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Year 8 - Music

The global reach of reggaeton

Reggaeton: from Puerto Rico to global phenomenon

Unit Summary

Pupils are introduced to Reggaeton, including the context of the style and the influences. They learn about the dembow beat, the tresillo and hooks and riffs. They also develop their understanding of DAW capabilities including low-pass filter sweeps.

Lesson Summary

You have developed your dembow beat and understand the influence of reggaeton on Western pop music.

Key Notes

  • Reggaeton has evolved from being popular in Puerto Rico to being a globally successful genre.
  • It has influenced many pop artists, including Ed Sheeran, Clean Bandit and Dua Lipa.
  • When different musical styles are combined, such as using the dembow beat in pop music, it results in a musical fusion.
  • We can create more complex variations on the dembow beat by adding timbales, extra percussion and drum rolls.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • Timbales: Timbales are high-pitched tom-toms that are commonly used in Latin American music, including reggaeton.
  • Drum roll: A drum roll involves playing the snare drum rapidly, producing a continuous sound.
  • Musical fusion: When different musical styles are combined we call this musical fusion.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • An interesting, developed dembow beat should be complex.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

Reggaeton has evolved from being popular in Puerto Rico to being a globally successful genre. It has influenced many pop artists, including Ed Sheeran, Clean Bandit and Dua Lipa.

2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'Timbales'

Timbales are high-pitched tom-toms that are commonly used in Latin American music, including reggaeton.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: An interesting, developed dembow beat should be complex. Correction: Often keeping things simple is more effective than complexity. Choose one or two of the suggested ways of developing your drum beat, rather than trying to add everything in.

More Lessons In This Unit

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