Week 2: Loops to Beats
Week 2: Loops to Beats
Unit: Loops and Layering
Monday finishes the loops unit: why a set needs one loop per job, and how picking a genre first makes every choice after it more cohesive.
Unit: Beat Making
Tuesday you start making beats. You learn the parts of a drum kit, build a beat out of individual loops, and then move into Soundtrap’s Patterns Beatmaker to program your own drum pattern step by step. By Friday you are hands-on with a MIDI controller, recording a live drum track and cleaning up the timing with quantization.
Weekly Schedule
| Day | Date | Topic | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Mon 10/19 | Choosing Loops by Category and Genre | Learn why a set needs one loop per job, then build a set by picking a genre first. |
| 7 | Tue 10/20 | Introduction to Drums | Learn the parts of a drum kit and build a beat from individual Sound library loops. |
| 8 | Wed 10/21 | MIDI and the Beat Grid | Learn what MIDI is, then program the rock beat pattern in Patterns Beatmaker. |
| 9 | Thu 10/22 | Writing a Drum Beat | Fix the rock beat, add a fill, export it as an MP3, and turn it in. |
| 10 | Fri 10/23 | Four on the Floor and Quantization | Play a four-on-the-floor beat on a MIDI controller, then clean it up with quantization. |
Graded Assignments
- Rock Beat with a Fill (due Thursday 10/22) — Programmed in Patterns Beatmaker on the rock beat pattern, exported as an MP3, uploaded to CTLS.
Late work will receive a one-time 20 point deduction.
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