Incredibox Song Composition

Students will:

• Be able to use Incredibox to create an a capella song. 
• Be able to create a song mix. 
• Be able to comprise a melody (beat, vocals, sound effects, rhytm, etc,...).

Vocabulary Words:

1. A cappella: A capella is singing without musical accompaniment.

2. Accompaniment: Accompaniment is a musical part that supports other musical parts.

3. bass: Bass is the lowest part of the musical range.

4. Beat: A beat is the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music.

5. Chord: A chord is a combination of three or more notes that blend harmoniously.

6. Ensemble: An ensemble is a group of musicians playing or singing together.

To prepare for this lesson:

• Visit the Incredibox website. 

• Watch the demo intro video to learn how to use Incredibox.

• Watch the innovative Milli Vanilli version of a song using real kids!

• It should be an easy prep. The teacher should be comfortable with allowing students to experiment with the program as they work to create a mix that can accompany their written work. There are various “genres” of musical styles for the user to drag & drop onto the group.  

• It is recommended that students have a written piece (poem, narrative, etc,...) that could be narrated using Incredibox as a background track prior to jumping in to “play” and create! That being said, the iterative process might be fascinating to start with a mix tape & then create a written piece for students.

See Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4students.net site in the Teacher Resources. 

Directions for this activity:

1. Start with a written work to create a soundtrack. 
    
2. The students will watch the demo Incredibox video.
    
3. The students will go to the Incredibox website and experiment. 
    
4. The students complete a final product to download/share either alone or accompanying a narrative of the written work as a background soundtrack.
    
5. The student can also create a screencast of the visual while narrating their written work. 
   • Use Screencastomatic to create a quick screencast. 

Different options for assessing the students:

• Observations
• Check for understanding
• A final product could be shared live or digital (screencast). 
• The teacher could assign a reflection for the student allowing them to share their thoughts/feelings/mood of how the Incredibox mix connects to their written assignment.