Make a Joyful Noize
Chapter Two: Free Ya Mind
Lesson One: The Art of Collaboration
Chen and Asante introduce the qualities of strong collaborations and ask you to think about your favorite examples of two artists working together to create music.
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Your Assignment
- Watch the video in which Soul Science Lab explores the nature of musical collaboration and how successful collaborators make room for each other by introducing their song “Free Ya Mind.”
- Note some of the key elements of a strong collaboration:
- Flexibility
- Willingness to see things from another’s perspective
- Understanding each individual’s strengths
- Research a few of your favorite songs to see who the songwriter(s) and producer(s) are and how they work together. Remember: For every amazing song you love, the magic happens between a producer and a songwriter.
- Answer the following questions about a song that your favorite collaborators worked on together:
- What did the producer bring to the collaboration?
- What did the songwriter bring?
If you are looking for somewhere to start, search for one of your favorite artists or songs and add the word “producer” to your search. You could also check out some of the links we’ve provided to get an idea of what collaborations in the studio look and feel like:
Explore Other Parts of Make a Joyful Noize
Introduction: Joy in the Artist’s Calling
In this introductory video, Chen and Asante ask you to create your own artistic mission statement as a way of kickstarting your creative process.
Chapter One: We Got That | Lesson One: Community, Context, and Culture
What is your personal definition of culture, and where do you find joy in your life?
Chapter One: We Got That | Lesson Two: Finding the Heartbeat
Listen deeply to your favorite music and define a musical “heartbeat” that you can use as a seed for your own piece of music.
Chapter One: We Got That | Lesson Three: For the Culture
Create a lyrical hook that expresses your artistic mission statement in music.
Chapter Two: Free Ya Mind | Lesson Two: Reimagine and Remix!
Chen and Asante share some of the musical elements of the song “Free Ya Mind,” and ask you to create your own remix of the song using the stems from the recording session.
Chapter Two: Free Ya Mind | Lesson Three: Flip the Script
How would you create your own original backing track to support the first vocal verse of “Free Ya Mind?”
Chapter Three: Victory | Lesson One: The Mission and Rhythm
Chen and Asante demonstrate how to create a song around the ideas and images expressed in a personal artistic mission statement.
Chapter Three: Victory | Lesson Two: A Soundtrack for Victory
Build the musical accompaniment for the new hook that you created out of your mission statement.
Chapter Three: Victory | Lesson Three: Make a Joyful Noize
Chen and Asante demonstrate how to tell a compelling story through song verses and show you how to shape your new song into a finished artistic statement.