Lesson 5.02: EarSketch Music

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to...

• Define and identify: rhythm, beat, tempo, measures, setEffect(), makeBeat()
• Playing beats using the functions
• Loop through items in a list
• Be aware of the scope of variables during iteration

Materials/Preparation

• Do Now
• Lab
• Associated Reading in EarSketch
• Read through the Do Now, lesson, and lab so that you are familiar with the requirements and can assist students

Pacing Guide

Instructor's Notes

1. Do Now
   • Display the Do Now on the board
2. Lesson
   • Ask what phrases the students wrote down or remembered from the reading.
     • rhythm of a song, we are describing how the music moves through time.
     • A beat is the basic unit of time in music. If you have ever clapped along to a song, you were probably clapping on each beat. So how long does a beat last? The length depends on the overall speed of the song, called the tempo. Tempo is measured in beats per minute (bpm). If we are clapping at 60 bpm, then each beat lasts one second. At 120 bpm, each beat takes half a second. The higher the bpm, the faster the song, the shorter the duration of each beat.
     • Beats are grouped into measures. In EarSketch, measures always have four beats.
     • setEffect(): add an effect to a track. Takes parameters: track number, effect name, effect parameter, effect value
     • makeBeat(): instead of composing at the measure-level, we can work at the note-level. Takes parameters: clip name, track number, measure number, beat string
3. Lab
   • Follow the ear sketch instructions below makeBeat()
   • Create a simple song with 2 uses of fitMedia, 2 uses of makeBeat and 1 use of effect.
   • Students can use looping and if statements if they would like
4. Debrief
   • Talk about new functions, questions about data types and using strings.