Author: Scott Le Duc

My name is Scott Le Duc. I have been a learner all of my life. I am an autodidact. So, I am in the right profession. I am a National Board Certified educator currently work at Capital High School teaching International Baccalaureate (IB) and Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes focusing on arts and technology instruction, specifically music, film and game design. I have worked as an adjunct faculty at Lesley University, City University of Seattle, St. Martin’s University, and Wuhan University of Technology in Hubei Province, China.

School of Rock – Day 1 – Silence, Safety, Tools, and Goals

RESOURCES FOR THE CLASS

SUMMARY

Write your daily summary last, at the end of the day here…

Only one to two sentences.

Link to the 2023 School of Rock Summer School “Rooms” Blog Content Checklist

PRACTICE ROOM

We will be logging our daily practice with Paper Practice Logs

We will be using the MusicWill.org JamZone and books.

What did you think about today’s introduction to Music Will resources?

CLASSROOM

Image of Gordon Hempton
Image by Richard Darbonne, © All Rights Reserved.

Listen to https://onbeing.org/programs/gordon-hempton-silence-and-the-presence-of-everything/

Write a short reflection on what you thought about silence and listening from Gordon Hempton

Safety

Watch 15-minute video Listen Smart

Add details to the notes below that you found interesting…

  • Goal: listen to music in a way that will enrich but not harm you
  • 10%-20% of high schoolers have hearing damage
  • Hearing damage can happen on one occasion and doesn’t have to be constant
  • No cure!
  • Temporary Threshold Shift: “hearing hangover”
  • Wearing earplugs doesn’t change the quality of sound but just the volume
  • High-frequency loss is most common among musicians
  • Distancing yourself from the source and earplugs is the best way to prevent hearing loss
  • Stimulants while listening to music can increase the risk of hearing damage
  • Resting your ears is important, space out concerts
  • 70 dB, no risk
  • 85 dB, risk after 8 hours
  • 91dB, 2 hours without damage
  • 100 dB, 15 minutes without damage
  • 115 dB, 1 minute without damage
  • 140 dB, immediate damage and pain
  • Symptoms of damage, tinnitus, muffled hearing, and other mental and physical problems like irritability, depression, high blood pressure, and fatigue
  • Damage is done when the cochlea hair cells in the inner ear are damaged. They do not grow back. These are what interpret vibrations and turn them into what we hear.

Safety Online

Participate in the Netsmartz.org Internet safety discussion about being safe online

LAB

Sign up for Our Summer School 2023 Hooktheory.com Class

The sign-up code for this course is: ojgayxkg

Step 1. Tell your students to click “I am a student with a course code” at the bottom of the website, as shown below.

 

Step 2. On the “Course Sign Up” page, students enter the course code, a username, a password, and their first and last name, as shown below.

This creates a Hooktheory account for the student and links it to your course. If a student visits the course sign-up page while logged into an existing account, it only asks for the course code.

Explore the basics of https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab

Write a learning reflection here after exploring some songs.

OUTSIDE

Listen to a chapter of The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

Go for a walk and think about the chapter.

When you come back, write a short reflection and then share with the group what you thought about.

STUDIO

Join our Soundtrap Group

https://www.soundtrap.com/invite/48XRAXW

Invite code: 48XRAXW

Start Soundtrap.com expert training here…

https://academy.soundtrap.com/p/soundtrap-expert

CONTROL ROOM

Finish Soundtrap.com expert training here…

Insert your certificate when you finish by clicking the ADD MEDIA button above, uploading a picture of your certificate, and placing it where Mr. Le Duc’s image is below. (Remove Mr. Le Duc’s image)

STAGE

We will work on MusicWill.org materials when ‘on stage’.

This is the performance room.

Reflect on which instrument you picked to work on first.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

Tell your daily story here!  Highlight what you learned and enjoyed most.  Also, share what you needed to do to complete the day’s work. Problem-solving is one of the most important skills you need in life. Employers want to know HOW you get stuff done as much as what you got done.

DAILEY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

Preparing a Film Pitch TEMPLATE

  • TITLE THIS BLOG POST: ‘Someone or Thing Fighting Someone of Thing for Someone or Thing Pitch’
  • FILL IN ALL SECTIONS BELOW 
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s Italic INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

LOGLINE

PROTAGONIST

  • Protagonist explained
  • Tell us a little about this person
  • More description is better, really ‘paint a picture’ of them

PROTANGIONST CORE WOUND / MOTIVATION 

  • Identify the core motivation / wound / want for the Protagonist

GENRE

  • Identify Genre(s) and / or Style(s)
  • List other films in this genre that inspire or are influencing your film element choices

PLOT DESCRIPTION

  • Write a paragraph describing the beginning, middle, and end of the story arc 
    • Does the Protagonist achieve their goal?

TREATMENT

  • Complete a paragraph describing the protagonist’s world
  • This description helps the team build a better, more believable world
  • You may include wardrobe, family, friends, food choices, habits, hang-ups, etc.

INFLUENCES and EXAMPLES

  • List directors or other filmmakers FROM YOUR CHOSEN GENRE you are using for research and inspiration
  • List scenes FROM YOUR CHOSEN GENRE you are using for research and inspiration
  • Embed video clips of scenes that may influence or inspire stylistic choices in your film

The Brain, Learning, and Creativity Notes TEMPLATE

  • TITLE THIS BLOG POST: The Brain, Learning, and Creativity Notes
  • TAKE NOTES UNDER ALL THE HEADINGS BELOW
  • REVIEW THESE POST EXAMPLES:
    • Coming Soon!
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s ALL UPPERCASE INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Sleep is your Superpower

Cue

Notes

Summary

 

Learn Better Practicing Techniques from Dr. Molly Gebrian

Cue

Notes

Summary

 

Rhythm Research, Analysis, and Recording Project TEMPLATE

  • TITLE THIS BLOG POST: Rhythm Research, Analysis, and Recording Project
  • PLACE A CREATIVE COMMONS IMAGE RELATED TO THE PROJECT FROM wordpress.org/openverse AT THE TOP OF THE POST
  • FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS IN THIS BLOG POST TEMPLATE
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Summary

  • In a small paragraph, write WHAT THIS PROJECT IS ABOUT. Your audience is someone who is not in the class. So, be specific.
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

My First HookTheory Rhythm (Beat)

HookTheory Drum Tutorial

Notes from Howard Goodall’s Rhythm Video

Watch How Rhythm Works (47 minutes)

Cue Notes
Write your questions here…

 Write your notes here…

 

Summary

Summarize what you learned from the video here..

Rhythm Composition Terms and Definitions

  • Rhythm comes from natural things
  • rhythm is even in music when you can’t hear it
  • most beats are divided by 2,3, or 4
  • accent, pulse, sub-division
  • accents can put emphasis on one or two notes to make it sound very different
  • syncopation is a musical slight of hand that makes it sound more mischievous and playful
  • the elastication of syncopation became jazz
  • cross-rhythm is music’s party trick. its the overlay of one pattern over another
  • in Cuban music, the melody and bass line are ahead
  • the Latin push has become very common nowadays

One of My Favorite Rhythms (Beats)

  • Find one of your favorite rhythms Hook Theory Tab Index of Songs
  • Place a screenshot of the chords from HookTheory
  • Embed a clean version of this song from YouTube
  • In writing, describe why you like this chord progression, and identify the musical key, tonic chord, and tension chords
    • What do you notice about the chord structure/pattern of the theme of the progression?
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Play with Funklet

Export a MIDI File from Funklet

Explore Expanded DAW Drumming Options

My Second HookTheory Rhythm (Beats)

  • Place a screenshot of the chords from HookTheory
  • Link to a .mp3 file of your second rhythm from HookTheory
  • Write a brief reflection about this rhythm. What do you like about it?
    • Where did you raise tension or suspense in the rhythm structure?
    • Where did you resolve tension in the rhythm?
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

What I Learned & Problems I Solved

  • Write what you LEARNED from the research, analysis, and rhythm (beats) creation parts of this project
  • Explain how you SOLVED AT LEAST ONE PROBLEM
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Grammar and Spelling

  • Write what tool(s) did you use to check your spelling and grammar?
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Editor

  • Who was your editor?
  • Write their first name only
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Resources

Harmony Research, Analysis, and Recording Project TEMPLATE

  • TITLE THIS BLOG POST: Harmony Research, Analysis, and Recording Project
  • PLACE A CREATIVE COMMONS IMAGE RELATED TO THE PROJECT FROM wordpress.org/openverse AT THE TOP OF THE POST
  • FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS IN THIS BLOG POST TEMPLATE
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Summary

  • In a small paragraph, write WHAT THIS PROJECT IS ABOUT. Your audience is someone who is not in the class. So, be specific.
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

My First HookTheory Chord Progression  (Harmony)

  • Watch this HookTheory Harmony Tutorial
  • Make an 8-measure chord progression
  • Place a screenshot of your 8-measure chords (harmony) from hookpad.hooktheory.com
  • Link to a .mp3 file of your first HookTheory chord progression (harmony) that you exported from hookpad.hooktheory.com
  • Write a brief reflection about this chord progression (harmony).
    • What do you like about it?
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Notes from Howard Goodall’s Harmony Video

Cue Notes
Write your questions here…

 Write your notes here…

 
Summary: Summarize what you learned from the video here..

Harmony Composition Terms and Definitions

  • Harmony was not originally part of music until the middle ages and the renaissance
  • Harmony sounds like it comes from some other plane of existence (to exaggerate a bit)
  • Harmony in its simplest and oldest form in two notes playing at the same time
  • A drone is a single note that you can sing any melody above. Bagpipes are an instrument that plays a drone.
  • A drone is usually the tonic
  • When people started to move the drone around, it was like the melody and the harmony were parallel lines. As the melody moved up, the drone moved up
  • Triad – 3 notes that come together and create a chord
  • Chord progressions are the backbone of western harmony
  • People discovered the “hierarchy” of chords and created rules to go with these
  • In one note, there are other hidden notes called harmonics
  • Humans can only really pick out three or four harmonics
  • Using the harmonics humans were able to make chords by finding the notes hidden in the harmonics
  • In minor chords, the middle note is a half-step lower than in a major chord
  • Polyphony is when you have a bunch of chords under the melody
  • Polyphony – many “voices”
  • Progression – a certain series of chords or notes that “work together” and sound good
  • Tonic – the first note of a scale “home”
  • Dominant – the fifth note of a scale that raises tension
  • Passimezzo Antico – A chord progression that’s a variation of a double tonic. It was popular during the Italian Renaissance
  • Passimezzo Moderno – “Modern half step” A chord progression that’s a variation of Passimezzo Antico. It divides the section in two and often uses a contrasting progression or section known as ripresi
  • Dischord – a deliberate collision of notes that are meant not to sound “pretty”
  • Dissonance – lack of harmony between notes “a clash”
  • Passing Notes – notes that don’t sound “pretty” but are used a small number of times like they are just “passing through”
  • Suspended Notes – dissonant notes being held for as long as possible and then finally moving at the last second
  • 7th Chords – A regular triad chord plus the note seven steps above the first note
  • Diminished Chords – A regular triad chord with the bottom note being moved up a step
  • Augmented Chords – A regular triad chord with the last note being moved up a step
  • Tonic (1 and 8 chords)
    • Root note creates a feeling of resolution and stability 
  • Supertonic, Mediant, Submediant (2, 3, 6 chords)
    • Moderate tension, useful for transitions 
  • Dominant, Subdominant, Leading Tone (4, 5, 7 chords)
    • Create lots of tension to get to the tonic 

Mr. Le Duc’s Key of C Major Notes and Chords Chart (PDF)

One of My Favorite (Chord Progressions) Harmonies

  • Find one of your favorite chord progressions (harmonies) at Hook Theory Tab Index of Songs
  • Place a screenshot of the chords from HookTheory
  • Embed a clean version of this song from YouTube
  • In writing, describe why you like this chord progression, and identify the musical key, tonic chord, and tension chords
    • What do you notice about the chord structure/pattern of the theme of the progression?
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

My Second HookTheory Chord Progression (Harmonies)

  • Place a screenshot of the chords from HookTheory
  • Link to a .mp3 file of your second harmony from HookTheory
  • Write a brief reflection about this chord progression (harmony). What do you like about it?
    • Where did you raise tension or suspense in the chord progression (harmony)?
    • Where did you resolve tension in the chord progression (harmony)?
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

What I Learned & Problems I Solved

  • Write what you LEARNED from the research, analysis, and chord progression (harmonies) creation parts of this project
  • Explain how you SOLVED AT LEAST ONE PROBLEM
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Grammar and Spelling

  • Write what tool(s) did you use to check your spelling and grammar?
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Editor

  • Who was your editor?
  • Write their first name only
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Resources

DATE GOES HERE Weekly Work Log TEMPLATE v.2

Session Number: # goes here
Week Number: # goes here
Total Estimated Hours Contributed this Week:  # goes here
What is/was your overall goal for this week?  Goal goes here

Work Tasks 

Date  Task Description  Time Spent  Was / Were your choices and work Best Practices? Why? 
 
   
       
       
       

Personal Comments (Optional) 

Remember reflecting on your own choices and work can help you improve both. Are there any other comments you would like to include for your own reflection? If so, please enter them here: 

Successful Games Tend To Incorporate These Elements

Preparation

Before taking on a given challenge, the player gets to make some choices that affect their odds of success. This might be healing up before a battle, handicapping the opponent, or practicing in advance. You might set up a strategic landscape, such as building a particular hand of cards in a card game. Prior moves in a game are automatically part of the preparation stage because all games consist of multiple challenges in sequence.

A sense of space

The space might be the landscape of a war game, a chess board, the network of relationships between the players during the bridge game.

A solid core mechanic

This is a puzzle to solve, an intrinsically interesting rule set into which content can be poured. An example might be “moving a piece in chess.” The core mechanic is usually a fairly small rule; the intricacies of games come from either having a lot of mechanics or having a few, very elegantly chosen ones.

A range of challenges

This is basically content. It does not change the rules, it operates within the rules and brings slightly different parameters to the table. Each enemy you might encounter in a game is one of these

A range of abilities required to solve the encounter

If all you have is a hammer and you can only do one thing with it, then the game is going to be dull. This is a test that tic-tac-toe fails but that checkers meet; in a game of checkers, you start learning the importance of forcing the other player into a disadvantageous jump. Most games unfold abilities over time until at a high level you have many possible stratagems to choose from.

Skill required in using the abilities

Bad choices lead to failure in the encounter. This skill can be of any sort, really: resource management during the encounter, failures in timing, failures in physical dexterity, and failures to monitor all the variables that are in motion.

Read the Book

The content for these questions is from A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster (p. 121). O’Reilly Distribution.

Favorite Director

  • TITLE THIS BLOG POST: Favorite Director
  • FILL IN UNDER ALL THE HEADINGS BELOW
  • REVIEW THESE POST EXAMPLES:
    • Coming Soon!
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s ALL UPPERCASE INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

Who is one of your favorite directors

Director’s Name:
Link to their IMDB.com page:
Video essay link or embedded YouTube clip about the director or their directing style:

Notes About What Makes Their Style Unique

 

Songs to Share

  • TITLE THIS BLOG POST: Songs to Share
  • FILL IN UNDER ALL THE HEADINGS BELOW
  • REVIEW THESE POST EXAMPLES:
    • Coming Soon!
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s ALL UPPERCASE INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM

What song has the most plays on your music device?

Song Title:
Artist:
Video link:

What song might you listen to when you are sad?

Song Title:
Artist:
Video link:

What song might you listen to when you getting ready to go out with friends?

Song Title:
Artist:
Video link:

What song might you listen to when you are alone?

Song Title:
Artist:
Video link:

What song makes you feel amazing?

Song Title:
Artist:
Video link:

Who is your current favorite artist?

Artist: