Dance Music 1985-present day

Dance Music 1985-present day

Dance Music through History

Dance Music through History

Pre 20th Century:Waltzes, Ballroom dancing,

Chamber Orchestras, very FORMAL, set dance moves in large groups

Pre 20th Century:Waltzes, Ballroom dancing,

Chamber Orchestras, very FORMAL, set dance moves in large groups

Dance Music through History

Dance Music through History

Pre-war (pre 1940’s):American influence, Jazz

bands/Swing bands,Couples dancing, quite formal,

Set dance moves

Pre-war (pre 1940’s):American influence, Jazz

bands/Swing bands,Couples dancing, quite formal,

Set dance moves

Dance Music through History

Dance Music through History

1950’s Rock n’ Roll:Influence of rock n roll, electric instruments,

Couples dancing, more risqué, informal,

couples making up their own moves

1950’s Rock n’ Roll:Influence of rock n roll, electric instruments,

Couples dancing, more risqué, informal,

couples making up their own moves

Dance Music through History

Dance Music through History

2000’s Nightclubbing:Individuals, individuality, solo

dance moves,Drink and drug culture, hedonism

2000’s Nightclubbing:Individuals, individuality, solo

dance moves,Drink and drug culture, hedonism

The Evolution of DanceThe Evolution of Dance

What has changed?What has changed?

Why dance?Why dance?

Jan Garber's Orchestra - Puttin' on the Ritz (1930).mp3

Meeting people

of the opposite sex Entertainment

Drinking

Recreational drug use

Exhibitionism – showing off!Party or Special occasion

A night out with friends

Unwind after a hard week

Dance Music StylesDance Music Styles

Dubstep

Drum n Bass

Techno

Ambient/Chillout

Garage

House

Disco

Dance Music – Why Now?Dance Music – Why Now?

More permissive society

Hedonistic society (pleasure seeking)

Wealthier ordinarypeople

New form of massentertainmentDance stops being formal

And becomes informal

New technology

Roots of Dance

Music

Roots of Dance

Music

Influence 1:Jamaican MusicInfluence 1:

Jamaican Music

Dub sound systems

MC’s - (Microphone Controller or Master of Ceremonies)

Dub sound systems

MC’s - (Microphone Controller or Master of Ceremonies)

Influence 2:Disco

Influence 2:Disco

1970’s USABig nightclubsLight showsCostume/outfitsSolo dance moves

1970’s USABig nightclubsLight showsCostume/outfitsSolo dance moves

Influence 3:Hip Hop

Influence 3:Hip Hop

Black American Block Parties Turntables DJ’s Samples

Black American Block Parties Turntables DJ’s Samples

Influence 4:Electronic MusicInfluence 4:

Electronic Music

EuropeanSynthesizersComputersFuturistic

EuropeanSynthesizersComputersFuturistic

Dance MusicDance Music

Q3. How is dance music constructed?

Q4. What are the main differences between the styles of dance music?

Q3. How is dance music constructed?

Q4. What are the main differences between the styles of dance music?

How to construct Dance Music

How to construct Dance Music

Samples Vocal or sound effects

Riff / Hook Short repeating melody line

Chord Pad/Ostinato

Smooth, held chords ORRepeating pattern of notes

Beat Style dependent

Bassline Low sounding, repetitive

HouseHouse

Samples Vocals, often female.Often uses ‘real’ instruments.

Beat Four on the Floor, lots of offbeat hi-hat work. 120bpm

The ‘original’ dance club music, came from the Warehouse Club in Chicago, USA.

Happy, good time music with a steady, simple four-on-the-floor beat.

TechnoTechno

Instruments Lots of synthesized sounds, mechanical and futuristic.

Beat Very fast aggressive Four on the Floor, 140bpm or higher.

Harder, faster, more aggressive music.

Techno is designed for serious dancing, often to sound mechanical or futuristic.

Doesn’t really use any ‘real’ instrument sounds.

Drum n BassDrum n Bass

Instruments Very few.

Beat Very fast, complex sounding beats. 160bpm or higher.

Drum n Bass uses faster and more complex beats. Often, they are speeded up Hip-Hop beats.

Tends to be minimal, just drums and bassline, with a few vocal samples, often male, in a rap/spoken style.

UK GarageUK Garage

Samples Lots of RnB female vocals.

Beat Fast hip hop beats, cut up to sound jumpy and exciting. 120bpm upwards.

UK garage borrows beats from hip hop and vocals from RnB.

It chops the beats up to put gaps in, making it sound ‘jumpy’ and disjointed.

Ambient / ChilloutAmbient / Chillout

Samples Natural sounds, birdsong, water etc.

Beat Very slow, relaxing, spacey ambient sounds. >100bpm.

Created for clubbers who have a bit of a sore head the next morning!

Very chilled, relaxing music, often sounds ‘spacey’ or has samples of natural sounds e.g. birds, water etc.

Structure in Dance Music

Structure in Dance Music

Mix In Music fades in, or instruments introduced one by one.

Main Section

This is the main section, with all your main ideas in.

Breakdown The song breaks down to it’s simplest parts – usually a bass drum beat and bassline.

Build-Up After the breakdown, introduce the instruments one by one again.

Mix Out The music fades out.

Q5. What technology and techniques are

used in Dance Music?

Q6. What is the key vocabulary in Dance Music?

Q5. What technology and techniques are

used in Dance Music?

Q6. What is the key vocabulary in Dance Music?

SynthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer (or ‘synth’) is an electronic keyboard that makes its own sounds by combining sound waves.

TurntableTurntableTurntables (or ‘decks’) are record players, used to allow DJ’s to mix records together.

A ‘mixer’ is the box inthe middle of the decks.

SamplerSamplerA sampler is a machine that records short ‘samples’ from other records and edits them.

Sequencer ProgramSequencer ProgramA music sequencer is a computer program that records and edits music and samples.

LoopLoopThe most common way to make dance music is to take a short sample and loop it, so it plays over and over again.

Time StretchTime StretchOnce your sample is in the sequencer software, you can play around with the tempo of it.

RetriggerRetriggerIf you take a tiny sample and repeat it, it gives a stuttering effect.

QuantizeQuantizeIf your notes are out of time, you can use the Quantize button to fix them.

ReverbReverbReverb is the sense of SPACE you get. Not to be confused with ECHO.

PanPanPan is the movement of sound between the LEFT and RIGHT speakers.

RemixRemixA remix is changing the style of a song, using the song PLUS some new material.

Dubstep Remix ofColdplay

Chillout Remix ofMadonna

Techno Remix of

Rhianna

Key VocabularyKey VocabularyStyles:

House Techno Drum n Bass Garage Ambient Dubstep

Influences:

Jamaican Music Disco Hip Hop Electronic Music

Technology:

Synthesizer Turntables Mixer Sequencer Program

Sampler

Techniques:

Sample Loop Time-Stretch Quantize Reverb Pan

Retrigger Remix