Making Music with Technology – BBC Bitesize

Naomi: I’m ready to play around with loops and samples. What do I need?

Mrs. Thomas: OK, let’s start by recording some samples.

Naomi: Sure. How do I do that?

Mrs. Thomas: So press and hold the red pad to record audio using your voice.

Naomi: OK. Oh. Do you like it?

Ms. Thomas: You can play the sample by holding down the pad, which has now turned blue.

Naomi: Yes. Oh, it is.

Mrs. Thomas: OK, now record some samples. Try to find sounds that fit well with the rhythm.

Naomi: Okay, I’ll try the bass drum. Do it!

Mrs. Thomas: Yes, good.

Naomi: Maybe a hi-hat.

Mrs. Thomas: Oh, yes.

Naomi: Do it, do it, do it.

Ms. Thomas: Now that we have some samples, we can loop them and layer them. Change to the sequence on top.

Naomi: Good.

Mrs. Thomas: OK. Each of the boxes at the top is a loop. And when you press record, the app will start playing the loop.

Naomi: Okay. Oh, what’s that beeping?

Mrs. Thomas: Well, the beeps are the pulse of your song. You can make it faster or slower, but let’s leave it as is.

Naomi: Good.

Ms. Thomas: Now you can tap on one of the samples you created to play a simple rhythm to that pulse. The app will record exactly what you play.

Naomi: Okay, I’ll try. Here we go. Ts, ts, ts, ts, ts, ts, ts, ts. This is what I was just playing.

Mrs. Thomas: Yes, you just created a loop. It will play over and over. The app is still recording, so you can overlay another sample on top of that loop.

Naomi: Okay. To do-to, to do-to.

Mrs. Thomas: Do you like it?

Naomi: Yeah. So it added to the weird sound I made.

Mrs. Thomas: Yes.

Naomi: Oh. This is crazy. I like this rhythm.

Mrs. Thomas: Oh, great. Stop recording for a second. And let’s add some melody.

Naomi: Okay. How do I do this?

Mrs. Thomas: Well, first record a new sample of a long note. Maybe some noise.

NAOMI HUMMS

Naomi: Here it is.

Mrs. Thomas: OK, go back to the sequence, click on the keyboard icon, and then on the sample you want to play the melody on.

Naomi: That one, my humming. Oh, right.

Mrs. Thomas: OK. Your original sample is on the key in the middle.

Naomi: Here it is.

Mrs. Thomas: See what happens when you move your finger left and right.

Naomi: Oh, the tempo changes, so when you move to the right the tempo seems faster, and when you move to the left the tempo seems slower.

Mrs. Thomas: Yes.

Naomi: Did that turn it into a musical instrument with different pitches?

Mrs. Thomas: Well, yes, exactly. Now you can use it to play a melody on the beat.

Naomi: Okay. Let’s try.

MELODY AND RHYTHMS

Naomi: Oh wow, that’s amazing. I can’t believe I just made a piece of music using just my voice and an app.

Ms. Thomas: I know, that’s the power of music technology. It’s never been easier to make your own music.

Naomi: Oh, I think this could be a future number one. I should probably work on my vocals.