Composing bhangra

Hello and welcome to the Musical fusion and bhangra unit. My name is Mr. Norris, and this lesson is entitled "Composing bhangra." Today, I'm gonna be taking you through as we have a look at some other features of bhangra that we've not really explored yet and build on some of the composition tasks we've already been doing to try and complete that image of what it is that is the essence of bhangra. So let's get straight to it. Our outcome today is that I can create a simple bhangra composition and can explain some of the ways that bhangra uses music technology. Some keywords. Our first is sampling, and this is the use of clips of pre-existing sound or music. Our second is synthesiser, which is an electronic instrument that can create a wide variety of different timbres. And finally, chord sequence. And this is a pattern of chords usually lasting for four or eight bars. So let's get into the lesson. First part of our lesson today is entitled Developing a simple bhangra composition. We're going to use our chaal and tumbi riff as the basis of a short bhangra composition by adding a chord sequence and a bass line. So, so far we've got our chaal, which is those rhythms played on the dhol, and then our tumbi riff as well. And to complete the picture, we're gonna add in these two other elements. Many bhangra songs use simple Western pop-style chord sequences with simple bass lines. I'd like you to pause my video and have a listen to this clip. And I'd like you to pick out how many chords are used in this chord sequence? And what is the bass line doing in relation to that chord sequence? So pause my video and have a listen. Let's have a look then. So in this example, there are four chords and the bass plays the root notes of the chord. Sometimes, they're playing long, sustained notes, and on other notes, they're playing slightly more interesting complex rhythms. But the key here is they're playing the root notes and that the chord sequence only uses four chords. So it's not excessively complex, it's quite a simple chord sequence, and it repeats over and over. Have a listen to this one now. Describe the bass line in this clip. And I'd like you also to think about how many different notes the bass line uses. So pause my video and have a listen. Well done then if you noticed that there are two chords, so the bass line uses two different notes, and it's playing the root note of each chord, just like in the first clip. On each note, it plays a repeated rhythm. So rather than sustaining the notes, playing long-held notes, it's playing a repeated rhythm that gives it some real energy and drive. We're now gonna watch a video that talks us through the process of adding a chord sequence into our bhangra composition. Here we go. We're now gonna add a simple chord sequence to our bhangra composition. So far, I've got the chaal recorded in using a percussion instrument and then I've got a riff in the style of the tumbi recorded in as well. Now we're gonna add some chords that fit with those and this is where that element of fusion comes in because this is where we start fusing Western pop-style features, like simple four-bar chord sequences, with those Punjabi features that we've so far been looking at. So the first thing I'm gonna do is choose an instrument to use my chords. There's no strict rule about what we should use for this. Just find something that you think works with the sounds you've got and creates an interesting fusion of sort of Western and Punjabi sounds. The next thing I'm gonna do is I'm gonna have a look at the notes that I've used for my riff. So our tumbi riff is based around one note mostly, and in my case, that is the note B. So that's the important thing to know because my chords are gonna take that into account. Now the first thing I want to do is because my main note in my riff is B, I want to find a chord, a triad chord with three notes in it that includes B as probably my first chord to use. So my options would be, I could use a G chord. (G chord ringing) That's got a B in the middle there. Or I could use an E minor chord. (E minor chord ringing) That has a B at the top there. I think that's the one I'm gonna use to start with. And then what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna put my track on loop, my project on loop, I'm gonna play it, and I'm just gonna experiment moving between different chords and coming back to that E minor chord to create either a two-bar or a four-bar sequence. So I'm gonna look for different combinations of chords and see what works. So let's put it on. I'm gonna start on E minor. (E minor chord ringing) And then I'm gonna try moving to different chords and see if I can come up with a pattern that I like. Here we go. (bhangra music) So starting on E minor. (ascending bhangra music) (bhangra music continues) So there were a few different sequences I came up with there. I think the one that I quite liked was this ascending sequence where I go up in, up through different chords. So starting on E minor. (E minor chord ringing) And then I moved up. That's F. Then I went to G, then I went to A minor. I think that fits quite well with what I've got so far. So now, I'm gonna have a go at recording it in and then we'll move on to looking at a bass line. (timer beeping) (bhangra music) Now let's see how we go about adding a simple bass line. Now we're gonna add in a simple bass line based on those chords. So I know that the chords I used were E minor. (E minor chord ringing) Then F. (F chord ringing) Then G. (G chord ringing) Then A minor. (A minor chord ringing) So I know the root note of each chord. The first one would be E. It's that note there. Second one would be F. That's my F chord. Then G. Then A, so I'm taking the bottom note of each of those chords and those are my four root notes, E, F, G, and A. And most of the time we build our bass lines based on root notes. So I've chosen a bass instrument that I think works with the other ones. And I'm just gonna make up a pattern based on (rolling bassy music) those notes, so E, F, G, and A. And I'm gonna make sure I'm changing notes at the same time that my chords change, but I might try and add some more interesting rhythms in to the bass to make it a bit more interesting. So let's have a little go. (bhangra music) (bhangra music continues) So I've got a rhythm I like. It copies a little bit of that triplet rhythm that we've got in the tumbi and chaal, so it sort of fits in with those as well. Let's record it in. (timer beeping) (bhangra music) If I'm quantizing any of these, I'm gonna want to quantize to eighth-note triplets. (musical notes rumbling) So if I'm doing that, I'm gonna set one-eighth triplet. Let's have a listen. (bhangra music) So, E, then F. Then G. Then A. Summarise those steps then. Firstly, find a triad chord that includes the main riff note as a starting point. So think about which note you used in your tumbi riff and find a chord that includes that note to begin your chord sequence. Then you're gonna work out a two or four-bar repeated chord pattern, record it in, and then finally, add a bass part using just the root notes of those chords. Let's check your understanding then. Which two of these are most appropriate for a bhangra composition? Chord sequence that uses extended chords. One that uses simple triad chords. One that uses a few different chords. Or one that uses many different chords. So I'll give you a few seconds to work out which two would be most appropriate for bhangra. And the two best answers here would be simple triad chords and only a few different chords. You don't want to be using very complex extended chords for this. That's not really typical, and we only want to use a few. We don't want to overcomplicate things by using lots of different chords. So well done if you selected B and C. Now it's your turn to create a simple bhangra composition. You're gonna do this on a DAW or on notation software if you prefer. If you're doing it on a DAW, you should already have your chaal and tumbi tracks in there. The composition should include chaal, on a dhol if possible, or a similar high and low-pitched drum. So something that sounds as similar to a dhol as you can. The riff on a tumbi if possible, or a clean electric guitar. And then we're adding in a two or four-bar chord sequence using simple triad chords and a bass line based on the root notes of those chords. So you can pause my video now and have a go at putting together a short composition. For the second part of this task, we're gonna have a listen to this bhangra composition that a pupil has put together. What can be improved about it at this stage? Let's have a listen. (bhangra music) Just pause my video while you come up with your answer. So the main thing I'd say here is that the chord sequence and the bass line can be more interesting. At the moment, there's only one chord, but ideally, you want a simple chord sequence based on two, three or four chords to create a simple but interesting chord sequence. At the moment, we've just got one repeated chord, so it doesn't really feel like it goes anywhere harmonically. So well done if you identified that there. Let's move on now to the second part of our lesson. And for this, we're focusing on technology in bhangra. Music technology has heavily influenced modern bhangra, just as it has influenced many Western styles. You're gonna have a listen to this clip. What music technology can you hear that's used in this example? So pause my video and have a listen. Well done if you picked up on any of the following points. There were synthesisers, including a drum machine. That's obviously a type of synthesiser. There were samples. And there were electronic sound effects. So there's a few really key examples of the use of music technology in that clip. Sampling is one of the most common uses of music technology in bhangra. This is when artists use a clip of sound or music that already exists and add it to their music. So this could be, for example, borrowing something from another piece of music, or it could be borrowing some sounds from something else. It doesn't necessarily have to be borrowed from music. We've got two clips here. The first one is of an '80s American TV theme. The second is of a bhangra song. And the bhangra song has sampled some elements of the TV theme. So what I'd like you to do is pause my video, listen to the first clip first, that's our TV theme, and then listen to the bhangra song and see if you can identify which aspects of it have been sampled. What aspects of the music has the bhangra song borrowed and used in itself? You can pause my video now and have a listen to that. See what you come up with. So if you managed to identify that the bhangra song samples, the bass line and the synth riff, that's a brilliant effort there. Really well done for being able to pick those out. And this is quite prominent in bhangra that we'll see examples of sampling of different songs, forming the basis of a bhangra song. We're gonna have look at another example now. So in this one, there's a classic hip-hop song and the bhangra song that sampled it. What features have been sampled from the hip-hop song? You can pause my video and have a listen. And again, well done then if you identified that the bass line and the drum groove have been sampled. The bass line is more obvious towards the end of the bhangra clip. So if you didn't pick up on that one, feel free to go back and listen towards the end of the clip. Try and pick out the bass line there. But those two key elements of the hip-hop song have been sampled and form the basis of this bhangra song. Many bhangra artists use electronic effects in their music as well. This could include echo, filters, risers, sound effects, as well as sampling. There's two clips here I'd like you to listen to. See if you can pick out which electronic effects have been used in these two songs. You can pause my video. Have a listen. Let's review that then. So the first clip, there was a riser. Remember that's that rising effect that feels like it's building. It's really common in electronic dance music and quite a lot of Western pop songs as well. And then the second clip uses sound effects, including the sampled shouts of "hoi," and a riser as well. So there's a few different things going on in those two clips. Let's check your understanding. Which of these is not a common effect used in bhangra? Echo, risers, filters, or distortion. I'll give you a few seconds to get your correct answer. And the best answer here then would be distortion. That's much more typical of rock where we'll have distorted sounds on guitars, but it's not so common in bhangra, whereas echo, risers, and filters are all commonly used in bhangra. We're going to watch three videos now. And these show us how to use risers, echo, and filters in a bhangra composition. We'll start off by looking at how we add risers. This can be a really useful tool for creating a build-up effect in a composition. I'm gonna show you how we can use this in our short bhangra composition. So far, I've got my tumbi riff. Chaal. I have my chord sequence. And then I also have here my bass line. And I've arranged them in such a way that they gradually build up, so they're not all playing at the start. Let's have a quick listen. (tumbi music) You start with a tumbi riff. Then I bring in chaal. (tumbi and chaal music) Then after four more bars, I bring in my bass line. (tumbi, chaal, and bass music) And then I bring in my chords. (tumbi, chaal, bass, and chords music) So you can see they gradually build up. Now risers are most useful in build-ups to create a little sense of extra energy and excitement. And you hear this in a lot of Western pop music. They work best at the end of eight-bar sections or 16-bar sections. So if I have a look here, I could put a riser in here at the end of this first eight-bar section at bar nine. Or I could do one at the end of this next one at bar 17. And I think this is the best place to do one because this is where, finally, my final track joins in. So this is where it's built up to this big moment. So I'm gonna put a riser in here. I could do one here or I could do one here. But they work best where you're creating a build-up, so where you're adding things in. So I'm gonna put mine in here. To create a riser, I'm gonna add a new track. And I'm just gonna search the word riser and see what comes up. Depending on which software you're using, you'll have different options come up. I'm gonna use this one. And to play a riser, all you do is hold a note on the keyboard. (riser echoing) And as long as you hold it, it will create that sound. So I'm gonna record it in so that it finishes off the build-up, just here, before bar 17 and it'll finish up bar 17. Here we go. (bhangra music) So, if you're using a riser, you want to find the end of an eight-bar section and you want to use it in a build-up, so when you're adding parts in and building the energy and excitement. Next, let's have a look at how we use echo in our bhangra composition. Effects can be a really interesting way of creating a little bit of contrast and creating some different sections in your composition. I've decided that I want to use some echo in this section from bar 33 to 41 in my composition. And I'm gonna be putting it on my tumbi riff. That's what I'm gonna use the echo sound on. In order for this to work, I've had to create an identical track to my original tumbi. And I'm then gonna copy my riff into this new track because it's just gonna be this track that uses the echo and I don't want it along the whole original track. So I just want it in this section on this new track. If I open up the track. And I open up the track controls, instrument controls, I'll then be able to find the option for adding echo. Now depending on which software you're using, it will be in different places. You'll see if you're on GarageBand here, it's underneath Delay, where there are also all these other ones, many of which we've used before. So I'm gonna select Echo. I'm gonna solo this track and just put this section on and I'm just gonna experiment, seeing what the echo effect does and playing around with it to create an interesting effect. Let's have a listen. (tumbi music) So that's it without any effect on it at all. Let's add some echo. (echoing tumbi music) (echoing tumbi music continues) So I've experimented with the different controls here and these do different things. The time control will control how long after the first sound the second one echoes. This repeat one is quite an important one because it tells you how loud that second repeat sound is gonna be. So when it echoes, how loud is the echo? And here I turned that down a bit so the echo isn't quite as loud as the original. So experiment around with the controls to find an effect that you like. Once I've done that, I can then have a think about it in the context of my entire piece. So now, I've got this big build-up in this early section. I've got a section when I have all my parts playing together. Then I have this contrasting section and this is where I've used the echo. So I'm gonna play from 25, and have a listen to the difference now in this section where I have the echo in this new track. (bhangra music) So this is where the echo track comes in. (echoing bhangra music) (bhangra music) And then we're back to the original one. So if you do decide to use an echo, make sure you just use it in part of your composition and try and use it to create a little bit of contrast and experiment with those controls to create an interesting effect. And finally, let's look at the steps to creating a filter. I can use filters in a similar way to echo to create a bit of contrast in one section of my composition. For the purpose of demonstrating, I'm gonna use the same section. So I've created a new track and I've copied my riff into that. I could use filters on different tracks, but I've decided I want to use it on my tumbi riff just for these eight bars here to create a bit of contrast. So I'm gonna open up my controls. And to create a filter, I want to open up the EQ. Now this will look different on different software, but fundamentally, it's the same principle, and you may well have come across this before where you can edit the sound, change the sounds, by allowing and cutting out at different frequencies. So the sounds up this end are the high-frequency sounds and the sounds up down this end are the low-frequency sounds. If I do this, it's gonna make the low frequencies louder. If I do this, it's gonna make the low frequencies quieter. So I can experiment a little bit. I'm gonna loop the tumbi riff in that section. I'm just gonna experiment with trying, first of all, a low-pass filter. Now, a low-pass filter is when we cut out the higher-pitch sound. So a low-pass filter would look like this, where we will just hear the low-pitch frequencies. A high-pass filter would be the same but where I cut out the lower sound. So this would be a high-pass filter when I'm dragging it in from the left-hand side. So let's have a listen to the difference between the two. Here we go. (bhangra music) So let's try out a low-pass filter. (low-pitched bhangra music) (tumbi music) So that's no filter. (low-pitched tumbi music) That's the low pass because the only sounds that are getting through are those low frequencies. (tumbi music) (high-pitched tumbi music) That's a high pass because the only sounds that are now getting through are the high frequencies. (tumbi music) So you can hear how both of those create a really interesting effect. I think I'm gonna use a high-pass filter. So I'm gonna block out the lower frequencies by dragging them from the left-hand side. So now the only sounds that are getting through are those high frequencies. So I've got a high-pass filter going on. Let's see what that sounds like then with my other bits of my composition. So just listen out for that section there where you should hear that contrast. (bhangra music) (bhangra music continues) So by using low-pass and high-pass filters, I can create a little bit of contrast in one section of my composition. Just to summarise a few key points from those then. If using risers, the key point is to make sure you add this in the last bar of an eight or 16-bar phrase. If you're adding echo, the steps are to choose the region that you want to add the echo in, duplicate the track, then add the echo effect and experiment with the time delay and the echo volume. And if you've chosen to use a filter, start by opening up the EQ, take out the high or low frequencies to create a high-pass or a low-pass filter, and make sure you do that in just a suitable part of the music. So don't do it randomly. Choose the part where you want to add in that filter. Let's check your understanding. What effect does a low-pass filter have? Does it cut out the high frequencies, the low frequencies, or both the low and high frequencies? I'll give you a few seconds. And the correct answer is then it cuts out the high frequencies. It allows the low frequencies to pass. That's why we call it a low-pass filter. That means it cuts out the high ones. So, develop your composition by using one or more of the following examples of music technology. So either add a riser, a filter, or echo, or you can add more than one if you have time and if you want to. So you can pause my video now and have a go at doing that. The final part of Task B, we're gonna listen to a pupil's attempt at a bhangra composition. What effects have they used? And how could they be used more effectively? So first of all, work out what effects they've used, then have a think about how they could do it a little bit better. Here we go. (bhangra music) (rising bhangra music) (bhangra music continues) Pause my video while you come up with your answer. Here's a few things you might have said. First of all, they used a riser and a high-pass filter. So well done if you correctly identified one or both of those effects. That shows you getting the ear in for hearing these different kind of music technology effects. And then the riser will be more effective at the end of an eight-bar section, not in the middle of one. So they've put in a riser halfway through a section. And it doesn't really work if you do that. You want to make sure you're saving it for the end of a section so that it creates this build-up into the next section. So well done if you identified that as well. To review our lesson then. Bhangra uses music technology extensively, in common with other modern dance music. Sampling and looping are common in bhangra, as well as the use of effects, including echo, delay, and filters. Modern bhangra also commonly uses synthesisers. And we can create a simple bhangra groove with chaal, a tumbi riff, and a chord sequence with a simple bass line. So that concludes this lesson and also concludes our fusions and bhangra unit. I hope that you've really enjoyed exploring this, what I think is a really fascinating world of musical fusion. And I hope you feel like you're starting to get a grasp or a sense of how much of the music that we hear these days is the result of fusion between different traditions, different styles, different artists. And hopefully, it's also inspired you to want to create some musical fusion of your own. So go out and experiment and just try fusing different traditions, try fusing different ideas together, and you will probably find that you come up with something really interesting. Okay, that's all from me for now. Thank you, and I'll see you in another lesson.