Crank Dat Minor Scale

Crank Dat Minor Scale

Yesterday we played the C minor scale, both up the scale and down the scale, using the Matrix.

Today we are going to recreate the Crank Dat Soulja Boy melody which is in C minor.

After we make the melody you will create your own melody using C minor.

Remember, we don't have the exact same sounds that Souja Boy used (He made the beat using another program, FL Studio), we have a similar sound, but our melody will be the same.

1. Open Reason
2. Make sure you have a Mixer 14:2
3. Set Tempo to 70 bpm
   
4. Create a NN-XT Digital Sampler
5. Click on the Folder in the upper left hand corner of the NN-XT.
6. In the Patch Browser, click Orkester Sound Bank: Mallets: Glockenspiel.smp
7. Now that we have our sound loaded we need to create a Matrix to play it.
   
8. Go to the Create Menu and select the Matrix, all the way at the bottom of the menu.
9. We want to use the Matrix to play a the melody from Crank That Soulja Boy.
10. First, turn the volume down on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th, and 16th steps.
11. Now on step 1, move the note up 12 spots.
12. On step 4, move the note up 7 spots.
13. On step 7, move the note up 8 spots.
14. On step 11, move the note up 12 spots.
15. On step 14, move the note up 7 spots.
16. When you are done it should look like this.
17. How many notes have the volume on?
18. How many different notes are there?
    
19. Now, create a Redrum and make a 16 step drum pattern using a Clap, Bass Drum, Hi Hat, and Percussion. Make sure you put the sounds on appropriate boxes!
20. Or instead of a Clap, try putting a Snap on 5 and 13 just like Soulja Boy.
21. When you finish your Drum Beat, Copy Pattern To Track.
22. Now we want to revisit the NN-XT and the Matrix.
23. On the Matrix, change the pattern to PATTERN 2.
24. Turn the volume down on all the steps.
25. Create a melody with the notes from C minor, with the volume up on 5 of the steps in the Matrix, using between 3 and 5 different notes.
26. When, you are done with your melody, right click on the Matrix and select Copy Pattern To Track.
27. Click the Pattern button on the Matrix.
28. Highlight all the boxes on the Matrix in the sequence window and drag them up to the NN-XT track.
29. Save the beat as Crank That (your name)

The Matrix and the C Minor Scale

Tuesday we made a melody (the part of a song you sing along to) with the C Major Scale and on Monday we played the C Major scale on the Matrix.

Today we are going to create the C minor scale using the Matrix.

The difference between the C Major Scale and the C minor Scale is that the 3rd, 6th, and 7th notes of the C minor scale are one step below those notes in the C Major Scale.

1. Open Reason
2. Make sure you have a Mixer 14:2
3. Create a NN19 Digital Sampler
4. Click on the Folder in the upper left hand corner of the NN19.
5. In the Patch Browser, click Reason Factory Sound Bank: NN19 Sampler Patches: Guitar: ACGUITAR.smp
6. Now that we have our sound loaded we need a way to play it...ENTER THE MATRIX
7. Go to the Create Menu and select the Matrix, all the way at the bottom of the menu.
8. We want to use the Matrix to play a C minor Scale both up the scale and down the scale.
9. First, change the STEPS on the Matrix from 16 to 32.
   
10. Now, let's turn the volume down on the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 22nd, 24th, 26th, 28th, 30th, and 32nd step.
11. On the 3rd step, move the note (the rectangle) up 2 notes.
12. On the 5th step, move the note up 3 notes.
13. On the 7th step, move the note up 5 notes.
14. On the 9th step, move the note up 7 notes.
15. On the 11th step, move the note up 8 notes.
16. On the 13th step, move the note up 10 notes.
17. On the 15th step move the note up 12 notes.
18. On the 17th step move the note up 12 notes.
19. On the 19th step, move the note up 10 notes.
20. On the 21st step, move the note up 8 notes.
21. On the 23rd step, move the note up 7 notes.
22. On the 25th step, move the note up 5 notes.
23. On the 27th step, move the note up 3 notes.
24. On the 29th step, move the note up 2 notes.
25. When your done, the Matrix should look like this.
26. Save the project in your folder as C minor Scale.
27. Think about the following questions:
28. How does the C minor scale sound different from the C Major scale?
29. What's a melody that uses the C minor scale?
30. What's your favorite instrument?
31. What's your favorite song right now? Why do you like this song?
32. Do you think the song is in the major or minor scale?

Rubberband Man

The song Rubberband Man by T.I. and produced by David Banner uses a melody based off of the C MAJOR scale. Let's recreate the melody and then add our on drums. Remember to use the pictures to help guide you with this beat.

1. Open Reason
2. Make sure you have a Mixer 14:2
3. Set Tempo to 82 bpm
   
4. Create a NN19 Digital Sampler
5. Click on the Folder in the upper left hand corner of the NN19.
6. In the Patch Browser, click Reason Factory Sound Bank: NN19 Sampler Patches: Organ: Organ1Perc.smp
7. Now that we have our sound loaded we need a way to play it...ENTER THE MATRIX
8. Go to the Create Menu and select the Matrix, all the way at the bottom of the menu.
9. Now we want to create the melody for T.I.'s song.
10. The first step is....the steps. This melody is 2 bars long so change the steps from 16 to 32 on the Matrix.
11. Now we need to turn the volume down on all the steps we aren't going to use. Leave the volume on on STEPS 1, 8, 10, 11, 17, 24, 26, and 27. For all the other STEPS, turn the volume off.
12. Now we can change the notes of the steps we have left.
13. On STEPS 8 and 10, move the note up four spots.
14. On STEP 11, move the note up five spots.
15. On STEP 17, move the note up seven spots.
16. On STEPS 24 and 26, move the note up 11 spots.
17. On STEP 27, move the note up 12 spots.
18. When you're done with the melody it should look like this:
19. Now, create a Redrum and make a 32 step drum pattern using a Clap, Bass Drum, Hi Hat, and Percussion. Make sure you put the sounds on the correct boxes!
20. On the Redrum, Copy Pattern To Track and Click on the Pattern button.
21. Save your beat as (Your Name) Rubberband Man

The Matrix: Reason

Today we are going to start a new method for creating melodies in Reason using the Matrix. Some of you may find this to be a much easier alternative to using the keyboard. First lets go over some music theory. In music, musicians use scales as the frame for their melodies. There are two basic types of scales, the Major Scale, which has a happy sound, and the minor scale, which has a somber sound. You hear the Major Scale a lot in Pop Music. And you hear the minor scale a lot in Hip Hop music. Today we're going to learn the Major Scale. And more specifically the C Major Scale.

The Major Scale is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. These notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, (Do)". The simplest major scale to write or play on the piano is C major, the only major scale not to require sharps or flats, using only the white keys on the piano keyboard:

1. Open Reason
2. Make sure you have a Mixer 14:2
3. Create a NN19 Digital Sampler
4. Click on the Folder in the upper left hand corner of the NN19.
5. In the Patch Browser, click Reason Factory Sound Bank: NN19 Sampler Patches: Piano: BRIGHTPIANO.smp
6. Now that we have our sound loaded we need a way to play it...ENTER THE MATRIX
7. Go to the Create Menu and select the Matrix, all the way at the bottom of the menu.
8. We want to use the Matrix to play a C Major Scale.
9. Look at the Matrix, do you see the keyboard? We can use this to help us put the NOTES (the red rectangles) on all the white keys.
10. Below the NOTES in the Matrix, do you see the lines? These move up and down and control the VOLUME.
    
11. To make the C Major Scale we are going to move every other note up to the next white key. (I moved the NOTES in between all the way up to the top so that they wouldn't be in my way.)
12. After I've moved all my NOTES, I want to turn the VOLUME all the way down on the NOTES I don't want to hear. After you finish this step, your MATRIX should look something like this.
13. Listen to your scale, does it sound like Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do?
14. Save in your folder as Matrix C Major Scale.
15. Think about the following questions...
    
16. What is a Scale?
17. What does a Major Scale sound like? Who uses it?
18. What is a Melody?
19. Now, if there is time left in class, make a 32 step Redrum beat to go along with your melody. Remember, the beat should include a Clap or Snap or Snare, Bass Drum, Hi Hat, an Percussion. Don't forget to put the sounds on the correct boxes!
    

Keyboard Quiz

Welcome to the Keyboard Quiz. Take your time and read each step carefully!

1. Open Reason

2. Create a MIXER 14:2

3. Set your tempo between 70-110.

4. Create a Redrum & Make a 32 step beat using clap/snap/snare, bass drum, hi hat, and percussion. Move the R to 3 and copy the pattern to track. (/ = or).

5. Time to get a keyboard! Plug it into the computer.

6. Create a Subtractor, Malstrom, or Combinator.

7. Pick a Monosynth or Polysynth of your choice.

8. Play your beat, practice making your melody. When you are ready, record your melody. Make sure to press the quantize button when you are finished.

9. Create a Dr. REX Loop Player. Load in a Dr. REX Percussion Loop. Do NOT PUT IT TO TRACK!

10. Use the keyboard to record your own pattern with the Dr. REX. Make sure to quantize it!

11. Let me know when you finish your work and I will check & grade it!


Great Work!

Keyboard Quiz Practice

Tomorrow we will be having a quiz on making a beat using the keyboard. Lets get as much practice in as we can today!

1. Open Reason

2. CREATE Mixer 14:2

3. Set your tempo to 70-85bpm

4. CREATE Redrum

5. Make a 32 step beat using a Clap OR Snare, Bass Drum, Hi Hat, and Percussion. Make sure you put the sounds on the right boxes!

6. Move your R to 3. Copy your pattern to track.

7. Get a Keyboard.

8. CREATE a Subtractor or Malstrom.

9. Pick any Monosynth or Polysynth of your choice.

10. Play your beat & practice making a melody with your keyboard.

11. When you are ready record your melody. Make sure you click the QUANTIZE button for your melody.

12. Create a Dr. REX Loop Player. Load in a Dr. REX Percussion Loop and put it To Track.

13. Let me or Sean know when you have finished and we'll check your work.

Great work! Good luck on the quiz!

Minor Scale Practice

On Tuesday we saw how Lil Jon used only 3 piano NOTES & 2 different OCTAVES to make the beat for Snap Ya Fingas. Today, I want us to practice on making our own melody using 3-5 NOTES & 2 OCTAVES from the MINOR SCALE. Lets get started!

1. Open Reason

2. CREATE Mixer 14:2

3. Set your tempo between 70-85

4. CREATE a REDRUM

5. Create a 32 step Redrum Beat using a CLAP, Bass Drum, Hi Hat, and Percussion. Make sure you put the sounds on the correct boxes! If you want to put a SNAP in the beat, you can also put that on 5 & 13.

6. Move your R to 5. Copy your pattern to track & press the "PATTERN" button.

7. Get a Keyboard

8. CREATE a SUBTRACTOR or MALSTROM.

9. Practice making your MELODY with the keyboard. DON'T RECORD IF YOU'RE NOT READY! REMEMBER: Your melody should have 3-5 notes from the C MINOR Scale.
(click the picture to make it bigger)


10. When you are ready, record your melody.

11. When you finish recording, press the "QUANTIZE" button.

12. Let me know when you finish and I can check your work.

13. Save your beat as (your name) minor scale practice.

Snap Ya Fingas

Today we're going to remake the melody of the hit single from Lil Jon that featured E-40. We did some MAJOR scale practice yesterday, so today we will practicing using the C MINOR scale. What's important about this lesson is that you will see how Lil Jon used the C MINOR scale to make a simple, catchy hit. With that said, lets get started.

1. Open Reason

2. CREATE Mixer 14:2

3. Set your TEMPO to 82bpm.

4. CREATE a REDRUM.

5. On Sound 1 of the Redrum, Go to Xclusive Drums: Percussion Other: and get the sound called Snp_Rare.aif, put it on boxes 5 & 13.

6. On Sound 2 of the Redrum, Go to Xclusive Drums: Claps: and get the sound called Clp_Congas.wav, put it on boxes 5 & 13.

7. On Sound 3 of the Redrum, Go to Xclusive Drums: Bass Drums: and get the sound called Bd_Boomer.aif, put it on boxes 1, 4, 7, 11, and 14.

8. On Sound 4 of the Redrum, Go to Xclusive Drums: Percussion Other: and get the sound called Guiro_Grrrrda.aif, put it on box 3.

9. Set your steps to 32. Move your EDIT STEPS to 17-32. Now Repeat Steps 5-8.

10. Move R to 5 and COPY YOUR PATTERN TO TRACK. Make sure you press the "pattern" button on the Redrum when you are finished.

11. Now it's time to get a keyboard.

12. Create a Malstrom Graintable Synthesizer.

13. Go to Reason Factory Sound Bank: Malstrom Patches: Monosynths: and choose a sound called Chingy Lead.

14. Now it is time to make the melody of our beat. The Melody of this beat only uses 3 Notes: C, Eb, and D (The First THREE NOTES of the C MINOR SCALE).

15. Set your OCTAVE TO 0 or 1. If you don't remember my example that I gave at the beginning of class, let me know and I will show you how to play the melody again.

16. When you are ready, record the melody. Make sure that you press the QUANTIZE button when you are finished.

17. Let me know when you finish and I will check your work.


Tomorrow D.A.T. will be coming in for another Rhyming exercise so be ready to participate!

Practice Time

Welcome back from Spring Break. Since it's been a week since you all have been making beats in class, I want you to take this time to practice on some of the things we have learned this semester. With that said, lets go ahead & get started!


1. Open Reason

2. CREATE Mixer 14:2


3. Set your tempo between 70-110.

4. CREATE a Redrum Drum Computer.

5. Make a 32 Step Redrum Beat using a Clap OR Snare, Bass Drum, Hi Hat, and a Percussion. Make sure you put all of your sounds on the right boxes!

6. When you are finished and you like your beat, COPY YOUR PATTERN TO TRACK.


7. CREATE a Malstrom Graintable Synthesizer. CLICK the FOLDER. Go to: Reason Factory Sound Bank: Malstrom Patches: Choose a sound from the MONOSYNTH, POLYSYNTH, or RHYTHMIC folders.

8. Plug in your Keyboard. Play your Redrum beat and PRACTICE making a MELODY with the keyboard that has between 3-5 WHITE KEYS (C Major Scale).
(Pink Notes = White Keys)


9. When you are ready, press the RECORD button and RECORD your MELODY. When you finish RECORDING, press the QUANTIZE button & press the RECORD button AGAIN to STOP RECORDING.

10. Create a Dr. REX Loop Player. Load in any Dr. REX Percussion Loop. You can Put it TO TRACK OR use the KEYBOARD to RECORD your own pattern.

When you are finished, SAVE your beat as (your name) Reason Practice. Let me know when you finish so that I can check your work.

Major & Minor Scale Practice

Take a good look at the 2 scales (C Major & C Minor). Today we are going to play each scale today with the keyboard to get more comfortable with where the keys are.


C Major Scale = pink notes


C Minor Scale

The difference between the 2 scales are the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes.

1. Open Reason
2. Make sure you have a Mixer 14:2
3. Set Tempo between 70-90bpm
   
4. Create a Redrum and make a 32 step drum pattern using a Clap or Snap, Bass Drum, Hi Hat, and Percussion. Make sure you put the sounds on the right boxes!
5. On the Redrum, Copy Pattern To Track.
6. Now Create a NNXT: Go To Reason Factory Sound Bank: NNXT Patches: Piano: Choose 'A Grand Piano'.
   
7. Move the Right loop point to R5
   
8. Look at the C Major scale. When you are ready, record yourself playing the C Major scale going up the scale AND back down the scale using QUARTER NOTES (I will explain this in class).
   
9. When you have finished making your melody, hit the quantize button and press stop.
10. Now move the Left Loop Point to L5 and the Right Loop Point to R9.
11. Look at the C Minor Scale picture. When you are ready, record yourself playing in the C Minor Scale, going up the scale AND back down the scale using QUARTER NOTES.
    
12. When you finish recording, press the quantize button and stop.
    
13. Now move the LEFT LOOP POINT back to L1 & play your beat. What sounds different about the major scale & the minor scale?
14. Save your beat as (your name) Scales Practice.