Week 4: Beat Making
Week 4: Beat Making
Unit: Beat Making
This week we start making beats! You’ll learn the parts of a drum kit, use loops to build beats, and get hands-on with a MIDI controller to write your own drum patterns.
Weekly Schedule
| Day | Date | Topic | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Mon 4/13 | Introduction to Drums | Learn the parts of a drum kit and build a beat from individual loops. |
| 17 | Tue 4/14 | MIDI & the Piano Roll | Discover how MIDI works and how the piano roll translates drum notation into notes, then program the Rock Steady pattern using MIDI drum mappings. |
| 18 | Wed 4/15 | Writing a Drum Beat | Transcribe the “Rock Steady” beat from the printed packet into GarageBand’s piano roll. |
| 19 | Thu 4/16 | Four on the Floor & Quantization | Play a four-on-the-floor beat using a MIDI controller and Musical Typing, then clean it up with quantization. |
| 20 | Fri 4/17 | Finish Your Beat | Add the hi-hat and a choice sound to complete the four-on-the-floor beat, then quantize all four tracks. |
Graded Assignments
- Rock Steady (due Wednesday 4/15) — Transcribe the “Rock Steady” drum pattern from the printed packet into GarageBand’s piano roll using the correct MIDI drum notes.
Late work will receive a one-time 20 point deduction.
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