Lesson video

Hi everyone.

I'm Ms Friar.

And I'm going to be a music teacher for this unit.

unit seven, all around fusion music.

This is a really exciting unit to be exploring because we're going to get to look at music from all around the world and what a great experience that can be.

Today, we're going to be focusing around a style of music called Afrobeat and one particular musician and composer who really marked the way of this becoming really famous style of music.

Before we get started.

So it's really important that we get into a musical mood.

We're going to do a warmup.

or a singing activity or rhythm activity.

To get our ears and our brains in tune and thinking in a musical mind frame.

Today, we're going to do an activity based around rhythm.

It's called, don't clap this one back.

You may have heard of it before.

I like doing it in my lessons.

But it's going to be a bit more challenging.

So instead of the rhythm, don't clap this one back, we're going to do a more complicated rhythm.

It's going to be become quite complex.

It's going to have some semiquavers in it.

It sounds like this.

I'll do it again.

Now I have got some words to help you remember the rhythm and here is how it sounds.

Don't clap back.

No don't clap back.

Don't clap back.

No don't clap back.

So you need to have that rhythm in your mind, and then we'll start the activity.

I'm going to clap lots of different rhythms and you need to give me the response you to call it back.

But, when you hear Don't clap back, no don't clap back.

You shouldn't clap that one back.

Let's give it a go.

We should have clapped that one back because that isn't the rhythm we're looking for.

Well done.

Let's go again.

I'm hoping I might have got a a few of you out.

That's the rhythm that we're looking for.

Don't clap back, No don't clap back, So you shouldn't have clapped that one back.

Okay, let's go again.

That's the rhythm we're looking for.

Don't clap back, No don't clap back.

If you didn't clap back.

Well done.

Let's do one more round.

Let's do one more round.

` See if I can make it more attracting Let's do one more round.

See if I can make it more challenging for you.

Sometimes I always get a few out, making it the first rhythm.

Let's go again.

I reckon probably quite a few of you are starting to recognise that rhythm now and aren't clapping it back.

Well done.

Now, keep that rhythm in your mind because we're going to use it somewhere else in our lesson.

Now let's get organised and started.

So we're warm and we're ready for our lesson is time to get organised so you will be really successful today.

You're going to need either the worksheet, a pen.

You're going to need a piece of paper or a booklet to write your notes in and to write your answers in.

You're also going to need a pencil and I suggest a different colour pen so that you can mark and correct your work.

You're also going to need your body.

We're going to do some body percussion today around Afrobeat rhythms. If you need to go and get any of those things on that list, pause the video now, and then play when you've got everything ready.

At the start every lesson, We'll go through an agenda.

A plan of the activities that we're going to cover.

It's really important you know what you're going to achieve in the lesson today.

First thing we're going to do is look up what fusion music is.

We've dedicated an entire unit to this project.

So really rik.

An entire unit to this project.

So we think it's a really important genre.

And we're going to look at what it is.

We're going to look at the characteristics of Afrobeat style specifically and how it was created.

And we're going to look specifically at rhythmic riffs, which is why we need our bodies for body percussion today.

And then you're going to have a go at composing and performing your own rhythmic riffs based on a song called Water No Get Enemy.

Let's go.

Okay, the first thing we're going to do pen and paper at the ready.

We are going to listen to a track and I want you to answer for me.

Why is this fusion music? Let's see what you know about fusion music already.

If you've never heard of it before, don't worry.

Just write down what you think you can hear.

We're going to through the answers together anyway.

Here we go.

♪ I'm going to ride 'til I can't no more ♪ ♪ I got the horses in the back ♪ ♪ Horse tack is attached ♪ ♪ Hat is matte black ♪ ♪ Got the boots that's ♪ Okay.

So it's only a little snippet, but you've probably heard of this song before.

It was a really famous song in America.

And then it came over here to the UK Now the reason this is a fusion piece of music is because it is a blend of fusion of two styles.

Those two styles are country and hip hop.

If you didn't get that, write that down on your piece of paper.

And here's my next question for you, in that clip what musical ideas or features could you hear that were country and which ones could you hear were hip hop? I want to see if you can name three for each.

What three musical features could you hear that were country? What three musical features could you hear that were of a hip hop style? Pause the video now and write down your answers.

Okay.

Let's go through our answers.

Three features for country.

Three features for hip hop.

And if you didn't get all of them, don't worry.

Just write them down in your notes.

Inspired by country music.

You can hear the guitar part, the vocals in the accent that the lead singer has and then there's slides in the melody line and in the vocal line.

And that's quite common in country music, kind of like a slide down from one note to the other.

♪ Oh oh I'm going to take my oh ♪ Very typical of country music.

The three for hip hop are, the baseline, the drum pattern and samples.

You can hear that the baseline and the drum beat have a really electronic sound to them, which means they were produced using music software.

That isn't very common in country music.

Also, the drum pattern that's been written is of a hip hop style.

There's also samples, short pieces of vocals or music that's taken from somewhere else and has been put into the song through production.

So there are like an echoed effect vocal noise at the start of the track.

If you've got any of those, well done.

any you missed just write them down.

Great.

Here is a formal definition for what fusion music is.

Fusion music describes what happens when musical styles are combined together to create a new musical genre.

So you get different traditions from other different cultures or different styles, and then they are brought together and they create a whole new genre.

That's why I think fusion music is really exciting.

Let's have a look at Afrobeat specifically because that's our style we're going to focus on today.

A genre which combines elements of West African music, with American funk and soul influences.

Really interesting combination.

A key musical feature of Afrobeat is the use of riffs.

Do you know what a riff is? Get ready to tell me or write it down on your piece of paper.

In five, four, three, two.

A riff is a repeated musical pattern.

Hopefully you've heard of that before.

So there are lots of riffs.

Different riffs in both West African music and American funk and soul.

And we're going to start to look at those today.

Let's do a quick recap.

Multiple choice, what is fusion music? One, when new styles copy old styles.

Two, when a band covers an old song.

Three, when a producer creates a remix of the song.

Or four, when two styles are combined together to create a new genre.

we're going to take a quick answer for this.

So right then get ready to tell the screen or write it down.

Option one, two, three, or four? in five, four, three, two, one.

Yes.

Option four.

It's when two styles are combined together to create a new genre.

If you got that, well done.

Second question.

What is Afrobeat? One, a style of music which combines hip hop and country.

Two, a style of music which combines West African music with American funk and soul.

Three, a style of music which combines reggae and dubstep.

Or four, a style of music which combines drums and vocals.

We're going to take a quick answer for this one as well.

So writing your answer down or telling the screen in three, two, one.

It's option two we're looking for.

Combines West African music and American funk and soul.

Well done.

So in our agenda, I said that we were going to be exploring a piece of music called Water No Get Enemy.

So really famous piece of Afrobeat music.

In my intro, I said that we were going to look at a very famous musician and composer.

That's him on the left hand side, his name is Fela Kuti and he has had a fascinating life.

He is a Nigerian composer and musician.

So he was brought up in Nigeria, listening to traditional West African folk music and a style called Highlife.

Highlife is African music, but they use something called Western instruments.

Western is where we are in the world.

And they use Western instruments like guitar, saxophone, trumpet, and horn instruments.

So, that's what he was brought up listening to.

He then travelled to London.

He was originally supposed to study medicine, but his passion for music was just too strong.

And he ended up going to the Trinity College of Music to study his preferred instrument, which was the saxophone.

He was also very strong trumpet player.

There he formed a band called Koola Lobitos.

After that band had done a few performances in the UK, they travelled over to America.

In fact, they went to Los Angeles.

That's the picture on the right hand side.

And here is where Fela Kuti and the band were exposed to jazz and soul.

It was really popular in America in the 1960s and before.

So we've got his West African influences from when he was growing up, he moved to London.

Then he moved to Los Angeles where he's exposed to jazz and funk and soul.

Afrobeat Is born.

It's really important that I talk about the image at the bottom.

There was a huge movement in America called the black power movement.

Fela Kuti was a political activist, which means he, as the name says actively protested and marched and spoke up for people about equality and about diversity and about racial issues.

And if you listened to quite a few of his songs, you can hear that his lyrics are very political and support of equality and diversity in society.

Really interesting.

Okay.

Pretty big task for you now.

It's a listening task.

I'm going to play a clip for you of Water No Get Enemy.

You're going to answer three questions.

One, what two genres of music can you hear? I've told you it's a fusion and we know that is when styles combine.

So what two genres of music can you hear? Two, which musical ideas can you hear? Now I've given you a starting point there, an example.

The parts you hear in the piece.

So you could name for me: Whether somebody is playing a melody part; whether somebody is playing chords; whether somebody is repeating the same thing over and over again; maybe they are high pitched; maybe they're low pitched; maybe you're going to describe musical elements, like you can hear that the piece is quick or slow; you can hear that parts are high or low.

Three, what instruments can you hear? And which style do they belong to? So I want you to have a think about, okay, so I can hear this instrument and this instrument, this instrument and I think this one belongs to that style.

And I think that one belongs to that style.

So quite a challenging listening task.

I'm sure you'll do brilliantly.

I'll play the track for you.

And then you've got to pause and take the time you need to answer those questions.

Right.

Well done.

Hopefully you've got lots of notes that you've taken after listening to that short clip of Water No Get Enemy.

My first question was what two genres of music can you hear? And the answers to that are in the top of my boxes.

The fusion is Afrobeat.

And I told you anyone in the lesson that the two styles that are combined together to make that are American funk and soul and West African music.

So hopefully you've got both of those.

Now let's have a look at number two, where we underpin the features and the key musical ideas that you can hear in each of those styles.

So, from American funk soul and some of jazz music, these are the music features you can hear in Water No Get Enemy.

There are extended chords and I will explain and go into detail around what those are about in our next Afrobeat lesson.

So look out for that.

There's a horn riff.

Okay.

So instruments that are from that are based around horns.

They play a repeated musical pattern.

There's a main melody that you can hear again, in the horn section with the trumpets and saxophones, you can hear a drum kit.

There is syncopation and there are guitars.

If you got any of those, well done.

Give your sheet of paper a tick.

Any that you missed don't worry.

You can always write them down with your notes, but paint so, but play, but pay close attention to the three in bold.

Horn riff, syncopation and guitars.

They're important because, because they are also from the West African music side of the fusion.

So from West Africa, you can hear that they use call and response.

One part of the band plays one thing.

Then the other part of the band responds.

There is a, lots of riffs and repeating musical patterns in the horn section of the band.

There were lots of repeated rhythms. Okay.

What you expect to hear from West Africans or folk music and in traditions.

And then those rhythms interlock.

Okay.

And again, that's something we're going to look at in the next lesson.

There's more syncopation and again, there's guitars.

Now, the reason that's come from West Africa as well is because in Highlife music, there was guitars as well as horn instruments in more African style, the melodies and rhythms. Well done.

That was quite a detailed stretching challenge listening task.

So you should be really proud of the work you've done with that.

Okay.

Let's have a look at where we are with our agenda for today's lesson.

We have definitely got a really clear definition in our mind of what fusion music is.

We have explored the characteristics of Afrobeat and actually we've delved even further into looking at Water No Get Enemy and the characteristics and instruments you can hear in there.

Great work so far.

Now we're going to have a look at the specific rhythmic riffs that you can hear an Afrobeat music.

And we're going to start using some of those to create our own.

Okay.

So rhythmic riffs in Afrobeat.

We have got two rhythms there for you to see, A and B.

We're going to do a little bit of call and response.

Cause that's what we heard in West African style music, just to get you used to some of these rhythms. Then we're going to have a look at the rhythm in Water No Get Enemy and then we're going to start composing our own.

So A sounds like this.

I played it through twice.

Did anybody recognise it? Hopefully you've spotted that it was our rhythm that we played in Don't clap back, no clap go back.

Don't clap back, no don't clap back.

Well done if you did.

Let's just recap that, me first.

Don't clap back, No don't clap back.

Now you, now me.

You go, great.

There's rhythm A done.

Rhythm B, again It's a little different.

It's got more rests in it that's these symbols here you can see.

I'll go first.

And then you go one, two, one, two, three, four.

I like this one.

Okay you have a go.

Me first, then you Now you.

Me, Now you, great job.

We're really starting to feel that riff that rhythmic riff in Afrobeat music now.

Musical Vocab, syncopation.

Really key word for West African, American jazz funk and soul Afrobeat altogether is syncopation.

What that means is some of the notes in that pattern fall off the beat.

Okay.

So for instance, these rests here, they cause some of the notes to fall in between the post fades.

which is syncopation.

That's why it's got that swing feel.

And rather than it should be straight it is syncopated.

You have to kind of feel it.

Okay.

What we're going to do now is look at the specific riff that's in Water No Get Enemy.

And this is really common in Afrobeat.

There are two parts.

There's a Maracas line, which is at the bottom and that's just playing on the pulse Okay start getting into modification I will use my thigh.

Claves, the line above is playing two semiquavers together in between.

so they are again off the beat syncopated in between the Maracas.

Have a go doing that with me after four one, two, three, four.

Good, well done.

Let's have a look at what we can do with these rhythmic riffs.

Now that we've had to go playing through them.

Right, we are at a creating part of the lesson where you're going to go off and compose and get ready to perform your own percussion part of an Afrobeat style.

There are four ways that you can do that.

A, B, C, or D have a quick read through and think about which one you might like to do.

Just before you go ahead and create your Afrobeat within a composition, I just want to demonstrate some of those ways that you can do that.

So the first one was through body percussion, really simple.

Think about how tapping or hitting different parts of your body creates a different sound And then take that riff and pick a different part.

So like I did the Maracas part and the Claves part.

you could do the same for Rhythm A And that's you doing some body percussion.

The other way is with household instruments.

So we are thinking about creative ways that we can create music and rhythm with things that we've just got lying around the house.

So I've gone for, and if you want to do this, when you pause the video go and grab them.

I have decided to go for a glass of water, something that shakes, and I'm going to need a pen to tap with.

Okay.

So just to make sure you can see those.

There we go.

So really simple.

I'm going to have this be my Claves because it like a higher pitch and this is going to be my Maracas.

And again, I can take any of those rhythms or, and then do some improvisation as well.

So I'll take rhythm A.

Oh that glass really rings.

we'll do that.

So, Okay so that's rhythm A and then if you feel that's very easy just start to improvise and create some of your own as long as you can repeat it and it's syncopated, it's going to sound like a really good Afrobeat riff.

Okay you can be really creative and start to come up with your own ones.

The other way is using an app.

there are so many great apps to use now.

Fantastic technology, just look it up and make sure that you get permission from your parents or carers to grab a new app on your phone.

They're really great and really easy to use.

Once you've got them on there.

I'm going to use garage band.

And the great thing is you can let me find the right part.

There were loads of options.

So there's a keyboard option there's picking different sounds.

And there's a drum option and that's the one that we're going to go for now.

So I click on the drum and it brings me up an entire kit.

Now, I'm going to try and see if I can recreate The Claves and Maracas sound.

So it sounds like Afrobeat.

So I'm going to go in and pick in electronic there's a great bank.

Yes, I knew there was a maraca sound.

So, I'm going to pick two sticks hitting together, for my Claves.

Boom not the symbol And then we're going to go for a Maracas Sounds quite realistic doesn't it? Great things with apps is that we can record our work.

So, just going to make sure my tempo isn't too quick, otherwise it can be a bit fiddly on the fingers and then I just hit record.

That's my cadence.

Okay let's hear it back.

I really like that crush symbol don't I? Right.

That fits well actually Great, and there's one little bit of change.

So as to improvise.

So, go and have a think about the different ways that you want to use to compose yours and then make sure you practise it so that you're really ready to perform.

Alright, enjoy off you go.

Okay.

We are at the final part where you've done your composing.

You've decided whether you're going to compose on a drum app or your own drum kit, or you're just going to do body percussion.

Or maybe even use of home instruments.

Now it's time to perfect it so that we are ready to perform and share our work.

Two playing options now, one is, that you could play these riffs with other people in your household.

If you've practised rhythm A, it would be great, if someone maybe could do the riff from Water No Get Enemy.

and you play those together.

The other option is that you play the riffs as a solo artist.

So perhaps, you just record yourself doing a body percussion of one of the riffs, plus some in improvisation.

Maybe you record one part on your drum app while doing body percussion over the top of it.

Be really creative and think about how you would like to share this work and perform it for an audience or for recording.

Don't forget, once you've finished.

Make sure you share it with an audience or you certainly record it and share it with your teachers.

They would love to see you exploring Afrobeat music today.

And remember, there is a quiz for you to complete.

So go ahead.

After you finish this video and take the quiz and you can show us everything that you've learned about Fela Kuti and fusion music.

Great work today and I'll see you in the next lesson.

Bye.