Arranging reggaeton

Hello, and welcome to the fourth and final lesson of our unit, "Reggaeton: from Puerto Rico to Global Phenomenon." My name is Mr. Norris, and this lesson is entitled "Arranging Reggaeton." I know we're gonna have a really successful lesson today. I'm gonna guide you through all our new learning, so let's get to it. The outcome of today's lesson is that I have arranged my reggaeton piece using repetition, contrast, and buildups, and we're gonna be building on the foundation that we've already got with our composition, adding in some new ideas, exploring some new concepts to create a really effective piece of reggaeton. Our key words for today, the first is musical contrast. When there are differences between sections, we describe this as musical contrast. Low-pass filter is our second keyword, and this is an effect that removes higher pitched frequencies from a sound. The third key word is filter sweep. When we gradually remove high or low frequencies to create a buildup, this is called a filter sweep. And finally, buildup, which is a gradual increase in aspects of the music. This could be dynamics, pitch, texture, or other things that creates an increase in energy. So, we're gonna be looking at these concepts throughout the lesson, and by the end of the lesson, we should have a really good grasp of what they mean. The first part of our lesson we're gonna look at is repetition and contrast. Just like other styles of dance music, reggaeton uses lots of repetition. For the music to stay interesting then, artists need to create some variety while still repeating the same musical ideas. In this example we're gonna listen to in a sec, the hook, baseline, and drumbeat don't change. Can you hear what happens to create variety in this clip? So, pause my video, have a listen, and what does happen that creates variety. Let's have a look then. So, in each section, the same ideas are repeated, but contrast is created. In this clip we listened to, in the first section, the backing instruments are quieter, so dynamics are different and it builds up. In the second section, there are some pauses and some different lyrics and different vocals. And then in the third section, the bass groove, some additional percussion and drum rolls are added as well. Pause my video and just listen to each of those three clips to really understand how the contrast is created in that section of the song. So, hopefully you can hear there that the artist is creating an interesting structure by making small changes to the texture and to the parts, so the contrast and the variety is coming through those rather than adding new musical ideas. So we're gonna watch a few videos now, and these show us how we can create repetition and contrast in our reggaeton compositions. The first one looks at building up the texture, then we're gonna look at creating breaks, and then finally, the third video is gonna look at completing the arrangement. So, I'll play these for you now. Now I'm ready to arrange my reggaeton project to create some repetition and contrast. At the moment, all of my tracks are playing from bar 1 until the end of bar 16. As such, we've got a thick texture all the way from the start to the finish and nothing changes. As we've looked at, reggaeton producers create variety by having some sections of thin texture, some sections of thick texture, and by creating breaks so that there's some variety while still repeating the same Nordic ideas. So, I'm gonna start off by thinking about, how can I start this off? And I'm gonna start off with a thinner texture and gradually build it up. This is my hook, and I'm gonna be wanting to use this quite a lot, so I think I'll start with that, but I might move my baseline to start a little bit later for now. I'll move the other tracks outta the way, and I'll maybe think of a couple of tracks that I could also start with my hook so that it's not just a hook on its own, so maybe I'll start with some parts of my dembow beat, say maybe these three, and let's see how that would sound like at the start. (gentle upbeat music) So, it's quite a thin texture. You can feel like it could build up from here. (gentle upbeat music) Now, when we're doing this, we want to be operating in blocks of either four or eight bars, so I probably don't want to introduce a new idea in bar two or in bar four. I would want to introduce it at the start of a new section of 4 bars, so that'd be the start of bar 5, or the start of bar 9, or the start of bar 13. And that way, it will sound logical when the new parts join in. So, I'm gonna have a think about what I could add in at bar five to start thickening the texture. Maybe I'll try this one, which is another part of my drum kit, and I could add in my drum rolls as well, that's this track here. So, let's go from bar three and hear the change at bar five. (light upbeat music) So, very thin texture. Now it's gonna start building up a little bit. (light upbeat music) One really effective tool that works is to create a break at the end of an eight-bar phrase, and that's a gap where the texture suddenly goes thin in the eighth bar, and then comes back really thick the following bar. So, what I'm actually gonna do is I'm gonna strip these back to finish at the end of bar seven. And I'm gonna have bar eight just being my hook playing on its own, so we've got this break in this bar here where all that's playing is the hook. And then come bar nine, 'cause that's the start of my new eight-bar phrase, I'm gonna come back in with a bang, and I'll maybe have most of my tracks playing at bar nine to create a really thick texture so we've got a nice bit of contrast going on here, so maybe we'll have all these ones joining back in. Maybe I'll keep my drum rolls to join at bar 13, 4 bars later. I've got my Timbales now joining in, and importantly, I've got my baseline joining in. So, let's have a listen from the start. Listen out for this one-bar break here where there's just the hook playing in bar eight, and then the big thick texture coming in at bar nine, let's have a listen. (light upbeat music) So, it gets a little bit thicker here. (light upbeat music) And then this bar break here. (light upbeat music) And then we've got a nice thick texture. (light upbeat music) I've got my drum rolls join in in four bars later. (light upbeat music) I could even do the same here, so this is the end of my second set of eight bars. So, bar 16, I could do another break there. Maybe I'll do it slightly differently this time. Let's maybe keep, for example, I could keep my drum roll playing in that bar, and I could maybe keep my Timbales, my hook, and my baseline. So, it's a break of sorts where I've got just these parts playing. Maybe I'll keep this part of my drum kit as well, but it's a thinner texture, just 'cause I've taken these out for a bar. Then I can bring these back in a bar later. So, let's have a listen to that now. So we've got thick texture at bar 9, a little bit thicker at 13 when the drum rolls join in. Then this break at bar 16 where quite a lot the drum kit drops out, and then thick texture again at bar 17. Let's go from bar 13 so you can hear. (light upbeat music) So, really thick texture, everything playing at the moment. (light upbeat music) And then a break. (light upbeat music) And then everything back in again. (light upbeat music) So, we're creating that contrast, but still repeating our ideas. And I can think about what I wanna do at the end, I think I'd like to end with a slightly thinner texture, so maybe I'll take out some parts of my dembow beat after four bars. Remember, always doing in blocks of four or blocks of eight. Maybe I'll take out these ones for the last four bars as well. I could have one bar at the end when it's just my hook on its own, so I'll stop these a bar early. So, I've just got that bar at the end where it's just the hook. Let's listen to that last section then, so the last set of eight bars. (light upbeat music) So, thin texture now. (light upbeat music) And then coming up to one bar to end with just the hook. (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music stops) So, I am gonna leave it there for now. A few things to make sure when you're doing this. First of all, make sure that you've got some sections of thin texture and thick texture. I can see I've got thin texture in this first bit, a thinner texture at the end, and I've got a very thin texture in this bar here, bar 8, and quite thin texture where have this break in bar 16. Make sure that the big changes that you're doing are in blocks of four or eight bars, so if you bring in a new part in, bring it in after four bars. So, for example, at bar 5 or bar 9, or bar 13 or bar 17, or after 8 bars. So, at start of bar 9 or bar 17. Make sure that when you're copying and pasting and moving bars around, sorry, regions around, that you make sure you start them at the start of a bar so they don't start halfway through a bar like this one, you make sure they start on the bar line, and that way, everything will fit together. And then also experiment with using these breaks, so this, at the end of an eight-bar section where you have a really thin texture, maybe where you strip down to just one part, and then everything comes back in the next bar for the start of the new eight-bar section. Okay, give it a shot and see how you go arranging your reggaeton project. Summarise these steps then. If you're making changes, do it in blocks of four or eight bars. Adding breaks should happen at the end of an 8-bar phrase, so, for example, in bar 8 or bar 16. When you're copying and moving parts, check that they start at the start of the bar. And try and include some sections of both thick and thin texture. For example, you could build up the texture to start, and then thin it out towards the end so there's some variety in it. Let's check your understanding. When we're making changes, we make them in blocks of, is it 1 or 2 bars, 4 or 8 bars, or 10 or 14 bars? I'll give you a few seconds to come up with the answer. The correct answer is four or eight bars, so make sure we're operating in chunks of four and chunks of eight bars. True or false, break in the music is created by all parts stopping for a bar? I'd like to explain why as well, so why is that true or why is that false? You can quickly pause my video and come up with an answer. Okay, so the answer is false. A break in the music is not created by all parts stopping for a bar, and that's because it could involve a few parts stopping for a bar and having a few parts remaining, so it doesn't have to operate on all parts. Which two of these are simple, effective ways to create contrast in an arrangement? Creating a new chord sequence, removing the drums for a section, adding four bars of silence, or adding in or removing the baseline? So choose two, and I'll give you a few seconds to do that. So, the two most effective and simple ways to create contrast are removing the drums for a section, or adding in or removing the baseline. Creating a new chord sequence is not a simple task, and adding four bars of silence would be a little bit strange in an arrangement where there'd be nothing going on with four bars. So, for task eight, you're gonna be arranging your regulatory project using repetition and contrast. Some success criteria are that the main changes occur in blocks of four or eight bars, there's variety in the texture, so you've got some thick and some thin textures, you use a break at the end of an eight-bar section, and all regions begin at the start of a bar. So, you can pause my video now and have a go at arranging your reggaeton project. For the second part of task A, we're gonna have a look at this image of an arrangement. You can pause my video, and I'd like to know what could this composer do to improve their arrangement? So, have a look at that image and come up with a couple things they could do to improve their arrangement. Let's look at some answers there. So, one thing they could do is to have more variety in the texture. At the moment it's either very thick or it's very thin and there's no middle ground. Another thing they need to do is ensure that sections are four or eight bars long. At the moment, our first section is six bars, the second one is seven bars, and then the third one is five bars, so none of those are four or eight bars long, and then the third thing they could do is consider building in a break at the end of an eight-bar section. So, well done if you picked up on any of those. Let's move on to the second part of our lesson now, which is focused on creating buildups. The buildup is when different parts of the music increase in energy. Can you think of any ways that we might do this in a piece of music? Just pause my video and have a think for a few seconds. So, there are lots of different ways we can create a buildup, but two particularly common ways are to increase the dynamics or to thicken the texture. And we come across that in lots of different styles, including pop styles, as well as classical jazz and many other styles. However, one technique that's often used in electronic styles, including reggaeton, is the use of what's called a low-pass filter, and this is an EQ effect that removes higher pitched frequencies from a sound. We're gonna have a listen to it, and I'd like to know, how could you describe the effect that this has? Here's our sound normally. (light upbeat music) And now we're gonna hear that same sound with a low-pass filter. So, how would you describe the effect this has? (muffled light upbeat music) (muffled light upbeat music ends) So, you might describe a low-pass filter as sounding like being underwater. When we are underwater, our ears can't hear high-frequency sounds, so this actually has a similar effect to what we're doing when we create a low-pass filter. By using the filter, which cuts out the high-pitch frequencies, then gradually removing it, we can create a powerful buildup. Now, this is called a filter sweep, where we apply a filter gradually. Have a listen to these two examples, you need to pause my video to do so, and see if you can pick out the filter sweep, so listen for that underwater effect gradually appearing or disappearing. You can pause my video and have a listen to those two clips. So, hopefully I identified that this is quite a powerful effect, a really effective way of creating a buildup and creating some contrast. And now we're gonna look at how you can use this in your arrangements, so we're gonna watch a few videos. First one shows us how to create a low-pass filter. Then we look at creating a filter sweep, and then we look at how you're gonna use low-pass filter sweeps in your arrangement. So, I'll play these videos for you now. Let's have a look at adding a low-pass filter to remove the high frequencies from some of our sounds. Whichever software you're doing, the first thing you need to find in order to add lower-pass filter is you need to find the EQ, that's the equaliser for a given track. In GarageBand, we do that by opening up the smart controls, and selecting the EQ tab, and that will bring up this graphic equaliser that we've used before in a previous unit. If you're using different software, you'll just need to find the EQ on that software and find the page where you're able to adjust the EQ for a given track. Now, a low-pass filter is a filter that only allows through low-pitch frequencies. So, another way of thinking of it is that it cuts out all the high frequencies. When we're trying to put in place a low-pass filter then on GarageBand in EQ, we're gonna be selecting this very right-hand option and we're gonna be moving it so that it cuts out some of our higher frequencies. Our higher frequencies are up at this end of the screen here, and this is reducing the volume of all of those. So from that frequency there, there will be no sound getting through at all, whereas below here, all the sound will be as normal. If I was to bring it all the way down, that would cut out almost all of the sound, but I don't want to do that. I just want to cut out the high frequencies, so I'm gonna do something like that where the highest frequencies are covered and the rest are still sort of transparent as they were before. Let's have a listen to what that sounds like. First of all, normally, and then with the lower-pass filter on. So, this is it normally. (light upbeat music) This is my hook. (light upbeat music) If I add that low-pass filter. (light upbeat music) You can hear it's cut out some of the higher frequencies. (light upbeat music) And it has that sort of underwater effect, or like it's coming through a wall. (light upbeat music) If I remove it, it's back to that really crisp, clear sound with the high pitches coming through. So, you can hear the effect it has there. I'm gonna put it around about there to carry out the high frequencies, and that's mean I put a low-pass filter on this particular track with my hook. Now we're gonna look at adding a low-pass filter sweep, and this is where we have a low-pass filter put on a sound and it's gradually removed, which creates this really effective buildup effect that you often hear in electronic dance music, quite a lot of pop styles, and reggaeton. On the other doors, it's a similar process as to what I'm doing here. So you've already set up your low-pass filter using EQ, and then we're gonna use automation to add the sweep. So, I'll show you how we do that now. We need to open up the automation for our track. So, often there will be a button here, but if not, you can just press A, and that will open up this. We've used this before for putting automation on the dynamics where we wanna change the volume of a track gradually, and we do the same here. So, before we do anything, we need to select the right option for our automation. Now it will automatically be, as you can see on the other tracks here on volume, which means if I add some automation here, all that's doing is changing the volume, but that's not what we want. What we want is we want to automate this EQ, automate this low-pass filter. So instead, in the dropdown menu, we're gonna go to channel EQ. And the one we actually want, on GarageBand, it's not called a low-pass filter, it's called a high cut. As we said, a high cut cuts out the high frequencies, a low pass lets through the low frequency, so it's the same thing. And we're gonna select high-cut frequency. Now what I can do is if I draw sort of uphill slope. What we will gradually see happen between bar one and bar five is that low-pass filter is gradually gonna be removed and we'll have this really brilliant buildup effect over those four bars. Just have a listen. (light upbeat music) So, you can see how it's gone from very sort of muted, all the high frequencies really cut out at the start there, to, by bar five, back to normal really. What I'm gonna quickly do is I'm gonna put this in place in a few of my different tracks, and then I'll show you again when that's done and see what it looks like with more than one track at the same time. What I've now done is I've gone into each track and added a low-pass filter in the same way, by selecting EQ and by dragging this right-hand option so that it cuts out all the high-cut or all the high frequencies. Then what I've done is I've selected channel EQ, high-cut frequency in each track, and then added that uphill slope in the automation to add a low-pass filler sweep. So now, between bar 17 and bar 25, we will have a low-pass filter sweep on all the tracks, and I'd like you now to hear what that sounds like. Listen for how the sound changes between bar 17 and bar 25, let's have a listen. (light upbeat music) So you can hear that over that period, over those eight bars, we've got this brilliant low-pass filter sweep that creates even more variety and contrast, meaning that although just repeating the same ideas, it sounds interesting, it sounds like it's going somewhere and building up as well, and this is a really common technique in reggaeton, as well as in other styles, as we've talked about. So, you can have a go at doing the same. First of all, remember to go into EQ, put the low-pass filter sweep in by cutting out the high frequencies. Then, open automation. Select the high-cut frequency, and then choose a section where you want to pass, create a low-pass filter sweep and draw that uphill line that will gradually add in that low-pass filter sweep. Let's go through those steps then. So, firstly, open up equaliser for a track, and add a low-pass filter to cut out the high frequencies. Then you're gonna create a low-pass filter sweep by opening up automation for that track and selecting channel EQ high-cut frequency. Repeat that for every track, and then you're gonna draw that uphill line across a section of your song in all tracks to create a low-pass filter sweep. So you follow those steps, and you'll be able to create a really effective filter sweep in your arrangement. So, let's just check your understanding before we do that. Firstly, which frequencies does a low-pass filter cut out? Is it high frequencies? That's high-pitched sounds. Low frequencies, that's low-pitched sounds, or mid-frequency, so medium-pitched sounds? I'll give you a few seconds to work that one out. The correct answer then is a low-pass filter cuts out high frequencies. Called a low pass because it lets the low frequencies pass, and it cuts out the high frequencies. Which of these images shows a low-pass filter? So, have a look and see if you can work it out. So the correct answer then is the first image, because we can see there that the EQ is being adjusted to cut out the higher frequencies and to allow the lower frequencies to pass. And finally, put these in the correct order for the process of creating a low-pass filter sweep. So, five steps there, selecting automation and channel EQ, selecting high-cut frequency, selecting the EQ, creating an uphill line in the automation of each track, and then adding the low-pass filter sweep by cutting out the high frequencies. So, one, two, three, four, five, you'll need to pause my video, what's the order of steps in order to do this? So, the correct order then is firstly we select EQ, then we add the low-pass filter sweep by cutting out the high frequencies, then we select automation and channel EQ, select high-cut frequency, and then we draw that uphill line in the automation of each track. So, well done if you've got that order correct. It's time now then to add a low-pass filter sweep to create a buildup in your arrangement. Success criteria is that you've added a low-pass filter at the start of a four or eight-bar section, and then you have gradually removed it using uphill automation on the high-cut frequency parameter. So, you can pause on my video and give it your best shot. Okay, let's move on to our final question. So, we're gonna watch here a video of a low-pass filter sweep, and I'd like to know, how could this be made more effective? So I'll play this for you now, and you're gonna think, how could this be made more effective? (light upbeat music) Pause my video and think of a couple of ways that could be made more effective. Here are a few ways that this could be made more effective then. Firstly, it could cut out more frequencies. At the moment, it only cuts out the very highest frequencies, so we can't hear that much change in the sound. Filter sweep works, and a low-pass filter works only really if you cut out quite a lot of the sound so you can really hear the difference. We can also make it more effective by changing the length of it. At the moment, the low-pass filter sweep only lasts for two bars, it'll be more effective if it lasts for a whole four-bar or eight-bar section. And finally, it needs to have a steeper hill in the sense that the automation needs to be more dramatic so that the change is really obvious and really grabs your attention as the listener. So, well done if you picked up on any of them. So, let's summarise the lesson then. Reggaeton uses extensive repetition of musical ideas, but it maintains interest by creating musical contrast. This includes varied texture, dynamics, instrumentation, and other things. Composers build energy through the use of buildups, and one technique we can use to create a buildup is a low-pass filter sweep, which is what we've added into our composition at the end there. So, that's the end of our lesson, and it's also the end of this reggaeton unit. I hope you've learned a lot and feel like you've had a really good opportunity to explore a new style of music, and hopefully you've got a really interesting composition out of it as well. You'll be able to take lots of the tools that you've learned from composing and apply in other styles as well, and hopefully you've been inspired to broaden your horizons, listen to different styles of music from different parts of the world as well. My name's been Mr. Norris. Thank you very much for being with me, and I'll hopefully see you in another unit sometime soon.