19. Radio Jingle Project

CHAPTER

ACTIVITY

Writing a Jingle

Have students brainstorm a jingle idea: Research radio jingles or music-based
TV advertisements. Many TV and radio networks and TV and radio advertisements use characteristically short melodies or songs to connect to their audience. Name some popular jingles that are currently being aired. How is music being used in these advertisements?
Encourage students to listen to radio commercials played on the internet or on analog stations.
Instruct students to select a popular product that they would like to compose a jingle for (alternately, students could create their own product or service). If applicable, coordinate with a business course and market a product as part of an extended lesson plan. Here are a
few marketing ideas:
- A local Pizza shop.
- Bus tours for a major city.
- Vacation getaways.
- A new basketball shoe.
Brainstorm: What is the best way to use a jingle to advertise or showcase this particular product? What effect should the jingle try to achieve? How should it sound? Remember: Jingles make people want the product; and jingles make people remember the product. Here are the three main components of a jingle:
- The “hook:” A short, supremely memorable melody or motif that introduces, runs through, or ends the advertisement. The hook is designed to capture the attention of the audience.
- Accompanying music: Music that is played in the background while the narrator presents the product. Sometimes it has a catchy, memorable part.
- The advertisement: The narration that describes the product to the audience. The narration can be formal, casual, or humorous.

ASK:

Will the selected beat compliment the message of the advertisement and

help sell the product?

MAKING A BEAT IN MIXCRAFT

Open Mixcraft and use the New Project window to load a template with four audio tracks.
tracks
Once the New Project window has loaded, remove any instrument tracks, and set the audio
field to four.
Starting with the beat. Use Mixcraft’s loop library and select a simple drum loop that will
be played throughout the jingle. Again, remind students that the product of the advertisement dictates the nature of the music: should the music be happy and upbeat (amusement park ad)? Or sophisticated and relaxing (bath oil)? Or wild and crazy (beverage commercial)?
1. First, click the “Library” tab in the Tab Area (located in bottom left hand corner of the screen). Now select “Loops” in the small “Library” pulldown window (selecting
  “All” in the pulldown will include “sound effects” loops in the list). Mixcraft’s loop library will appear. Here, you can sort the library by instrument.
2. In the small, “Sort By” pulldown window select “Instrument.”
3. Select the “Drum” category from the list in the window below the “Sort By” pulldown.
4. Browse the library for a drum loop. Keep in mind the tempo of the jingle: for slow, soothing jingles try a tempo around 85 – 90 BPM. For upbeat jingles try a tempo around 125 – 135 BPM.
5. Preview and download loops by clicking the green play arrow next to a loop’s title
Once you have selected a drum loop to use, simply drag and drop the loop onto a free audio track in Mixcraft’s Timeline.
Loop the drum beat out to 60 seconds of play time. Repeatedly click the “circle” with
a “+” sign icon on the loop’s audio region until you have lengthened the looped section
TIP:
To download loops your computer must be connected to the internet
to a playing time of 60 seconds.
Preview other instrument loops. Try piano, keys, or synthesizer (a loop that is rich in harmony). Pay attention to the key of the loop: whether you choose a major or minor key loop will depend on the scale you chose for your jingle and on the intended mood of the piece.
Drag the selected keyboard loop onto a new audio track in Mixcraft’s Timeline. Again, loop the keyboard track out to 60 seconds of play time.
Expand with more loops if necessary. Try adding one more instrumental loop to the jingle – perhaps a short melody or riff. Remember to leave space in the mix for the vocal message part of the advertisement.
RECORDING THE JINGLE IN MIXCRAFT
1. Recording the jingle. Before recording The jingle:
  1. Prevent feedback by turning off any speakers or monitors. Record with headphones. This will allow students to hear what they are recording without creating a feedback loop. Connect headphones to the headphone jack on your audio/computer interface, or to your computer.
  2. Connect the microphone to the audio/computer interface with a microphone cord. To make sure Mixcraft is monitoring the audio/computer interface, check File > Preferences > Sound Device tab and confirm that the interface is selected. If using a microphone pop filter, place the filter in front of the microphone. This will help create a clean recording for the jingle.
2. Testing the audio signal chain before recording:
  1. Add and then arm (click the arm icon) a blank audio track in the workspace. The downward arrow next to the arm button allows users to select the source of the incoming audio. Make sure the computer/audio interface is selected. Check your configuration by speaking into the microphone – the volume meter should jump.
  2. Remember, for clean recordings it best to monitor the incoming audio on the audio track’s volume meter. Record in the “yellow” zone. In this zone, the recordings will be audible, but not so loud that the recording is distorted.
    An example of recording in the “yellow zone.”
  3. If the meter is reaching the “red” area, try dialing back the gain on the audio/computer interface or move the student farther from the microphone.
    An example of recording in the “red zone.” Careful! Recording in the “red” zone could be harmful to your equipment or ears and could distort the recorded audio!
3. With Mixcraft and the recording equipment configured, help students record their jingles.
  If necessary, prompt students for the entry points of their vocal parts. To start, press the master record button on the Master Bar or press “R” on the keyboard.
  The master record button located on the Master Bar.
4. Once the recording is finished, mix the jingle using the “Mixer” tab in the Tab Area. Adjust the volume or pan settings. When mixing, try to keep the vocals audible and clear – they need to be heard by the audience! Play back the results. Is the “hook” working? Is the jingle catchy? Any need to re-record or edit?
5. When the mix is satisfactory, mix down the song into a .WAV or .MP3 file. Go to the top left of the workspace and select File > Mix Down To…> and select the file ”type.”
ADDITIONAL LESSON PLANS
Movie Preview: There are, of course, several other mediums which use music to attract its audience. Movie previews short teasers that use music, dialogue, and other sound effects to bring
the film to life and hook the audience into wanting to see it. Design a lesson plan in which students create a 1-2 minute movie preview. Supply video footage to the students. Students can then edit the audio and add music where necessary.
FURTHER READING
Karmen, S. Who Killed the Jingle? How A Unique American Art Form Disappeared
RADIO JINGLE PROJECT
STUDENT’S GUIDE
CLASS TIME:
NAME:
PERIOD:
TEACHER:
CLASS:
ACTIVITY
Writing a Jingle
1. Brainstorm ideas for a jingle: With your teacher’s help, research radio jingles or music-based
  TV advertisements. Listen to radio commercials played on the internet or on analog stations.
2. Select a popular product or create a product (or service) to write a jingle for. Here are a few ideas for products/services for your jingle:
  - A local pizza shop.
  - Bus tours for a major city.
  - Vacation getaways.
  - A new basketball shoe.
3. Brainstorm: What is the best way to advertise or showcase your particular product using
  a jingle? What effect should your jingle try to achieve? How should it sound? Remember: Jingles make people want the product; and jingles make people remember the product. Here are three main components of a jingle:
  - The “hook:” A short melody or motif that introduces, runs through or ends the advertisement. The hook is designed to capture the attention of the audience,
    so they, “WILL NOT CHANGE THE CHANNEL OR GO TO THE RESTROOM!”
  - Accompanying music: Music that is played in the background while the narrator presents the product. Sometimes it has a catchy, memorable part.
  - The advertisement: A narration that describes the product to the audience. The narration can be formal, casual or humorous.
LESSON
19
TUTORIAL
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
SUGGESTED MATERIALS:
- Computer with Mixcraft
- Mixcraft Loops
- Microphone
- Radio Jingle Student Guides (Additional Materials Download)
- Audio/Computer Interface
- Headphones/ Monitors
- Internet Connection
- Further Reading Materials
MAKING A BEAT IN MIXCRAFT
1. Open Mixcraft and use the New Project window to load a template with four audio tracks.
  tracks
  Once the New Project window has loaded, remove any instrument tracks, and set the audio
  field to four.
2. Starting with the beat. Open Mixcraft’s loop library and select a simple drum loop that will be played throughout the jingle. Often the music accompanying a radio jingle is simple. This allows listeners to focus on the message of the advertisement without being distracted by noisy or busy music. Remember: the nature of the product dictates the nature
  of the music: Should the music be happy and upbeat (amusement park ad)? Or sophisticated and relaxing (bath oil)? Wild and crazy (beverage commercial)? Will the selected beat help
  sell
  your product?
  1. First, click the “Library” tab in the Tab Area (located in bottom left hand corner of the screen). Now select “Loops” in the small “Library” pulldown window (selection “All” in the menu will all “sound effects” loops to the list). Mixcraft’s loop library will appear. Here, you can sort the library by instrument.
  2. In the small, “Sort by” pull-down window select “Instrument.”
  3. Select the “Drum” category from the list in the window below the “Sort By” pulldown.
  4. Browse the library for a drum loop. Keep in mind the tempo of the jingle: for slow, soothing jingles try a tempo around 85 – 90 BPM. For upbeat jingles try a tempo around 125 – 135 BPM.
  5. Preview and download loops by clicking the green play arrow next to a loop’s title
  TIP:
  To download loops your computer must be connected to the internet
3. Once you have selected a drum loop to use, simply drag and drop the loop onto a free audio track in Mixcraft’s Timeline.
4. Loop the drum beat out to 60 seconds of play time. Repeatedly click the “circle” with a “+” sign icon on the loop’s audio region until you have lengthened the looped section to a playing time of 60 seconds.
5. Preview Mixcraft’s other instrument loops. Try a piano, keys, or synthesizer (a loop that is rich in harmony). Pay attention to the key of the loop: whether you choose a major or minor key loop will depend on the scale you chose for your jingle and on the intended mood of the piece.
6. Drag the selected keyboard loop onto a new audio track in Mixcraft’s Timeline. Again, loop the keyboard track out to a playing time of 60 seconds.
7. Expand with more loops if necessary. Try adding one more instrumental loop to the jingle – perhaps a short melody or riff. Remember to leave space in the mix for the vocal message part of the advertisement.
RECORDING THE JINGLE IN MIXCRAFT
1. Recording the jingle. Before recording the jingle, set up properly. If needed, ask your teacher for help:
  1. Prevent feedback by turning off any speakers or monitors. Record with headphones. This will allow students to hear what they are recording without creating a feedback loop. Connect headphones to the headphone jack on your audio/computer interface, or to your computer.
  2. Connect the microphone to the audio/computer interface with a microphone cord. To make sure Mixcraft is monitoring the audio/computer interface, check the
    File > Preferences > Sound Device tab and confirm that the interface is selected. If using a microphone pop filter, place the filter in front of the microphone. This will help create a clean recording for the jingle.
2. Testing the audio signal chain before recording:
  1. Add and then arm (click the “arm” icon) a blank audio track in the workspace. The downward arrow next to the arm button allows you to select the source of the incoming audio. Make sure the computer/audio interface is selected. Check your configuration by speaking into the microphone – the volume meter should jump.
  2. Remember, for clean recordings it best to monitor the incoming audio on the audio track’s volume meter. In this zone, the recordings will be audible, but not so loud that the recording is distorted.
    An example of recording in the “yellow zone.”
    If the meter is reaching the “red” area, try dialing back the gain on the audio/computer interface or move the student farther from the microphone.
    An example of recording in the “red zone.” Careful! Recording in the “red” zone could be harmful to your equipment or ears and could distort the recorded audio!
3. With Mixcraft and the recording equipment configured start recording: press the master record button on the Master Bar or press “R” on the keyboard. Ask your teacher for help if you have trouble.
  The master record button located on the Master Bar.
4. Once the recording is finished, mix the jingle using the “Mixer” tab in the Tab Area. Adjust the volume or pan settings. When mixing, try to keep your vocals audible and clear – they need to be heard by the audience! Play back the results. Is the “hook” working? Is the jingle catchy? Any need to re-record or edit? What do students think of each other’s results?
5. When the mix is satisfactory, mix down the song into a .WAV or .MP3 file. Go to top left of the workspace and select File > Mix Down To…> and select the file “type.”
CHAPTER
20
STOMP NOTATION PROJECT
TEACHER’S GUIDE
NSME: 2, 3, 4, 7
GRADE SCHOOL – HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS TIME: 3-4 ONE-HOUR PERIODS
OVERVIEW: In the mid-nineties a new British musical soared into popularity. Appropriately named STOMP, this hybrid music and theater act was driven by a rhythmically-dense soundtrack outlandishly performed with household objects. Sticks, basketballs, brooms, metal sinks, fenders,
hub caps, every kind of can, pail, container and trash can lid were banged, rattled, clashed together and scraped to create complex percussion rhythms. Using mundane objects for music performance is certainly not revolutionary (20th century composers have been tinkering with similar practices for over fifty years); nevertheless their use in Stomp gave a unique charm and a riveting excitement to the musical. Turn your classroom into a STOMP ensemble by using homemade instruments and similar performance tactics. This is not an assignment on sound collage (which is another lesson
in this book). Sound collage is somewhat formless: Stomp is most certainly not. There must be a perceivable organization to the music. If possible, show the class a DVD of the Stomp performance or have them watch some of the many Stomp performance clips available on the internet.
LESSON: The STOMP Notation Project teaches rudimentary notation skills by providing students with the opportunity to create homemade instruments; write a percussive or melodic line for these instruments; and finally notate these parts using Mixcraft. Prior to instrument design and notation work, a class is divided into small groups of students (3 -5 students) and each student is assigned a homemade instrument to play. Students can bring in household objects; use objects located in the classroom as an instrument; or construct their own instrument. For grade school classes, it may be best to have the educator write and notate the student parts: younger students can thus spend their time reading over and discussing the notation before attempting to actually “play” their individual parts. For middle school and high school classes, students should attempt to write and notate their own parts with Mixcraft. Students should focus on writing as a unit and collaborate with fellow group members to ensure each part is consistent with the overall vision of the piece. Those who want to teach musical principles during this course should focus specifically on rhythm. Perhaps giving an overview of different rhythms and metrical times will inspire the STOMP ensembles.
Finally, once each student has written his/her part, each group should perform their STOMP song before the class.
Since their students will be producing rhythm based compositions for the STOMP exercise, it would be useful for educators to have some background in music notation ahead of time. Some of the more ambitious or capable students may even conjure up especially complex rhythms, which may prove challenging to notate. Because of this, teachers should consider practicing rhythm notation in Mixcraft beforehand. The student exercise for this lesson, however, does contains a walkthrough section on how to notate parts in Mixcraft. In addition, located in the “Additional Materials Download” is a Mixcraft session that contains a demonstration of notation and includes arrangements for four homemade instruments.
TUTORIAL
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
SUGGESTED MATERIALS:
SKILLS GAINED
- Computer with Mixcraft
- Headphones or Monitors
- Ingredients for a home made instruments
- Copy of STOMP on video
- MIDI Keyboard
- Headphones/ Monitors
- Further Reading Materials
- Notation/ Editing Notation
- MIDI Editing
- Instrument Design/Creation
- Group Instrumental Performance
ACTIVITY
Making a STOMP Instrument
1. First, research homemade instrument recipes and the STOMP musical. Several popular video hosting websites have clips of the STOMP musical. Watch several clips and notice how household objects were converted into musical instruments (even better if you can acquire a full version of the STOMP video). Additionally, there is a multitude of online resources that provide recipes and instructions on how to create homemade or do-it-yourself instruments. Below are several basic ideas:
  - Shakers made of rice or beans
  - Basketballs for bouncing
  - Cups filled with varying amounts of water
  - Chopsticks for drumming
  - Pillows for thumping
2. Assign the students to small groups. Generally groups consisting of 3 to 5 students are enough for small STOMP ensembles. Remember, each student is responsible for developing and creating one homemade instrument.
3. Next, students should create their instruments. Remind students to work with the rest of the group. To avoid having composition and performance duplication, have each student in an ensemble create a different instrument.
WRITING A PART FOR THE STOMP INSTRUMENT
1. After the instruments have been made, it is time to write and notate parts for the STOMP ensembles.
2. Begin by brainstorming about the parts for each STOMP instrument. For example, a bouncing ball might be an instrument that keeps an underlying pulse and carries
  momentum throughout the song. To illustrate, a student could bounce the ball on beats 1 and 3 in a 4/4 time; shakers could play consistent 8th notes; and of course melodic instruments could play melodies!
3. To write and notate the instrumental parts, open Mixcraft and use the New Project window to load a template with four virtual instrument tracks.
  Ensure there are enough virtual instrument tracks for each instrument in a STOMP ensemble.
  If
  necessary, you can aways add a few more virtual instrument tracks to the Timeline (Ctrl + E).
4. To start writing, double-click the Timeline on the blank area for the first virtual instrument track. Click at measure one to place the blank MIDI region at the beginning of the Timeline.
  Double clicking on the Timeline places a blank MIDI region on the virtual instrument track.
5. Next, double-click on the blank MIDI region. The Sound Tab will launch and display the Piano Roll Editor. Change the “editor type” from Piano Roll to “Score.”
  Change the Editor Type to the Score setting. Now educators and students can use notation within Mixcraft!
6. The notation interface will appear. For simplicity’s sake, keep the meter in 4/4 time. To begin the notation:
  1. Create a 4-measure loop. Drag the “loop end” flag on the notation window to the beginning of measure 5. The MIDI region on the Timeline will now extend to
    four measures.
    Drag the Loop End flag to measure 5. This will set a loop that consists of 4 measures.
  2. Select the pencil tool and the desired note type. The quarter-note setting is a good place to start; this lets users “draw” quarter notes on the sheet music.
    The pencil tool and the quarter note settings are selected in this screen shot.
  3. Begin composing by drawing notes to form a part. Small tick marks above the sheet music area denote where each beat falls. If you intended to place a note on a specific beat, try clicking in line with the tick marks.
    Small tick marks alert the user to where a beat falls. In this example the first quarter note
    in
    measure 2 falls on beat two and is aligned with the tick mark directly above the note.
  4. For a percussive instrument, select a note (for example the “A” below middle “C” or A4) to denote a “hit” or “bounce.” In the example below, a part written for a bouncing ball calls for the performer to bounce the ball (which produces a “bouncing” sound) on beats 1 and 3.
    A completed 4-bar part for bouncing ball. The ball is to sound on beats 1 and 3 (using quarter notes).
  5. Repeat steps 4 – 6 (up to section “c” of 6) and continue writing 4-bar parts for each homemade instrument. Rewind. It may help to activate the metronome. Play back the results by clicking the master play button. Listen carefully. Following are some sample rhythms that students can notate:
    TIP:
    If you draw an unintended note: simply delete it by selecting the eraser tool; or by clicking undo (Ctrl + Z): or by clicking the undo button (counter clockwise circled arrow) at the top
    of the workspace.
    Sample Rhythm1: Quarter note on Beats 1 & 3.
    Sample Rhythm2: Double eighth notes on Beats 2 & 4.
    Sample Rhythm3: Single eighth note on Beats 2 & 4.
    Sample Rhythm4: Double eighth note on Beats 1,2,3 &4..
7. Arranging the parts. Once finished, users can arrange the 4-bar parts on the Timeline. Though not required, this might be a helpful workflow when arranging the parts for live performance. First, create an introduction in which one instrument starts playing.
  Then slowly introduce more instruments and finally, slowly fade out each instrument until the starting instrument is left playing.
  1. Loop the MIDI regions of each instrument on the Timeline by clicking the circle with a “+” icon on a region. Loop each instrument for the identical number of measures.
    Clicking the circle with a “+” icon, loops the MIDI region. Here the initial 4-bar region has been looped several times.
  2. Next, trim the beginning regions of the instruments that will enter later in the performance: Place the cursor at the beginning line of a region to be shortened and wait for a double-sided arrow to appear. Now simply drag the line back until the region’s beginning is at the correct place in the performance.
  3. Finally, trim the ending segments of the instruments that will exit the performance before the end: Place the cursor at the ending line of a region and wait for a double- sided arrow to appear. Now simply drag the ending line until the region is at the desired position for a fade out. One by one the instruments will drop off until only the single beginning instrument is left playing as the arrangement comes to a close.
A sample arrangement. First, the 4-bars of each track were looped for 60 measures, then the regions for three instruments were trimmed to allow different instruments to enter or leave the arrangement.
Finally, print out the sheet music to each 4-bar loop. With the notation interface open, select the “print…” icon in the upper right hand corner.

The print icon allows educators and students to print out notated parts.

PERFORMING

With the parts printed out, help the students learn to the play each part on their instrument. Once rehearsed, help choreograph each STOMP ensemble performance.
Thinking about the arrangement. If you previously arranged the MIDI regions of each instrument in Mixcraft, try to replicate that arrangement for the performance. If you skipped that step, one strategy for conducting the performance is to cue in each student. Have one student begin, then after a few measures add another and another until all the students are playing. Finally, slowly cue one student at a time to stop playing until the student who started is the only one left. A terrific applause will ensue.
Performance. Have each group perform their STOMP song to the class. The teacher may wish to compare in a positive way the student performances to some of the professional STOMP performances. The class might get valuable lessons from comparison to the pros!

ADDITIONAL LESSON PLANS

Cup Symphony: First, supply each student with five glass cups. Fill the cups up with varying amount of water. Next, students can play the cups with a pencil: tapping the glasses produces a

note. What kind of pitch does a glass with a small amount of what produce? How about a glass with a full amount? Students can then compose short melodies on the cups.