Make Your Own Jam
Activity 1: Unleash your Inner Composer
(10 minutes)
Have you ever wanted to make a song? Or at least wondered how people do it? Nowadays, everyone can make music digitally even without having an instrument. Online programs, like Soundtrap, have tons of instruments that you can play from your keyboard. You can also use or tweak loops (bits of sound) of pre-recorded instruments. Listen to a minute or two of this song, created in Soundtrap.
Activity 2: Get Familiar with Soundtrap
(15 minutes)
Sign up for the free version of a Soundtrap account or use the following information:
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Email: BGCAmediamaking@gmail.com
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Password: MediaMaking!
Start checking out the features on Soundtrap; listen to the loops and instruments. Try dragging a couple sounds onto the track area in the center of the program and listen. How does it sound? To warm up, try creating a 30-second song that uses three instruments.
Activity 3: Create a Song
(20 minutes)
Build on your 30-second song, or start fresh. You could aim for a certain sound, like electronica or rock, or just experiment and create your own thing. While you are creating, listen to your work and keep tinkering, adding, shifting, deleting, and adding effects, like fading in. There is no wrong way to create music!
If you have a question, check out the Soundtrap tutorials, for answers to everything from how to copy and paste audio to how to repeat loops. Or if you prefer to learn through videos, here is the Soundtrap YouTube Channel.
Activity 4: Add an Element
(time will vary)
If you like your song how it is, great! Or if you want, you can try adding vocals. Record directly in your Sountrap project. Give it a try. If you don’t like it, you can always delete the vocal track from your project.
You could also try adding music from a real instrument. Again, record the audio in your browser in your Soundtrap project. Here’s the co-founder of Soundtrap showing you how.
Activity 6: Share and Submit
(10 minutes)
Want to earn a few digital badges in audio production? Email the digital media you created to BGCAmediamaking@gmail.com
Still Interested? Take a look at these resources:
Video: LIA - Believers - Soundtrap - Make Music Online Together
Article: Home recording
Article: 6 Areas in the Music Business with Potential for Growth
What You'll Need:
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Create a Unique Song
Activity 5: Share and Iterate
(10 minutes)
Get some feedback. Ask people their opinions and suggestions after they listen to your work. If they say something generic like, “I like it,” ask follow up questions that help you learn specific, helpful things. For example, “Which part did you like best? Why do you like it? How did it make you feel?” Use this info when you make your next song.
