How to play the rhythm tracks of Supermassive Black Hole

Summary

Mix and match activities to create a fun lesson in which students will learn to play the rhythm tracks of the song “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse, exploring different percussion instruments and playing techniques.

🎲 Activities included:

• Analyzing the song (artist, genre, mood, tempo, rhythm);
• Discovering the song's tempo by stomping along to it;
• Learning the 3rd rhythm line and playing it in a popular song;
• Learning the 2nd rhythm line and playing it in a popular song;
• Learning the 1st rhythm line and playing it in a popular song;
• Combine and play all rhythm lines in a popular song
  

💻 Materials:

• Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
• Projector or computer and access to WIFI
• Simple percussion instruments, such as shakers, maracas, guiros, tambourines, claves, wood blocks, hand drums, buckets, drumsticks etc.
• Alternatively, body percussion can be used

Muse is on!

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Get familiar with the song and its rhythm section
• Describe and reflect on different musical elements and their function

🎶 Recommended Songs:

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🎲 Activity:

• Open the song “Supermassive Black Hole”.
• Select “Notation” under “Tools” - “Visuals” on the right side of the screen.
• Click on the beginning of Verse 2 on the timeline.
• Listen to Verse 2.
• Discuss with students what you heard. If you want, you can mention some facts from the song description (e.g. - This song was used in the soundtrack of the movie “Twilight”).

What things would you describe as 'supermassive' in your everyday world? (e.g. planets, skyscrapers)

What is the genre/mood/tempo of this song?

What adjectives would you use to describe this song?

How would you describe the rhythm section of the song?

‍Get in the Rhythm!

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Stomp along a steady beat
• Recognize the song's tempo

🎶 Recommended Songs:

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🎲 Activity:

• Tell your students to get up and get ready to warm up to the beat of the song! Ask them to look at the metronome track in Solfeg.io (it is the one showing 1-2-3-4 beats). Tell them that they will have to stomp their right foot on “1” and stomp their left foot on “3”.
• Play Verse 2 and stomp along with your students!

Tip: You can tell your students to concentrate on the red line on the screen. When it passes “1”, you should stomp your right foot, when it passes “3” - the left foot.

• When Verse 2 is over, pause the song.
• Now, ask you students to add their hands to the action - they will have to clap on “2” and 4”. The overall rhythm looks like this - 1 (right foot stomp) - 2 (hand clap) - 3 (left foot stomp) - 4 (hand clap).
• Play Chorus 2 and play along with your students!

3rd Rhythm Line

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn the 3rd rhythm line
• Play the rhythm part along to the song

🎶 Recommended Songs:

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🎲 Activity:

• Tell your students that you will learn all the rhythm lines one by one, starting with the one at the bottom.
• Click on the beginning of Verse 2 on the timeline of the song player and listen to your rhythm track. You can solo it under “Controls” - “Volume” - the 3rd rhythm track is represented by the kick drum and is right above the metronome track. Press on the speaker on the right side of the kick drum icon and it should mute all the tracks except that one!
• Play Verse 2 again and ask your students to try to play or clap along. As this rhythm is the base rhythm, leg stomps or low-sounding instruments (bigger drums, buckets, cajon, conga) will sound the best - try using those!
• Here are some tips depending on the level of your class:

You can loop Verse 2 by pressing 🔁 on the right side of the “Play” button.

If the tempo is too fast, you can slow it down by pressing the “﹣” button up to 4 times on the left side of the “Play” button.

When you're comfortable with the slower tempo, you can try playing the verse at a faster speed and try to reach the original speed!

• When the students feel comfortable with the rhythm, unmute all the other tracks again. Try to play the same rhythm while Verse 2 is playing in its full sound!
  

‍2nd Rhythm Line

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn the 2nd rhythm line
• Play the rhythm part along to the song

🎶 Recommended Songs:

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🎲 Activity:

• Again, click on the beginning of Verse 2 on the timeline of the song player and listen to your rhythm track. You can solo it under “Controls” - “Volume” - the 2rd rhythm track is represented by the snare drum and is right above the kick drum track. Press on the speaker on the right side of the snare drum icon and it should mute all the tracks except that one!
• Play Verse 2 again and ask your students to try to play or clap along. For this rhythm track, instruments like guiro, cabasa, tambourine, small hand drums, bongos, claves, wood blocks, drumsticks, hand-clapping will be suitable.

Again, you can loop Verse 2 by pressing 🔁 on the right side of the “Play” button.

• Next, unmute all the other tracks again. Try to play the same rhythm while Verse 2 is playing in its full sound!

1st Rhythm Line

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn the 1st rhythm line
• Play the rhythm part along to the song

🎶 Recommended Songs:

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🎲 Activity:

• Once more, click on the beginning of Verse 2 on the timeline of the song player and listen to your rhythm track. You can solo it under “Controls” - “Volume” - the 1st rhythm track is represented by the cymbals and is right above the snare drum track. Press on the speaker on the right side of the cymbals icon and it should mute all the tracks except that one!
• Play Verse 2 again and ask your students to try to play or clap along. For playing this line, shakers, maracas, hand-clapping or snapping will do just fine.

Tip: The 1st rhythm line consists of eighth and sixteenth notes, so the students should use both their hands interchangeably (left-right-left-right) on whatever surface they are playing to ensure that their hands don't get too tired or tense. If they are holding the instrument in their hand (e.g. maracas), the left-right-left-right motion can be done with their elbows.

Again, you can loop Verse 2 by pressing 🔁 on the right side of the “Play” button.

• Next, unmute all the other tracks again. Try to play the same rhythm while Verse 2 is playing in its full sound!

Put it all together!

🕐 Time: 7 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Play different rhythm tracks at the same time
• Play the rhythm part along to the song

🎶 Recommended Songs:

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🎲 Activity:

• Explain to students that in the next activity, groups will play together and combine different rhythm tracks.
• Divide your students into 3 groups. Ideally, the ones playing on deeper sounding instruments (bigger drums, buckets, cajon, conga, foot-stomping) should play the 3rd rhythm line, the ones with the higher sounding instruments (guiro, cabasa, tambourine, small hand drums, bongos, claves, wood blocks, drumsticks) should play the 2nd rhythm line and 1st (shaker, maraca, hand-clapping) rhythm line.
• Click on the beginning of Verse 2 on the timeline of the song player and listen to 2 rhythm tracks at once (with the kick drum, snare drum icons - cymbals should be silent for now) - mute all the other tracks. Tell your students to try to hear the specific parts that they have to play while listening.
• Combine the groups playing 3rd and 2nd rhythm lines (represented as kick drum and snare drum) - they should try to play their lines simultaneously while Verse 2 + Chorus 2 are playing. Press play!

Again, you can loop Verse 2 by pressing 🔁 on the right side of the “Play” button.

• Again, click on the start of Verse 2, but now unmute the cymbal track.
• Combine all three groups - they should try to play their lines simultaneously while Verse 2 + Chorus 2 are playing. Press play!
• Next, unmute all the other tracks again. All groups should try to play their rhythm lines simultaneously while Verse 2 + Chorus 2 is playing in its full sound!
  

Reflection

🕐 Time: 3 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Reflect on the learning process

🎲 Activity:

• Ask these questions to the class and have a short discussion

Which of three rhythm lines did you like the most?

What were the differences between the rhythm track you played in the end and the other ones?

Homework assignment

🕐 Time: 3 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Practice the rhythm track students learned in the class
• Learn other parts of the song and combine them

🎲 Activity:

Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by…

• Practicing their part at home by playing along to the song;
• Learning other parts of the song (chords, lyrics, etc.).

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