"A digital audio workstation (or DAW) is a computer program that is exclusively designed for the recording, editing and playing of digital audio files. A DAW allows you to edit and mix multiple audio sources simultaneously on a musical timing grid and to visually see how they line up over time. It also makes it easy to synchronize audio clips with each other based on a common tempo, meter, and beat. (Technically, a DAW is more than just the software running on your computer. It’s also the hardware: the computer running the software along with any special interfaces routing audio or other signals into and out of the computer. . .)" (EarSketch, n.d.). Dammers has noted that modern DAW's have "democratized sound recording" (2013, p. 204) as any layman with limited funds can record, remix, and produce their own  musical ideas. Click on the links below to explore:
 

• Example Creations

• Example Experience 1: Our Song

• Example Experience 2: Remix It Up

• Suggested Apps

Guiding Questions:  

• How do musicians organize their work?

• How do musicians use repeated and contrasting sections to give a sense of unity and variety, as well as flow?

• What common musical forms do contemporary musicians use?

• What are chord progressions and how are they used in popular music?
   

Potential Process:

1. Students will explore a popular song that they enjoy. The teacher will direct their attention to the repeating and contrasting sections of the song. The class will pick one song to diagram or flow chart out.
    

2. The teacher will ask students if they know of names for each section (drawing on previous class discussions). Together, the class will develop a set of section labels. Students will then go and listen to another song of their choosing. They should diagram or chart out this new song and apply the labels. The teacher will ask students to think about how each section functions in the song (comparing this song with the one the entire class charted).
    

3. As a class, students will share their findings and collectivly develop working descriptions of each section. Common song sections include: Verse, Chorus/Hook, Pre-Chorus, Bridge, Intro, and Outro. 
    

4. To model what musicians do when they learn to "cover a song," the teacher will lead students in learning the hook from the a popular song (possibly the first song that the class discussed). The teacher will ask students to listen to the isolated hook and figure out parts by ear. The teacher may ask students to focus on the drum beat or the chord changes (no necessarily the names of the chords, just their rhythmic changes), melodic parts, and the lyrics/melody. Students will break up to cover the parts that they attended to. For the purpose of this example, the students will figure out the guitar, bass, keyboard, percussion, and vocal parts. The teacher will ask students to figure their parts out by ear and/or consult internet tutorials or chord tab websites.
    

5. Once one student in each group "gets" their part, they should help the others in their group. When ready, the entire class will put their parts together to perform, repeating the hook multiple times to solidify their work. The teacher will then record the entire group playing on a DAW. The teacher will ask for volunteers to record each instrument part individually in a track, modeling how to mic and record independent parts. Once each part is recorded, the class will help master the recording. 
    

6. Students will then break up into 4-5 member bands. The groups will create their own song that has at least 3 sections. Each section should be recorded once, using the modeled process if needed. Students may create their own chord progressions or adapt chord progressions and parts from another song. During this phase, the teacher will assist as needed. 
    

7. Once 3 sections are created and recorded, the students should decide how to organize and identify the sections, copying and pasting them into a form that best fits their work. 
    

8.  Students may want to create Intro and Outro sections for their pieces, using familiar pop songs as inspirations. They may also want to add a vocal part, if they have not already done so.
    

9. Once the entire piece is formed, the students will explore using effects and making a final mix (discussing issues of dynamics, timbre, panning, etc). The final project will be exported to student portfolios or soundcloud. 
    

10. Extension: Student bands will create cover art (possibly in collaboration with art teachers) and liner notes that describe the genre, works that inspired their composition, and their composition process. 
     

11. Extension: Some students may want to create a cover of a pop song. This should be encouraged as their arrangement of the work will display many of the same strategies and learning outcomes as creating an original work.