Song Writing Project
In this project you will • Understand how songs are structured • Write your own lyrics to a well known melody • Write lyrics over a backing track • Write a melody to a poem • Write your own song
The activities in blue are to be shared with your teacher!
Voice Warm Ups Chew a large piece of sticky toffee - use the whole face. Use your tongue to reach the toffee in your back teeth!
Chant “The teeth, the lips, the tip of the tongue”. Repeat two of them slowly. E.g. “Teeth, lips” really clearly. Rearrange the order “The tip of the tongue, the lips, the teeth” Make up a few different versions.
Say “Vvv” - let lips buzz. Go up and down in pitch, pretend to be revving up a motorbike, try as quietly as possible, repeat with “Zzz”.
Sing a short sentence slowly on one note. “I went to the park”. Sing again adding to it e.g. ”on Sunday”. Add more, “with my Dad and Bill”. Make it as long as you can, adding why you went there, who you met etc. all in one breath. Repeat with a new place – school, cinema?
Put on some music with a strong beat or use this track https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MChwNy_vZ4s Keep the beat by tapping your knees. • Choose different actions to keep the beat. • Slow long actions e.g. stretching up and then down, • Quick short actions, e.g. punching or marching • Make up a sequence of 4 different moves.
About Songs Structure, Lines, Rhymes, Verse and Chorus Listen to 3 different songs you like. Songs are divided into verses and choruses. Identify the verse and chorus in each song. How do you know when it a verse or a chorus? Make a list of the different features of each.
Here are some well-known songs showing you how the lyrics are structured:-
What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor (A) What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor (Same words so A) What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor (Again same words A) Early in the morning Different words (B) The structure is AAAB
Twinkle twinkle little star A How I wonder what you are B Up above the world so high C Like a diamond in the sky D Twinkle twinkle little star A How I wonder what you are B
The structure is ABCDAB
Write the structure for “Oh when the Saints”
Oh when the Saints, go marching in Oh when the Saints, go marching in I want to be in that number Oh when the Saints, go marching in
Choose a song you like. Listen to the lyrics of the chorus, what is the structure, is there much repetition? Listen to the verse, what do you find here about the structure?
Now look at and listen to the lyrics again for rhymes. Does it rhyme? Is there a structure to this? Does every line rhyme, every other line, two lines, then the next two?
Write a short paragraph about the differences between a verse and a chorus (Think about the repetition, rhyming, the function of each, melody.)
Olay - Compose the lyrics for a short song. Sing the football chant “Olay” with this backing track. https://bromleyyouthmusictrust- my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/jrabin_bymt_co_uk/Ee6GDsdFUtlCtGFql0a7nxEB NgI9xZLQfVpYiDUSkyvEOA?e=EFAzXg
Learn and practise the melody here:- https://bromleyyouthmusictrust- my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/jrabin_bymt_co_uk/EdprHdX2JExJmh1sNWBsUd oBvQpCBhWXvwR-mzIiHrQEDw?e=siRVys
Play above the track again and sing these words instead to the melody.
I like football, I like to score When I do, I fall on the floor!
I like eating, Especially cheese, Toasted on bread, Yum, yes please!
Make up your own verses about food or sport.
Put the verses in this structure Olay chorus, verse, Olay chorus, verse etc. Practise it over the backing track https://bromleyyouthmusictrust- my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/jrabin_bymt_co_uk/EZ5HQUrPO6lIi8FEPrtSv44B ALE1bm-DSQj3gzlo9kda4A?e=sqUJgm
Add some beat boxing for an introduction or in the middle!
Write down your new verses Record your song if you can.
Minibeast Rap
Tap the beat to the Backing Track. https://bromleyyouthmusictrust- my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/jrabin_bymt_co_uk/EVwu- pp6vJdPozbeeDz3BBUBV5YfwU9EAT077KnFeenfTA?e=J7VgZ9
Speak this Minibeast Rap over the Backing Track.
Fly, fly, spider, fly Butterfly, butterfly, spider, fly Butterfly, fly, butterfly, fly, Moth, moth, spider fly! (Moth is silent, find an action to replace the word, e.g. shrug shoulders)
This is a slower version of the same backing track. Use whichever one works best for you. https://bromleyyouthmusictrust- my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/jrabin_bymt_co_uk/EflfnUmkN61DrBxhGa- mfLYBdmhDjowrOBbGMNEWB0md4Q?e=hlcPM9
Choose one line from the Minibeast Rap to repeat over and over again. This is called an ostinato (repeated pattern)
• Say the ostinato line 4 times in a row over the backing track. • Say it once and leave 4 silent beats. Repeat a few times. • Fill the silence with some of your own rhythms using minibeast words. • Create different combinations of minibeast words
Practise ways of generating new words (improvising) by working through the ideas below:-
• Use beat boxing sounds e.g. boom cha ticky ticky tsss • Use spoken sounds like Do-be-do or Da-da-da-da dum • Use random words and phrases e.g. “Yeah” “Say it like you mean it!” “Walk the dog” • Try combinations of words about food, football teams, colours e.g. Red, yellow, indigo, red, Manchester United, Liverpool, Spurs, Tangerine, tangerine, apple, plum
Write your own rap Say these words over the slow Minibeast Backing track above:-
“Looking out the window, what do I see? Cars, trees more cars, more trees Looking out the window, what do I see? Someone opposite waving at me!”
The structure I used is A B A C.
Say it again using these structures (or use ones of your own) A A B C A B B C A B C A Which do you like best?
Write your own “Looking out the window…” rap by finishing this line, adding two more lines and putting them in a structure.
(Or pick another topic e.g. family, being bored, gaming with friends, baking a cake And write 3 lines about that and experiment with different structures.)
Don’t worry about making it rhyme, it can but doesn’t have to!
Say your words over the Minibeast backing track. Add a chorus of a new line repeated twice
Write out your rap, record it if you can.
Writing melodies Listen to and read these poems by Michael Rosen Yesterday https://childrens.poetryarchive.org/poem/yesterday/ The Great Big Hole https://childrens.poetryarchive.org/poem/the-great-big-hole/
Read them out loud and clap the rhythm of the words. Read them again and clap the beat.
Choose one poem. Thinking about how the words and how the melody (tune) could go:- • Do any words suggest pitch (high or low notes) e.g. “jump in the hole”? • Should the melody move smoothly in steps or jump around? • Will it be a slow or fast melody? • Are there repeating lines already, or could a line repeat for effect? • Will the melody stay the same on repeating lines or be different?
Listen to my examples of different melodies “ “The day before yesterday” https://bromleyyouthmusictrust- my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/jrabin_bymt_co_uk/EcdzVS12vKpIr9TA4s3z5WcB hpEgK6ypdmBmjtGFhTnr8Q?e=epLyxG
“Look at the road” https://bromleyyouthmusictrust- my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/jrabin_bymt_co_uk/EcJUQA- J9EFJoxJ6kE_VRfYByVM91N8zV8SsVyfdT4XPaA?e=7bcm6F
Make up some different melodies for a line in the poem. If you find a melody you like, repeat it with the next line of the poem. Try a whole verse If you’re stuck use one of my examples and repeat the melody for the second line of the poem. Make up your own last two lines.
Record one verse of the poem.
Writing Lyrics 1) Think about how you’re feeling today and complete this sentence:- “I woke up this morning and I …”
Write down all the words that rhyme with your last word. E.g. I woke up this morning and I jumped out of bed Rhyming words are Ed, fed, Fred, head, lead, Ned, red, said, shed, shred, Ted, wed
Write a second line with the same type of rhythm or number of syllables ending with one of your rhyming words. E.g. I woke up this morning and I jumped out of bed I had a song lyric going round in my head
Write two more lines about what you did next.
Repeat the whole exercise twice with these starter lines.
I’m sitting at the table now and … I wish I could …
Write down your three verses
2) Choose a topic e.g. summer or friendship, • Jot down some words about the topic • Join some of the words together. E.g. words for summer:- hot, lying on the beach, ice cream, swimming pool. sea, playing in the park, green grass Then joining the words:- It’s so hot outside, I’m at the beach, the sun is beating down, I want an ice cream, I’ll jump in the swimming pool to cool me down.
• Put the lines in an order you like.
• Choose one line to repeat e.g. I’m gonna jump in the pool
• Say it in different ways, e.g. repeating one of the words I’m gonna jump jump jump in the pool. Or making one word longer, I’m gonna jump------in the pool!
• Choose a line and repeat it I’m gonna jump jump jump in the pool, I’m gonna jump jump jump in the pool, I’m gonna jump jump jump in the pool,
• Add a last line e.g. Just watch me jump in the pool or Ready, set, go!
This will be your chorus. • Sing it all on the same note. • Add some pitch movement to the end of each line. • Make the tune jump around instead of moving smoothly.
Listen to this backing track https://bromleyyouthmusictrust- my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/jrabin_bymt_co_uk/EbXs- 0Too4VDvxfhoMEb0fQByWavHI7u7Vfu7dyhUUvp8Q?e=yNdfxk
• Try your different ways of singing it over the backing track. • Record your favourite chorus with the backing track.
Go back to your other words about your topic and write four lines from them. They can rhyme or not – it’s up to you. The rhyming pattern could be AABB ABAB You could repeat lines e.g. I’m lying on the beach the sun is beating down It’s much too hot to walk around the town I’m lying on the beach, it’s like I’m in a dream It’s much too hot to get that ice cream
• Listen to the backing track again. • Experiment with singing sounds over it, ah, ooh, do-be-do or yeah. • Does anything jump out at you? • Sing some of your words over the backing track or use my words. • Try lots of different versions. If you like one, record it so you don’t forget it!
Write down your final version of the song. Record it if you can.