1 / 20

Song Writing

Song Writing. Learning Intentions. In this unit we will: Analyse how composers write songs Experiment using compositional methods and music concepts to realise our creative intentions Critically reflect on our music, creative choices and decisions. Success Criteria.

raineyd
Download Presentation

Song Writing

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Song Writing

  2. Learning Intentions In this unit we will: • Analyse how composers write songs • Experiment using compositional methods and music concepts to realise our creative intentions • Critically reflect on our music, creative choices and decisions.

  3. Success Criteria By the end of this unit you will: • Be able to describe the compositional process of writing a song. • Have written your own song demonstrating your ability to: choose a chord pattern, set words to a melody, organise your music in a structured way and incorporate musical concepts to enhance your music. • Have critically reflected on the compositional process.

  4. Getting Started

  5. Writing Lyrics Writing lyrics can be one of the most challenging aspects of song writing. Watch this clip of Emeli Sande describing how she finds inspiration for her songs.

  6. Writing Lyrics Tips for success: • Think of an overall topic/theme for your song • The chorus would usually contain the main message/title of your song. Keep this simple. • Writing lyrics with a rhyming scheme can help with phrasing

  7. Chord Patterns In order to create an effective chord pattern you should: Choose the key you wish to write in e.g. G major Work out the chords you would find in that key i.e. I II III IV V VI VII G Am Bm C D Em F#dim

  8. Advanced Chords By this point you should be able to identify the notes that make up a major or minor chord. In order to improve your song you may wish to use some more interesting chords. Dominant 7th Added 6th Suspended 4th Suspended 2nd diminished 7th

  9. Exemplar Dominant 7th Interrupted Cadence Chord pattern different from verse CHORDS IN G MAJOR I II III IV V VI VII G Am Bm C D Em F#dim Verse 1 Chorus Verse 2 Ending

  10. Literacy Activity Listen and follow the music for “Can’t help falling in Love”. On the sheet provided answer the questions related to this piece.

  11. Word Setting When setting your lyrics to a melody think about: • Where you want your phrases to begin and end • If you want your melody to move mainly by step or leap • If you want your melody to be syllabic or melismatic Let’s look at some examples

  12. “Lego House” – Ed Sheeran Is the word setting syllabic ormelismatic?

  13. “I Will Always Love You” – as performed by Whitney Houston Is the word setting syllabic ormelismatic?

  14. Exemplar Lyrics & Word Setting Split your lyrics into phrases I see the sunsetbeyond the sea, I wonder when you’ll come home to me Which words do you want to stress? Experiment using different rhythms until you find one you like. Play your chord and find notes (typically notes of the chord) that you like the sound of.

  15. G D B A B G D B B Exemplar Word Setting 1 2 3

  16. Structure One of the key elements of a song is it’s structure. The common sections of a song are: • Verse/s • Chorus - usually repeated several times • Bridge - linking section between verse and chorus • Middle 8 - A section that typically comes between a repeated chorus.

  17. Pop Song Structures “Let Her Go” - Passenger Intro Chorus “Well you only need the light” Instrumental Verse “Staring at the bottom of your glass” Chorus “But you only need the light” Verse “Staring at the ceiling in the dark” Chorus “Well you only need the light” Middle 8 “and you let her go” Chorus “Cause you only need the light” Chorus “Cause you only need the light” “Somebody to You” - The Vamps • Intro - 4 bars • Verse 1 “I used to want to be” • Bridge “Look at me now” • Chorus “All I wanna be” • Verse 2 “I used to run around” • Bridge “Look at me now” • Chorus “All I wanna be” • Middle 8 (same lyrics as Bridge) “Look at me now” • Chorus “All I wanna be”

  18. Homework Task Choose a song that you enjoy listening to. It can be from any genre (rock, pop, blues etc.) but it must have vocals. Analyse the structure of the song and identify the order of the various sections. Write down the 1st line of lyrics for each section to show where a new section begins. E.g. “Rolling in the Deep” - Adele Bridge “The scars of your love…” Chorus “We could have had it all…” Intro Verse 1 “There’s a fire…” Verse 2 “Baby I have no story…”

  19. The Finished Product… Now look at the exemplar performance plan in your workbook. Follow the plan as you listen to the finished song. Your performance plan should: • Be easy to follow and accurate to what is heard in the recording. • Indicate the instruments, chords and lyrics of your song.

  20. Now it’s over to you! • Think of the topic/theme of your song • Brainstorm some key words to incorporate in your lyrics • Experiment with different chords and choose a key • Create a melody for your lyrics • Decide on the structureof your song

More Related