Song Writing

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Name:

32 Bar Song Structure


Style: Tempo:

Bass-line

Intro
Bass-line

Verse 1

Chorus

Verse 2

Chorus

Middle Eight

Chorus

Outro

Choose up to 4 of the chords below

Dm E Em F Fm G Gm A Am

Organise into a pattern for your verse

And then for your chorus

KEEP YOUR SENTENCES SHORT

Come up with rhyming words for each of your ideas

Simile: as quiet as a mouse

Metaphor: All the worlds a stage,

Topic

Assonance: Theres a goose, loose, about this house

Expand Idea

Alliteration:
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

Lyrics
Verse 1 Line 1 Line 2 Can you make line 2 rhyme with line 1

4 Lines for the Verse 1

Line 3
Line 4 Can you make line 4 rhyme with line 3 Chorus Needs to be catchy to sell the song

Either
Line 1 Line 2 repeated 3 times

4 Lines for the Chorus

Or

Line 1
Line 2 Repeat Line 1 and 2

Verse 2

Follow pattern of Verse 1

4 Lines for the Verse 2

Song Writing
Lesson Objective To write a pop song, considering song structure, lyrics, mood, style, bass riffs, chord sequences and hooks
Look at the following words: Tempo, Dynamics, Texture, Duration. You have 5 minutes with your partner to discuss the following questions. What do you suggest is the most important part of a song? What is contrast in music? How can we achieve contrast in our songs? Where would the most effective use of contrast be found in a song?

OBJECTIVES
All of you MUST complete your lyrics by the end of the lesson Most of you SHOULD come up with a rhythm for your lyrics

Some of you COULD compose a melody for your lyrics using the C Major scale

Working with Lyrics (four-by-four time signature - Poetry)


Strong Accents (Lift) Weak Accents (Dip)

He died for us And what did he do We sin against him But he still loves you _______________________ Is eternal Life

1. Identify the two strong words in each sentence 2. The strong emphasis may fall in the middle of a word 3. Draw a line in front of it of the first word 4. Mark crosses above the words for each syllable 5. If a word has two syllables or more we can use shorter rhythms e.g. quavers 6. Word Painting

Straight Rhythms
He died for us and

Refreshing longer dotted rhythms


(1 He Died ) for (1 us ) and

1 x

+ x

3 x

+ x

Refreshing shorter dotted rhythms


(
These

)(
are called

)(
dotted

)
rhy -thms

1 e + a x x

2 e + a x x

3 e + a x x

4 e + a x x

Week 3 Next step: When using Using your lyrics: Either.. Keyboards
Collect a splitter (they have been ordered!!), two sets of headphones Choose the style number you want to use, press start Press the tempo button and change the tempo using the + or buttons to the speed you want Your partner will count the beats 1 ,2, 3, 4 Speak your lyrics through with your partner until you have found a good natural rhythm making sure your underlined words fall on beat 1 and 3 You should both be comfortable with your lyrics at the end of the lesson or.. For those who want a CHALLENGE!! : Write numbers above the crosses, making sure the numbers add up to 4 Convert numbers into music notation e.g 1 = = , etc Collect a splitter, two sets of headphones Type in the style number you want to use, press start Press the tempo button and type in the number you want to use On the note middle C speak and play your rhythms you have crossed above your lyrics. Speak the words at the same time. You should both be comfortable with your lyrics at the end of the lesson

Bass Line
F
Bass-line

Song Structure

C
c

G
b

Am Em
a b

Am G

Verse 1

Chorus

1. Work out letters of each chord. Play on the keyboard (use DONT LOOK BACK IN ANGER AS YOUR CHORD PATTERN)
2. Choose one of these letters and make a rhythm pattern, playing in the bass of the keyboard. Remember to count 4 beats 3. Look at the next chord. Is there a letter close to the first letter you chose? Smoother the better!!! Play the same rhythm for this new note 4. Remember contrast If the bass is smooth in the verse perhaps the chorus bass line could be livelier? 5. Final step now create a rhythm for the chords opposites attract!! If the bass-line is lively, the chords could be played smooth or viceversa

Homework
There have been many famous song writing partnerships over the decades. Research the names of 2 partnerships for each decade starting from the 1950s and tell me what their most famous song (s) was / were.

Bullets points only in your own words no copy and paste

A catchy hook?

Does our song have.


A good rhythmic pattern in the chords? A catchy bassline that moves?

Contrast between verse and chorus?

Achieve all this and you will gain a level 6 -7

Lyrics that fit with the chords?

An Intro and outro?

A middle eight to hear a new idea?

Guitar Example C Chord

Bass Guitar Chart

Re-arrange chords
C
5 3 1

G D B G

Am E C A E C A

F=

Task 1 work out notes of chords

Root position chords

G E C G E C

C A = Task 2 Circle one note from each chords below the line F = Task 3 Create a rhythm for your bass-line C A F

Re-arrange chords

D B G

Lyrics
4 lines for verse 1 4 lines for verse 2 4 lines for the Chorus = make it catchy, this sells the song Each line should be short = a maximum of 6/7 words You can repeat lines. You can repeat individual words

Can you make the end of the sentences rhyme?

Lesson objective: choosing appropriate notes from the chord for our bass-line

Adding chords into Logic Pro (sequencing)


Each note of your melody (each letter in the right hand boxes) needs a rhythm that lasts 2 beats. On the grid below each note will fill 8 little boxes in total. 1 beat (crotchet) = 4 boxes, beat (quaver) = 2 boxes, beat (semi-quaver) = 1 box. beat (dotted quaver) = 3 boxes and 1 beats (dotted crotchet) = 6 boxes.
The whole melody will last for four bars. Each bar is labelled with a big number.
Thicker lines show the beats

You should draw in your notes in this area (near C3 and C4)

8 little boxes = 2 beats (minim)

6 little boxes = 1 beats (dotted

3 little boxes = 3/4 beats (dotted quaver)

Each little box = of a

Re-arrange chords
Am
5 3 1

G B G E E B G

Dm A F D D A F

F=

Task 1 work out notes of chords

Root position chords

E C A E C A

C A = Task 2 Circle one note from each chords below the line F = Task 3 Create a rhythm for your bass-line C A F

Re-arrange chords

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