Monday, February 2, 2009

How do we talk about music?

The first week of the Hip Hop Project, students learned terms we use when talking about music. They will continue to use these terms throughout the whole project, as we learn to describe what we hear and create. Below are their initial attempts at using some of the specialized vocabulary to describe a song they like.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peanut Butter and Jelly Time – Buckwheat Boys


Rhythm- The rhythm is regular and stayed the same
Tempo- The tempo is fast and the same through the song.
Pitch- The pitch is medium.
Chorus- The music crescendos in the chorus, and the chorus was catchy.
Hook- The chorus is what got stuck in your head.
Timbre- The color was energetic and it was a silly song
Backbeat- There was no definite back beat but there were some signs of it.

Chasity, Faith-Marie

Anonymous said...

NAS
Hero

Rhythm- This rhythm I noticed sounded like a backbeat. I could also hear evidence of emphasis on rhythm beat 1.

Tempo- This song has quite a quick tempo.

Accents- I hear accents on the beats 2 and 4 but it also goes into the emphasis on one

Syncopation- This Song has Syncopation

Dynamics- This song halts the beat during the chorus.

Pitch- The pitch stays the same most of the song but gets lower during the chorus.

Timbre- The chorus is soft but when it gets to the verses I would say it’s a little more rough.

Backbeat- The song has some backbeat the rhythm is normal

Chorus- The Chorus is rapped by the artist with a female backup singer. It is about him in general and what he does makes him a hero.

Verse- The verses lyrics describe ways in which he is a hero

Hook- The hook starts out at the beginning and is a techno style mix


-Johhnny And Scott

Anonymous said...

Hard To Be Hip Hop by Classified

This song has a fast tempo that continues through the whole song. The rhythm stays the same through the whole song but there is different scratching in the song. At the beginning of the song there is an intro of his other songs, then he gets to the rhythm which is the beat. The hook is catchy and makes you want to bob your head. His voice is low so the pitch is low. The piano is soft and the beat quiets down and the piano gets louder when it comes in.

Elyjah

Anonymous said...

2pac- Dear Mama

Rhythm- light laid back beat
Tempo- this is a slow song
Pitch-In between low and high but more close to a low tone of his voice.
Genre- Rap/Hip Hop
Dynamics- it decrescendos in the chorus.


Notorious B.I.G- Juicy

Rhythm- soft beat makes you want to bob your head
Hook- If ya don’t know, now ya know nigga
Tempo- More fast then slow.
Dynamics- loud through the whole song doesn’t change.
Pitch- in between high and low.


Lacey & Jordon Cyre

Anonymous said...

Nas ft. Keri Hilson - Hero
Rhythm- The rhythm takes off a little after the main beat starts. And the main beat is sick too.
Tempo- The tempo starts off fast and slows down then speeds up right before the chorus.
Accents- I don’t know where the accent is in this song.
Dynamics- the song is soft till it gets to the verse then nas makes the verse sound hard when he kicks the beat in.
Tempo- this song has quite a quick tempo.

Timbre- His voice is raspy.
Hook- the hook is a good verse and I think it’s kind of catchy.

Scotty Bear

Anonymous said...

Classified- Hard to be Hip Hop

The tempo is fast through out the song. One pitch is low the other voice is higher. The timbre is smooth and quick. The emphasis is only on the first beat. This song has a catchy hook. And the genre is rap/hip hop. The rhythm stays the same through out the whole song except for the turntable at the intro. The outro keeps the similar rhythm until the sound fades away.

Mike

www.interactivemediaandperformance.com said...

Wow. I'm impressed!

Here are some questions back:

Chastity and Faith-Marie, what about the chorus was catchy? What is the hook? Is it a lyric or is it in the music itself?

Scott and John, you've noted that there is an emphasis on the 2 and 4 of the bar, which is the backbeat. Nice. Can you describe what you mean by a "techno style mix"?

Elyjah, I like your attention to the dynamics. Why effects are achieved by the dynamic changes? How does it change the 'feel' of the song?

Lacey and Jordan, what led you to choose these two tracks? Did you compare the 'feel' of the two? How is the 'groove' the same or different?

Scotty, yes, the main beat is sick! But what makes it sick? How else can you describe the beat?

Mike, why do you think the turntable is used in the intro? What does it do to set up the track?

See you tomorrow!
Charity

Anonymous said...

Lacey and Jordan, what led you to choose these two tracks? Did you compare the 'feel' of the two? How is the 'groove' the same or different?

The reason we picked these two songs is because they are old school songs that are very good. I love the beats just because they are light rap and the hook is pretty good and the lyrics are kind of touching cause they talk about life and their feelings. The groove was really good - I find these two songs relaxing for me, just cause they're not hard core rap.

Lacey Cyre

Anonymous said...

Chasity and Faith-Marie, what about the chorus was catchy? What is the hook? Is it a lyric or is it in the music itself?

The chorus was catchy because it was loud and was one of the main things you would here. Also it keeps repeating itself. Also the hook is "the way at." It's both the lyric and the music that are catchy. But the song is awesome because I'm awesome and I love this song. Hahaha. See you next class.

Anonymous said...

What about the chorus was catchy? What is the hook? Is it a lyric or is it in the music itself?

The chorus was the hook and the hook was the chrorus - haha. It's so catchy because the song as a whole is so repetative and the music is childish and.... I can't describe it other than it's stupid but I love it... I don't know.

Anonymous said...

Mike, why do you think the turntable is used in the intro? What does it do to set up the track?

The sound of the turntable is more noticable in the intro and outtro. It is used because it is catchy. It may be used throughout the whole song but I didn't notice.

Mike.Polsom

Anonymous said...

John, you've noted that there is an emphasis on the 2 and 4 of the bar, which is the backbeat. Nice. Can you describe what you mean by a "techno style mix"?


The hook sounds like something in a techno song. It had an electric style. So I called it techno style mix.