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Extensions

Extension A: Invite a Guest

  • Invite a guest speaker to talk about Indigenous music - Drummer, Jigger, Powwow Dancer, Throat Singer, Indigenous Musician, or Dancer. 
  • Create a list of questions in advance to ask the guest speaker.

Extension B:  Learn About Staggered Start & End Measures (20 minutes)

Note: In this activity, you will use a new sample script to learn about measures and about staggering start and end times. Consider this as a practice run!

Have you heard many songs that are only 8 seconds long? Maybe only on TikTok. Your remix song for submission will need to be at least 30 seconds or 16 measures. So, how do you extend your 8 second (4 measure) song to 30 seconds or 16 measures)? Any ideas from the Set Your Own Tempo video we watched on how to do this?

What follows is an example of code with staggered start and end measures of a song that plays for 9 measures. You will add this into your code editor, select run, and view the song in your DAW.

#comments

# author:

# description: Staggered Start and End Measures

#

from earsketch import *

#setup

init()

setTempo(120)

#music

fitMedia(RD_UK_HOUSE_MAINBEAT_8, 1, 1, 5)

fitMedia(RD_POP_SYNTHBASS_6, 2, 2, 5)

fitMedia(YG_FUNK_CONGAS_3, 3, 3, 7)

fitMedia(ENTREP_BEAT_DRUMBEAT, 4, 5, 9)

fitMedia(CIARA_SET_BASSLINE_1, 5, 5, 9)

fitMedia(ENTREP_THEME_ORCH, 6, 6, 10)

#finish

finish()

Two ways:

1. Use the EarSketch Tutorial

OR

2. Create a New Script

  • Start a new script. Name it Sample 16 Measure Song
  • Copy and paste the following code into your CODE EDITOR:

#music

fitMedia(RD_UK_HOUSE_MAINBEAT_8, 1, 1, 5)

fitMedia(RD_POP_SYNTHBASS_6, 2, 2, 5)

fitMedia(YG_FUNK_CONGAS_3, 3, 3, 7)

fitMedia(ENTREP_BEAT_DRUMBEAT, 4, 5, 9)

fitMedia(CIARA_SET_BASSLINE_1, 5, 5, 9)

fitMedia(ENTREP_THEME_ORCH, 6, 6, 10)

  • Select RUN and PLAY.

Look at your DAW, do you see the sound clips staggered over nine measures? How did the position of your sound clips along your timeline change from previous scripts? When you listen to the song, do you hear how sounds fade in and out and overlap? Look at the fitMedia() functions and check the start and end measures. It's not only 1 and 5. The staggering start and end times of sound clips are very common in Entrepreneur and in many songs. In fact, the first measure of Entrepreneur is silent. The first sound clip starts on measure 2.

  • Experiment with staggered start and end measures in your sample code

View the changes along the timeline in the DAW.

Extension C: Functions with Staggered Start and End Measures (30 minutes)

Staggered Start and End Measures 

If my original had different start and end measures like this:

fitMedia(drum,1,3,5)

fitMedia(bass,2,1,4)

fitMedia(guitar,3,2,5)

Then I would have to modify the start and end parameters like this:

fitMedia(drum,1,3,5) becomes fitMedia(drum1,1,start+2,5)

fitMedia(bass,2,1,4) becomes fitMedia(bass,2,1,end-1

fitMedia(guitar,3,2,5) becomes  fitMedia(guitar,3,start+1,5)

This activity matches 27.9 Bonus—Functions with Staggered Start and End Measures in the EarSketch curriculum.

If you want to stagger the start and end of your measures when writing your custom functions, you can easily do this using addition and subtraction with measure numbers (e.g., start +1 or end-1).

See below for the example of a custom function with tracks that have different starting and ending measures. The first set of code shows the verse with hard-coded staggered measure numbers. The second codes the same tracks with a custom function.

Staggering sounds can help you create variations within a custom function. In the example, the drums play from the start until the end of the section. The bass sound starts one measure (start+1) after the beginning of the verse and ends with the section. The vox sound starts at the beginning of the verse and ends one measure before the section ends. The vox1 sound begins two measures after the beginning of the section and ends two measures after the section ends. Both groups of text will code the same tracks.

#verse with hard-coded measure numbers (1-4)

fitMedia(drums,1,1,5)

fitMedia(bass,2,2,5)

fitMedia(vox,3,1,4)

fitMedia(vox1,4,3,7)

#verse adapted to staggered start and end measures using a custom function

def verse(start,end):

fitMedia(drums,start,end)

fitMedia(bass,2,start+1,end)

fitMedia(vox,3,start,end-1)

fitMedia(vox1,4,start+2,end+2)

#function calls

verse(1,5)

Try editing your custom functions for staggered start and end times. You can keep your function calls the same, just adding or subtracting measure numbers in your function definition. You can also stagger by half measures- e.g., Start+0.5

Extension D: Participate in a Sharing Circle (20 minutes)

Take turns passing around the talking object.

  1. Do you know any Indigenous role models? 
  2. What do they do?

About the Sharing Circle:

  • Whoever has the talking object is The Speaker. 
  • The Speaker may speak for as long as they need to, with respect for the time of others. 
  • Silence is an acceptable response to the question. 
  • If a student does not feel comfortable sharing, “I pass” is an acceptable answer. 
  • Speaking in a Sharing Circle is voluntary. 
  • Everyone without the talking object are listeners.
  • Listeners will listen with respect and give support to the speaker. 
  • Listen in the way you expect others to hear you. 
  • What is said in the circle stays in the circle - never repeat anything that is said within the circle, unless you have permission from the speaker.

Optional:

Invite an Elder, Traditional Knowledge Keeper, or Indigenous Storyteller to the classroom to talk about the importance of storytelling and/or Indigenous knowledge.