Dance Music 1985-present day

Dance Music through History Pre 20 th Century: Waltzes, Ballroom dancing, Chamber Orchestras, very FORMAL, set dance moves in large groups Pre 20 th Century: Waltzes, Ballroom dancing, Chamber Orchestras, very FORMAL, set dance moves in large groups

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 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 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 Dance What has changed?

Why dance? 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 Styles Dubstep Drum n Bass Techno Ambient/Chillout Garage House Disco

Dance Music – Why Now? More permissive society Hedonistic society (pleasure seeking) Wealthier ordinary people New form of mass entertainment Dance stops being formal And becomes informal New technology

Roots of Dance Music

Influence 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  1970’s USA  Big nightclubs  Light shows  Costume/outfits  Solo dance moves  1970’s USA  Big nightclubs  Light shows  Costume/outfits  Solo dance moves

Influence 3: Hip Hop  Black American  Block Parties  Turntables  DJ’s  Samples  Black American  Block Parties  Turntables  DJ’s  Samples

Influence 4: Electronic Music  European  Synthesizers  Computers  Futuristic  European  Synthesizers  Computers  Futuristic

Dance 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 SamplesVocal or sound effects Riff / HookShort repeating melody line Chord Pad/ Ostinato Smooth, held chords OR Repeating pattern of notes BeatStyle dependent BasslineLow sounding, repetitive

House SamplesVocals, often female. Often uses ‘real’ instruments. BeatFour 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.

Techno InstrumentsLots of synthesized sounds, mechanical and futuristic. BeatVery 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 Bass InstrumentsVery few. BeatVery 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 Garage SamplesLots of RnB female vocals. BeatFast 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 / Chillout SamplesNatural sounds, birdsong, water etc. BeatVery 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 Mix InMusic fades in, or instruments introduced one by one. Main Section This is the main section, with all your main ideas in. BreakdownThe song breaks down to it’s simplest parts – usually a bass drum beat and bassline. Build-UpAfter the breakdown, introduce the instruments one by one again. Mix OutThe 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?

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

Turntable Turntables (or ‘decks’) are record players, used to allow DJ’s to mix records together. A ‘mixer’ is the box in the middle of the decks.

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

Sequencer Program A music sequencer is a computer program that records and edits music and samples.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remix A remix is changing the style of a song, using the song PLUS some new material. Dubstep Remix of Coldplay Chillout Remix of Madonna Techno Remix of Rhianna

Key Vocabulary Styles: 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