Contenidos
Calm Down — Rema y Selena Gomez (2022)
Two chords for the whole song, and a percussion pattern you cannot count on your fingers. "Calm Down" is where you find out that 4/4 does not always mean 1-2-3-4.
🏷️ Ficha musical
Why this song
Play the song and clap crotchets: 1, 2, 3, 4. You get it first time.
Now try clapping along with the percussion on top. You cannot, and that is not your fault. That pattern is not built to be counted. It is built to be moved to. This song is the place to learn the difference.
Historical context
The beat was made by Nigerian producer Andre Vibez in 2021 and sat unused for months. He played it to Rema in the studio — it was the third beat of the day, and the one Rema wanted to keep. The whole song was recorded in a single day.
A second producer, London, came in afterwards. Rema wanted more emotion, so London added strings and made the drums hit harder. The single came out on 11 February 2022, on the album Rave & Roses.
Six months later came the remix with Selena Gomez, on 25 August 2022. That is the one that got huge: number 3 on the US Hot 100, and 57 weeks on the chart — the first African song to spend a full year there.
Two near-identical names are worth separating. Afrobeats, plural, is twenty-first-century Nigerian and Ghanaian pop, which is what Rema makes. Afrobeat, singular, is Fela Kuti's music from the 1970s, with horn sections and fifteen-minute tracks. The name is almost all they share.
Foto: The CW Network, CC BY 3.0, vía Wikimedia Commons
Musical characteristics
Start with the harmony, because it is over quickly. There are two chords: E and B. And the song opens on E, which is not the home chord but the fourth degree, the subdominant. Home arrives afterwards.
Those two chords repeat through the intro, the chorus, all three verses and the outro. The harmony never changes. So it cannot tell you where you are in the song: there is no information there.
All the information is in the rhythm, and the rhythm works in two layers. Underneath, the kick marks the four crotchets of the bar. That is the floor, and it is the only thing that lands where you expect.
The other layer sits on top and refuses to land on the numbers. Split the bar into sixteen semiquavers and count: the hits fall on 1, 4, 7, 9, 12 and 15. Group them and the shape appears — three, three and two, twice per bar.
Of those six hits, only two land on a crotchet: the first and the fourth, which are beats 1 and 3. The other four fall in between. An accent placed where you do not expect it is called syncopation, and there are four per bar here.
Notice what is missing too. In rock and in most pop the snare hits beats 2 and 4 — the backbeat — which is why you can follow those songs by clapping without thinking. In "Calm Down" there is nothing on 2 and nothing on 4. That is why counting does not help and moving does.
Hard facts: B major, 4/4, 107 BPM, two chords (E–B, IV–I), 3:40 for the original and 3:59 for the remix. The form has a twist as well: it does not open with a verse but with the chorus, straight after a short intro. You get the hook before you get the story.
Trivia and curiosities
- The beat was the third one Andre Vibez played Rema that day, and he had made it months earlier. The song did not come from a new idea. It came from choosing well among things already made.
- To fit Selena Gomez's voice into the remix, the producers removed elements from the beat rather than adding any. Arranging is as much subtraction as addition, and this is the proof.
- Gomez's verse was written by Amanda Ibanez, who works as Kiddo AI; the two of them spent weeks refining it before recording in Los Angeles. In today's pop, the voice you hear and the hand that writes are rarely the same.
- Music Will's guitar chart moves the song down a whole tone, to A and D, so the chords come out as open shapes. Transposing is not cheating: it is picking the version the instrument plays without a fight.
Classroom activities
- Play: two chords and that is the lot. E and B in the original key; A and D if you want open guitar chords, as in the Music Will chart. Always start on the fourth degree, the way the song does.
- Clap in two groups: half the class marks the four crotchets and stays there. The other half plays 3+3+2 across the semiquavers. Ten minutes, then swap. The hard part is not the pattern — it is not drifting into the other group's.
- Analyse: a closed question. Of the six hits in the 3+3+2 pattern, how many land on a crotchet? Count them on the sixteen-square grid and justify your answer.
- Create: take a song the class can already play, leave its harmony untouched and swap only the drums for 3+3+2 with the kick on the crotchets. Steal the procedure, not the song.
Key vocabulary
- Afrobeats — afrobeats: el pop de Nigeria y Ghana del siglo XXI (en singular, afrobeat, es otra música: la de Fela Kuti)
- Subdominant (IV) — subdominante: el cuarto acorde de la escala, el que no es el de casa
- 3+3+2 grouping — reparto 3+3+2: ocho partes divididas en tres, tres y dos
- Syncopation — síncopa: un acento fuera del golpe fuerte
- Backbeat — el golpe de caja en los tiempos 2 y 4, el del rock; aquí no está
Resources
Where it is explained — this song is studied in ¿Por qué las canciones ya no te hacen esperar?, from the modern music history book.
Official music video (remix with Selena Gomez, 2022)
Official music video of Rema's original (2022) — the version without Selena Gomez, for comparing the arrangements.
Guitar tutorial — for3v3rfaithful. A beginner lesson, with chords, strumming and tab on screen.
Piano tutorial — PHianonize, easy version.
The afrobeats groove on the drum kit — JM Drumming. Not this song: it is the genre's pattern explained step by step, which is exactly what this article analyses.
- Song page with the per-instrument charts (guitar, keyboard, bass, drums and ukulele) — https://jamzone.musicwill.org/songs/calm-down
- Harmonic analysis — https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/rema/calm-down
- Tab — the button opens it in Songsterr
Por dónde entrar
Pon la canción y da palmas a negras: 1, 2, 3, 4. Te sale a la primera.
Ahora intenta dar palmas con la percusión que suena por encima. No te sale, y no es culpa tuya. Ese patrón no está pensado para contarse, sino para moverse con él. Esta canción es el sitio donde aprender la diferencia.
Contexto histórico
El beat lo hizo el productor nigeriano Andre Vibez en 2021 y lo tuvo guardado meses. Se lo puso a Rema en el estudio: era el tercer beat que le enseñaba ese día, y fue el que Rema quiso quedarse. La canción entera se grabó en una sola jornada.
Después entró un segundo productor, London. Rema quería más emoción, así que London añadió cuerdas e hizo que la batería pegara más fuerte. El single salió el 11 de febrero de 2022, dentro del disco Rave & Roses.
Seis meses más tarde llegó el remix con Selena Gomez, el 25 de agosto de 2022. Es el que se hizo enorme: llegó al número 3 en la lista estadounidense Hot 100 y aguantó allí 57 semanas, la primera canción africana que pasa un año entero en esa lista.
Conviene separar dos nombres casi iguales. Afrobeats, en plural, es el pop nigeriano y ghanés del siglo XXI, lo que hace Rema. Afrobeat, en singular, es la música de Fela Kuti en los años setenta, con vientos y temas de quince minutos. Se parecen en el nombre y poco más.
Foto: The CW Network, CC BY 3.0, vía Wikimedia Commons
Cómo suena
Empieza por la armonía, porque se acaba enseguida. Hay dos acordes: Mi y Si. Y la canción arranca por Mi, que no es el acorde de casa, sino el cuarto grado, la subdominante. El acorde de casa llega después.
Esos dos acordes se repiten en la intro, en el estribillo, en las tres estrofas y en el final. La armonía no cambia nunca. Eso significa que no te dice en qué parte de la canción estás: por ahí no hay información.
Toda la información está en el ritmo, y el ritmo trabaja en dos capas. Abajo, el bombo marca las cuatro negras del compás. Es el suelo, y es lo único que va a donde tú esperas.
Encima va la otra capa, y esa se niega a caer en los números. Divide el compás en dieciséis semicorcheas y cuéntalas: los golpes van en la 1, la 4, la 7, la 9, la 12 y la 15. Míralos por grupos y aparece el reparto: tres, tres y dos, dos veces por compás.
De esos seis golpes, solo dos caen sobre una negra: el primero y el cuarto, o sea los tiempos 1 y 3. Los otros cuatro caen entre medias. A un acento colocado donde no lo esperas se le llama síncopa, y aquí hay cuatro por compás.
Fíjate además en lo que no hay. En el rock y en casi todo el pop la caja pega en los tiempos 2 y 4 —el backbeat— y por eso puedes seguir esas canciones dando palmas sin pensar. En «Calm Down» no hay nada en el 2 ni en el 4. Por eso contar no ayuda y moverse sí.
Datos duros: Si mayor, 4/4, 107 BPM, dos acordes (Mi–Si, IV–I), 3:40 el original y 3:59 el remix. La forma también tiene truco: no empieza por estrofa, sino por el estribillo, justo después de una intro corta. Te da el gancho antes de contarte nada.
Curiosidades
- El beat era el tercero que Andre Vibez le puso a Rema aquel día, y estaba hecho desde hacía meses. La canción no nació de una idea nueva, sino de elegir bien entre cosas ya hechas.
- Para que cupiera la voz de Selena Gomez en el remix, los productores quitaron elementos del beat en lugar de añadir. Un arreglo se hace tanto restando como sumando, y esto es la prueba.
- La estrofa de Gomez la escribió Amanda Ibanez, que firma como Kiddo AI; las dos la estuvieron puliendo durante semanas antes de grabarla en Los Ángeles. En el pop actual, la voz que cantas y la mano que escribe casi nunca son la misma.
- En la ficha de guitarra de Music Will la canción aparece bajada un tono entero, en La y Re, para que salgan acordes abiertos. Transportar no es hacer trampa: es elegir la versión que el instrumento toca sin pelearse.
Para hacer en clase
- Tocar: dos acordes y ya está. Mi y Si en el tono original; La y Re si prefieres acordes abiertos en guitarra, como en la ficha de Music Will. Empezad siempre por el cuarto grado, que es como empieza la canción.
- Palmear a dos grupos: la mitad de la clase marca las cuatro negras sin moverse de ahí. La otra mitad hace el 3+3+2 sobre las semicorcheas. Diez minutos, y luego se cambia. Lo difícil no es tocar el patrón, es no irse con el del otro grupo.
- Analizar: pregunta cerrada. De los seis golpes del patrón 3+3+2, ¿cuántos caen sobre una negra? Cuéntalos sobre la rejilla de dieciséis y justifica la respuesta.
- Crear: coged una canción que sepa tocar la clase, dejadle la armonía intacta y cambiadle solo la batería al 3+3+2 con el bombo a negras. Se trata de robar el procedimiento, no la canción.
Vocabulario fundamental
- Afrobeats — El pop de Nigeria y Ghana del siglo XXI. En singular, afrobeat, es otra música distinta: la de Fela Kuti en los setenta.
- Subdominante (IV) — El cuarto acorde de la escala. No es el de casa, y esta canción empieza ahí, que es parte de lo que la hace sonar en marcha desde el primer compás.
- Reparto 3+3+2 — Dividir ocho partes en tres, tres y dos en vez de en cuatro y cuatro. Es lo que hace que el patrón se sienta y no se cuente.
- Síncopa — Un acento colocado donde no lo esperas, fuera del golpe fuerte. Aquí hay cuatro por compás.
- Backbeat — El golpe de caja en los tiempos 2 y 4, el del rock. En esta canción no existe, y esa ausencia es la mitad del carácter.
Recursos
Dónde se explica — esta canción se estudia en ¿Por qué las canciones ya no te hacen esperar?, del libro de historia de la música moderna.
Videoclip oficial (remix con Selena Gomez, 2022)
Videoclip del original de Rema (2022) — la versión sin Selena Gomez, para comparar los arreglos.
Tutorial de guitarra — for3v3rfaithful. De principiante, con acordes, rasgueo y tablatura en pantalla.
Tutorial de piano — PHianonize, versión fácil.
El groove de afrobeats en la batería — JM Drumming. No es de esta canción: es el patrón del género explicado paso a paso, que es justo lo que se analiza aquí.
- Ficha de la canción con las partituras por instrumento (guitarra, teclado, bajo, batería y ukelele) — https://jamzone.musicwill.org/songs/calm-down
- Análisis armónico — https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/rema/calm-down
- Tablatura — el botón la abre en Songsterr
Why this song
Play the song and clap crotchets: 1, 2, 3, 4. You get it first time.
Now try clapping along with the percussion on top. You cannot, and that is not your fault. That pattern is not built to be counted. It is built to be moved to. This song is the place to learn the difference.
Historical context
The beat was made by Nigerian producer Andre Vibez in 2021 and sat unused for months. He played it to Rema in the studio — it was the third beat of the day, and the one Rema wanted to keep. The whole song was recorded in a single day.
A second producer, London, came in afterwards. Rema wanted more emotion, so London added strings and made the drums hit harder. The single came out on 11 February 2022, on the album Rave & Roses.
Six months later came the remix with Selena Gomez, on 25 August 2022. That is the one that got huge: number 3 on the US Hot 100, and 57 weeks on the chart — the first African song to spend a full year there.
Two near-identical names are worth separating. Afrobeats, plural, is twenty-first-century Nigerian and Ghanaian pop, which is what Rema makes. Afrobeat, singular, is Fela Kuti's music from the 1970s, with horn sections and fifteen-minute tracks. The name is almost all they share.
Foto: The CW Network, CC BY 3.0, vía Wikimedia Commons
Musical characteristics
Start with the harmony, because it is over quickly. There are two chords: E and B. And the song opens on E, which is not the home chord but the fourth degree, the subdominant. Home arrives afterwards.
Those two chords repeat through the intro, the chorus, all three verses and the outro. The harmony never changes. So it cannot tell you where you are in the song: there is no information there.
All the information is in the rhythm, and the rhythm works in two layers. Underneath, the kick marks the four crotchets of the bar. That is the floor, and it is the only thing that lands where you expect.
The other layer sits on top and refuses to land on the numbers. Split the bar into sixteen semiquavers and count: the hits fall on 1, 4, 7, 9, 12 and 15. Group them and the shape appears — three, three and two, twice per bar.
Of those six hits, only two land on a crotchet: the first and the fourth, which are beats 1 and 3. The other four fall in between. An accent placed where you do not expect it is called syncopation, and there are four per bar here.
Notice what is missing too. In rock and in most pop the snare hits beats 2 and 4 — the backbeat — which is why you can follow those songs by clapping without thinking. In "Calm Down" there is nothing on 2 and nothing on 4. That is why counting does not help and moving does.
Hard facts: B major, 4/4, 107 BPM, two chords (E–B, IV–I), 3:40 for the original and 3:59 for the remix. The form has a twist as well: it does not open with a verse but with the chorus, straight after a short intro. You get the hook before you get the story.
Trivia and curiosities
- The beat was the third one Andre Vibez played Rema that day, and he had made it months earlier. The song did not come from a new idea. It came from choosing well among things already made.
- To fit Selena Gomez's voice into the remix, the producers removed elements from the beat rather than adding any. Arranging is as much subtraction as addition, and this is the proof.
- Gomez's verse was written by Amanda Ibanez, who works as Kiddo AI; the two of them spent weeks refining it before recording in Los Angeles. In today's pop, the voice you hear and the hand that writes are rarely the same.
- Music Will's guitar chart moves the song down a whole tone, to A and D, so the chords come out as open shapes. Transposing is not cheating: it is picking the version the instrument plays without a fight.
Classroom activities
- Play: two chords and that is the lot. E and B in the original key; A and D if you want open guitar chords, as in the Music Will chart. Always start on the fourth degree, the way the song does.
- Clap in two groups: half the class marks the four crotchets and stays there. The other half plays 3+3+2 across the semiquavers. Ten minutes, then swap. The hard part is not the pattern — it is not drifting into the other group's.
- Analyse: a closed question. Of the six hits in the 3+3+2 pattern, how many land on a crotchet? Count them on the sixteen-square grid and justify your answer.
- Create: take a song the class can already play, leave its harmony untouched and swap only the drums for 3+3+2 with the kick on the crotchets. Steal the procedure, not the song.
Key vocabulary
- Afrobeats — afrobeats: el pop de Nigeria y Ghana del siglo XXI (en singular, afrobeat, es otra música: la de Fela Kuti)
- Subdominant (IV) — subdominante: el cuarto acorde de la escala, el que no es el de casa
- 3+3+2 grouping — reparto 3+3+2: ocho partes divididas en tres, tres y dos
- Syncopation — síncopa: un acento fuera del golpe fuerte
- Backbeat — el golpe de caja en los tiempos 2 y 4, el del rock; aquí no está
Resources
Where it is explained — this song is studied in ¿Por qué las canciones ya no te hacen esperar?, from the modern music history book.
Official music video (remix with Selena Gomez, 2022)
Official music video of Rema's original (2022) — the version without Selena Gomez, for comparing the arrangements.
Guitar tutorial — for3v3rfaithful. A beginner lesson, with chords, strumming and tab on screen.
Piano tutorial — PHianonize, easy version.
The afrobeats groove on the drum kit — JM Drumming. Not this song: it is the genre's pattern explained step by step, which is exactly what this article analyses.
- Song page with the per-instrument charts (guitar, keyboard, bass, drums and ukulele) — https://jamzone.musicwill.org/songs/calm-down
- Harmonic analysis — https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/rema/calm-down
- Tab — the button opens it in Songsterr