as it's played the first time.

I'll play it again.

Okay, you might even want to sing it in your head so you're really, really clear of what it sounds like.

♪ Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da ♪ Okay, here is the first development, how have I changed that melody? Take a few seconds just to think about it.

Think about the first time you heard it, the development, what is different? Tell me in five, four, three, two, one.

Hopefully, you've recognised that the melody is played up an octave, so it sounds higher.

All right, so that's changing the pitch of the melody.

It's the same, it's just an octave higher.

If you got that, well done.

Okay, here's the original again.

Let's see if you can recognise here, here is the second development.

Take a few moment to think about it.

How is that melody different to the first one I played? So, if you spotted that it's higher again, well done, it is.

Here is the original.

But it's not an octave higher, it's just one note up.

So here's the first.

The second.

A moving up like that is called a sequence.

So I've taken the same melody, but I've just moved it up a note, sequencing.

Okay, let's do one more, here's the original.

Okay, I've made two changes through with this one.

I'll play it again.

What's different in that melodic development? Hopefully, you've spotted that I've played it lower, so I've got down an octave.

But also, I've taken out some of the notes, so it doesn't sound like the same melody.

Listen, here's the original.

And I took out some of those notes and played it lower.

Great listening skills and great start to today.

Great listening skills and great start to today's lesson.

Let's have a look at what you need for our resources for Lesson Eight.

Okay, let's go through everything that we're going to need for our compositions and today's lesson.

You will need a piece of paper or a book, something to write in if you've got a few questions to answer, and you're definitely going to need it, to write your ideas down.

You're going to need a pencil and a different coloured pen for marking annotating and correcting.

And then you're either going to need to have your voice ready to sing some parts of your composition.

Perhaps a keyboard, a piano or an instrument of your choice that you want to use to compose with today.

And you can always use technology using an app.

We've been through so many apps previously but some of them have great options, around, not just keyboard, but drums and other instruments as well.

So, if you need to pause the video now and go and get anything on that list, please do so.

Otherwise, if you're ready, let's go.

Okay, our plan or structure for today's lesson is.

We're going to talk about how composers find inspiration.

Okay, they don't just compose out of nowhere, they feel inspired by something, or they're given an idea.

And we're going to recap the fusion styles that we've looked at across all of this unit because that is going to be our inspiration for our piece today.

I'm going to show you a few techniques for how to develop melody and harmony.

And then you're going to have a go at starting to compose your own fusion piece.

So, like I said, composers come up with pieces of music or songs or lyrics, or entire symphonies, they're always based on something, or inspired by something.

It could be a piece of art, it could be an idea that they've had.

it could be a personal experience, it could be something they've seen, it could be inspired by somewhere they've travelled to, but they always get this idea or hear it, a tune in their head, or instruments they want to put together because they feel inspired by something that they've been exposed to.

So what I have for you is a really exciting brief.

What that means is a context, an idea to base your composition around.

Let's read through that.

You have been asked by a film studio to compose a new fusion piece for a travel documentary.

This will be a combination of two or more styles or traditions.

So your brief, your inspiration, is that this film studio needs some music for a travel documentary, and you need to come up with a new fusion piece.

Exciting, let's have a look at how we can do that.

These are the success criteria, so the set things that they want for your use.

These are the set things that they want to be included in your fusion piece.

It must be around a minute long, because they're going to need to put that on the documentary.

There must be changes in texture, we're going to talk a bit more about that over the next couple of lessons.

It's got to be.

It's got to have really obvious musical ideas from different styles and traditions of music.

So, the part that you compose it needs to be really clear what styles or traditions, or cultures or places that they're from.

You're going to need to develop the melodic rhythmic and harmonic ideas so that it lasts a minute long.

And we want it to have a really clear structure.

So there's the things that we're going to need to tick off when we're making our piece of music.

Let's start from the beginning, our initial ideas.

Let's recap the fusion styles we've looked at so far.

You're going to use these to create your new fusion piece.

Okay, you're going to select from the ideas from these different styles to inspire you to create your own.

So, we have looked at Afrobeat music.

That was the combination of West African folk music and high life music with American Jazz, Soul and Funk.

We've looked at Electrotango, which was a fusion of more traditional Argentinian style instruments and melodies but fused with electronic dance music and music software and synthesisers and drum beats.

And we looked at Indian classical music and Bhangra.

Remember we played to the child and the doll and we looked at particular Rags and note systems that Indian Classical Music has, and then how they modernise that, into creating Bhangra music again with synthesisers and samplers and music software.

And finally, we had a listen to Afro Celt Sound System and the famous song release, and how Simon Emerson pulled all those different people over to England from Africa and Ireland and dance mixes and DJs and musicians from all around the world to travel to London to create release, and what a great experiment that was.

So we've done so much over this unit, it's time to pull it all together and have a go at making our own.

Keep those styles in your head 'cause it's going to help you pick the ideas that you want to put into a composition.

Okay, now we've done the recap of the fusion styles, let's look at this in a bit more detail.

On your screen is a particular musical example.

I would like you please to write, what tradition is it from? And is it a melodic, harmonic or rhythmic idea? And write, how do you know? So pause the video now.

Have a think.

So I'll play it through for you.

So here is that musical example.

Pause the video now and take your time need to answer those questions.

Okay, let's have a look at what musical example this is and where it's from.

This is the Rag Desh, that note system based on North Indian classical music, and it is a melodic idea.

How do we know that? We know that because it is a set of pitches.

Okay, so a set of notes.

That then composes in Indian classical music used to create melodies, so this is a melodic idea.

Well done, if you got that and you remembered it from our Indian classical music lesson.

Let's have a look at another one.

What is this musical example? What tradition is it from and is it melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic? And how do you know? I'll play it through really slowly for you.

Here it is again.

Pause the video now.

What is this musical example? What tradition is it from and is it melodic, harmonic or rhythmic? Right, let's have a look.

It is the Seventh Chords that we heard in Afrobeat, the song, "Water No Get Enemy," by Fela Kuti.

And it is a harmonic idea.

Why, because these are a set of chords that would have created the harmony for this piece.

They are chords within the key, okay, the note that Fela Kuti decided to base to "Water No Get Enemy," on, these are the chords from that key.

So these chords underpin the harmony for all the other melodies and vocals and other ideas to be based around.

Remember the Seventh Chords were really important, those seven notes, because they are the Jazz and Soul and Funk inspiration into the Afrobeat tradition.

Great, one more.

What is this musical example? What tradition is it from and is it melodic, harmonic or rhythmic? Okay, I'll clap it for you.

So if you don't recognise the notes, hopefully you'll recognise the rhythm.

One, two, three, four.

Repeat it.

Pause the video now and write your answer.

Okay, let's have a look.

We are looking at the Bodhran rhythm, which is the Irish drum and it's playing that syncopated rhythm that is sort of influenced from both the West African tradition and Irish folk tradition.

It was by Afro Celt Sound System in Release and of course, it's rhythmic.

We know it's rhythmic because there's no set pitch, on this day, if all the notes are written on one line.

So this is just the long and short note pattern that they wanted to include in Release.

Well done, great recap of fusion features that we've looked at so far.

Okay, now we're on to our Developing Melody and Harmony part of the lesson.

Here is where you get an opportunity to be really creative today.

Great, okay.

So, these are all the melodic ideas that we have looked at over the last few lessons.

From lots of different traditions and lots of different ideas.

So what I'm going to do for you now is play through for each one of them, and then give you some ideas of how you can develop these into complete melodic phrases or into complete melodies.

So here's one.

So, I am going to take the Rag, the Rag Desh is going to be a melodic idea I take.

So I need a scale of notes, this one starts on C but you could start on any one if you wanted to.

I might start on F.

Okay, so I'm going to start on F instead, and do you know what, I really liked that three tempo all up melodic idea at the start of North Indian classical music.

So I might want to play an intro in my fusion piece that's really flowing.

Let's try it.

And then from there, I might go into something more structured, so I bring in the chords and then I start to put it into a more concrete rhythm.

And that's just repeating that SA, RE and PA at the start.

That's one way you could start your melodic development.

Let's take the Melodic Call from afrobeat the bottom left.

Remember this was three notes, it was really simple and it was syncopated.

♪ Da, da, da ♪ So that was the vocal I used when I did my afrobeat example.

♪ Da, da, da ♪ ♪ Da, da, da ♪ One way that you can develop melodic ideas is that you repeat them as they are and then you reverse them.

So, if my melody was.

♪ Da, da, da ♪ ♪ Da, da, da, da ♪ Repeat it.

♪ Da, da, da ♪ I now need to flip it round, so.

♪ Do, do, do ♪ So originally.

♪ Da, da, da ♪ ♪ Da, do, do ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do ♪ So it's the same three notes, I've just swapped round.

Instead of going.

♪ Middle, high, low ♪ I've gone.

♪ Low, high, middle ♪ So, that's really easy but effective way to develop a melodic idea, you take it, you repeat it, so that the listener recognises it, and then you reverse it.

And we go from just two ideas to four and we've started to extend.

Okay, let's have a look at the Chromatic Melody, the tango, okay.

If I take this idea that's on the screen.

Okay, if I take that, let's think, what could I do with that? In a moment, it's just a buzz worth of melodic idea but we're building up to a minute piece here, so.

Did you recognise what I did with that one? It was in our intro game.

So, I've created a sequence.

So it starts on the same.

Whoops! Then go back to the original.

So we went down a step to sequence it.

And now we've gone from, again, in just a bar, to four.

And all I've done is taking the same idea, and I've moved it down, or moved it up a step.

So there's a sequencing technique.

Okay, the other melodic idea we've got is the Aeolian Scale.

That really four key.

Okay, that really four key style.

Now, this is in C, I might change it again, remember you could, you get to pick the notes that you want to.

If you want to use one of these and then develop it, absolutely fine, but if you want to pick your own key completely or your note to start on that's completely up to you, your creative decision.

Right okay, I'm going to start on F, seem to really like that note today.

I'm going to start on F.

And I need to follow the same pattern of the Aeolian scale.

Okay, so what I'm going to demonstrate now, is how you create a question and an answer phrase, okay? So an A and B and this again will help us to develop and extend.

So I'm going to create a really simple melody, which is going to be my question just using the notes of the scale.

Okay, so that's F.

♪ C, B flat, B flat, B flat, F ♪ So that's my question.

Now I want a little melody that's going to answer that.

So here's the response.

So, very similar rhythm, I've just pitched different pitches in the scale, question.

Answer.

Question again.

Did you spot what I did with the second answer? I started with the same question sorry, the same answer idea but I want my phrase to sound finished and the best way to do that is to go back to your starting note.

Question.

Answer.

Question.

Question but with a finish.

Okay, and there are four different ways that you can take a melodic idea and develop it, flip it, twist it, extended it, sequence it, answer it, so many different techniques.

Okay, so this is your turn now.

Pause the video, choose one of the melodic ideas.

Okay, take one from the fusion that we've listened to, practise playing it and singing it as it is and then think about how are you going to develop it? How can you make this become a longer part in a piece of music? Have fun, off you go.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully, you've got a really nice melody, now that you've developed from one of the ideas that we've looked at before.

Let's apply the same technique but to the harmonic ideas.

Okay, so don't completely ignore that melody, you might want to use that later.

But let's have a look at harmony now.

So the harmonic ideas that we've taken from fusion styles are, we've looked at a Drone, in Indian classical music but it was also in Afro Celt as well.

So here was the Drone in Indian classical, we took the note SA and PA.

Over drones along along held notes.

So maybe you want to put drone in your piece.

In Afro Celt, their Synth pad they also had a drone.

And then they choose to put notes over the top, okay? Play a note, miss one, play a note so it sounds like part of a chord and they kept their drone underneath.

Then in Electrotango, we had chords that underpinned the melodies that we were writing, okay.

And you can see here, they keep the chords really simple.

They've picked two chords, and then they just repeated them in a pattern, so.

Okay, so if you just want to pick three chords you really like the sound of and then put them into a pattern.

Okay, remember electrotango, or tangos are quite often in minor scale so you want to be thinking about minor chords.

And the, of course, we've already looked at the afrobeat seventh chords that were a quorum response to the melodic call that we looked at earlier on.

So let's think about how we can develop these.

Now, the good thing about harmonic ideas is once you've established what notes you want to play, then they're going to be quite simple and quite repetitive, throughout because it's going to be your melodic and rhythmic idea that's going to change a lot.

So for instance, a drone in an Indian classical music or even in a Bhangra, that would go on and on throughout the entire piece.

And then it would be the other parts that change, so.

It might take more improvisation than I did.

That drone's just wants to go on and on.

So you could pick a drone that just goes all the way through it.

Perhaps, like the afro celt you pick a drone but then you put pad notes over the top that you think would go with them.

Okay, so I was just holding F down and then playing little groups, pairs of notes that fit in the Aeolean scale, remember 'cause that's what it's based around.

And then you could put your melody over the top.

♪ Da, da, da, da, da, da, da ♪ ♪ Da, da ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do, do, do, do ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do, do, do, do ♪ ♪ Da, da, da, da, da, da, da ♪ Okay, we start to piece it all together.

So, same process.

Choose one of the harmonic ideas and practise playing it or singing it.

If you want to change the key, brilliant, if you want to keep it as it's written there, it's absolutely fine 'cause we're going to change it and develop it anyway.

And then, think about how you're going to develop this.

Are you going to repeat it throughout? Are you going to change the chords? Are you going to put a different drone note, and then play a separate melody over the top? So pick one of those harmonic ideas and practise it.

Practise may be developing or at least playing it for longer.

Pause the video now, go and have a go.

Right, now we've looked at how and why melodic and harmonic ideas work like they do.

Let's have a look at how you can put those together.

Okay, so this is where the fusion part comes in.

So, I'm going to show you one example but ideally what you should do, is you should take your harmonic idea that you've got, that you've just been working on, and the melodic idea that you've got 'cause then you should be a full two different styles and then we're going to see if we can put them together, okay? So, I am going to take my afrobeat seventh chords.

It is just three of them, four of them.

Okay, slightly syncopated, not too complicated and I'm going to just repeat it just like Fela Kuti did throughout his piece of, "Water No Get Enemy." All right, so I'm not going to make it too complicated.

Then over the top of that, I'm going to pull notes from the chords.

Okay, so there are the notes of the chords.

But I'm going to break them down and try and come up with a melody over the top.

Trying to keep that tango rhythm in my mind so that syncopated.

♪ Da, da, da, da ♪ ♪ Da, da, da, da, da ♪ So, I'm pulling on everything I've learned over the last few lessons.

Okay, so I've got my chords that I want, I've recorded them in, just to make sure a bit easier for me to think about how they can fuse but you can pair them together at the same time.

Or you could just record yourself playing your chords or your harmony line, whichever you've picked, it could be a drone, it could be seventh chords, normal chords, a Synth Pad, whichever you've chosen and you can record it using your phone or another device using like a voice recorder and then you can just experiment with playing your melody from a different style over the top, okay? Now, let's have a go first.

So I've got my was recorded here, I'm going to pull the notes from it.

Let's just see what it sounds like.

Now, it's got the tango rhythm.

♪ Da, da, da, da, ♪ ♪ Da da, da da ♪ But it's not quite jelling as a fusion and I think it's because I'm trying to put too many passing notes.

And chromatic passing notes that you hear in Tango melody so it's not quite working with the afrobeat.

Okay, let's see if I can try taking some of those out and doing more of a question and answer, so.

So, that's going to be my question melody, taking the notes directly from the chords.

It's in a tango rhythm.

Now, I need an answer and I will put a chromatic note in here.

I'm going to put that little chromatic note in there.

And then I'm going to finish that round on A 'cause I know that that's going to fit within the chord.

Let's try that one instead.

Oh, much better.

Repeat it.

Okay, and now I've got a question and an answer, it resolves back on to my starting note which sounds nice and then I'll repeat it.

And all of a sudden I'm starting to get more of a complete piece of music, and you can hear that the seventh chords sound like afrobeat 'cause they are syncopated.

And then, the notes are tango rhythm over the top.

♪ Da, da, da ♪ Whoops! Don't worry if you start to make a few notes or sorry, a few mistakes, if you stumble over your notes, it's all part of the composing process.

Now, I have a musical term there I want you to consider.

Tonal means the notes and the key harmonise with one another.

Now, you want to make sure, for your fusion piece to be successful, that the notes work well with one another, which is why I took the notes of my melody from the chords that I've created from afrobeat.

It's okay if they clash sometimes, like my chromatic note.

That one clashed but, that one sounded nice with the chords.

So, it's okay if it doesn't always but you want the melody and harmony to be working harmoniously together for at least parts of it.

Okay, you can create your task now okay, we're really delving into our composition.

You're going to start to compose your own fusion piece of taking and the melodic and harmonic development that we've looked at and today, you're going to make your first eight bars, okay? One, you're going to choose a melodic and harmonic idea to fuse together.

Two, start with the harmonic idea that will help you decide your key.

Three, find the notes from the melodic idea from this key.

Okay, so you take your harmonic idea, whether it be a drone or your chords and you pull the notes from that first and that's going to help them fit together harmoniously to begin with.

Then you're going to play or record them together to hear and then assess your ideas.

Correct go back and try again, just like you saw me do.

What does a successful fusion piece sound like? Well, I need to hear your brief words, the two features from different styles.

I must hear that they sound like they are from two different traditions and cultures, and we're looking for at least eight bars 'cause we need to extend it to a full minute.

So there is your criteria for today.

Enjoy it, don't worry about making mistakes and can't wait for you to share your work soon.

Okay, well done.

I'm sure you're really starting to like how your fusion piece is sounding.

Remember, composition is a development, it's a process.

It's not going to sound perfect straight away, you're going to want to go back and change things and mix things up, but we've made a start, which is great because we need that minute long new fusion piece for that travel documentary.

Remember to record it, write notes down so you remember what you've done with them however you want to write it down, or have the past recorded so that you can come back to it, next lesson where we continue to develop.

And don't forget to go and take our quiz to show me everything that you've learned about how to develop melodic and harmonic ideas for a new fusion piece.

Well done today and I'll see you for the next Fusion lesson, bye!.