Piece of Music:
Title: Somebody That I Used to Know
Artist: Gotye
Topic:
Type of Music: Australian Music (Popular)
Course: Mandatory (Years 7-8)
Concepts and Composition Processes:
Structure.
Instrumentally, the piece is constructed almost entirely of riffs and ostinati, mainly due to the composition technique that Gotye uses, of creating loops by sampling old records found in pawn shops, then constructing pieces of music with these samples. The piece also allows for very clear identification of common structural components in popular music, such as verse, chorus, introduction and coda. ‘Somebody…’ not only exhibits many aspects of the NSW syllabus mandatory music course with regards to structure, but it is also very culturally relevant to Australian students.
Teaching Activities:
Aural:
While students listen to the piece, show a list on the board outlining the structure of the song (ie. introduction, verse 1, verse 2, chorus, verse 3, chorus, coda). Ask students to identify when each section finishes, and the next section starts. Ask questions such as:
-
What is the same about all the verses? Which musical components are repeated?
-
What is different about each verse?
-
What is different between the verses and the chorus? What contrast does this create?
-
What determines which part is the chorus?
-
Which part of the song is the coda similar to?
A collection of loops from the official recording session of ‘Somebody…’ is available for download here. Students should download these loops, listen to them, and identify whether these ostinati, riffs and loops are used in the verses, choruses or coda, or a combination of these.
Students should watch the following video, featuring a song from Gotye’s debut album ‘Like Drawing Blood’, in groups. They are to identify the various ostinati used in the song’s composition, then discuss the use of repetition.
The same process of riff identification and discussion should be used for the following video, featuring a song titled ‘Clown Prince’, by Australian hip-hop group Hilltop Hoods.
Creativity/Composition:
This piece creates an ideal introduction to the process of composing a piece using loop software such as GarageBand, Acid, Logic or FL Studio. Students are to apply knowledge that they have gained about composing using ostinatos and riffs, and create an instrumental piece in a popular song structure using GarageBand loops, ready for to collaborate with a lyricist. The piece should contain at least 2 verses and 2 choruses, and should feature the use of repetition of ostinatos, as well as contrast between sections. Students should include between 4-8 instruments, including percussive elements, and at least 8 different loops. The song should be between 2-3 minutes in length, and once completed, upload to SoundCloud, where other students may extend their learning by writing lyrics and melody for other students pieces outside of class time.
Musicology:
Set students the task of investigating three different recording technologies used throughout the 20th century to record music (options include gramophone, wax cylinder, magnetic tape, cassette tape and hard-disk recording). They should upload their findings to their student blog, including the year of invention, the decades that the technology was commonly used in, the impact that the technology had on the way artists created music, a picture of the device, and an embedded YouTube clip of a song recorded using this technology.
Have students evaluate whether the technology available to Gotye today (ie. DAW [Digital Audio Workstation] software, sampling and looping programs) had an impact on the way in which he composed ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’.
Further discussion may be instigated by playing students songs from previous eras whose composition is heavily based on the use of ostinati, such as Pachelbel’s Canon.
Performance:
Students each learn one of the ostinati outlined in the aural task for this piece. Varying levels of student ability are catered for, as the ostinati that make up this piece have varying degrees of difficulty. Students form groups based around their role in the piece, and then as a class, perform the song instrumentally, playing along with the rhythm and vocal backing track available, to create the entire piece. Record the performance using a portable recorder or similar, and allow students to review their performance by listening to it, and comparing it to the original version by Gotye.
The sheet music available at Music Notes may be of some help.
Rob's Blog 