FF 3.7 | Pop punk Songwriting

7 Pop Punk Songwriting (3-14 Days)

Objectives

Write a pop punk song as a class or in small groups using bass, drums, and power chords. Record or perform the song to showcase the creative work.

Procedure

1. Pop Punk Listening: Listen to punk, pop punk, and adjacent styles together. Have students identify the power chord types that the guitar players are using in the recordings.

2. Class Chord Progression Workshop: Introduce chord progression writing using the major scale chart. Have students write four-chord progressions using only the I, IV, V, and vi chords. Play some of the progressions back to the class and have the class choose one. Record a scratch track of the class’s chord progression using the Soundtrap template.

3. Class Lyric Writing: Choose the title of the song and topic as a class. Play the chord progression scratch track and have students practice writing a chorus. Remind them that the lyrics in each line do not need to end in a rhyme, but the rhythms in each line need to compliment each other. Read some of the class lyrics and collectively choose a chorus. Repeat the same process for the verse.

4. Class Part Assignment: Arrange the verses and chorus of the song and assign different chordal rolls out to the class. Have some students play bass, some play power chords, some play power chord variations, and one student play drums. Everyone should be encouraged to sing, but if you have a microphone and PA, encourage one or two students to practice the memorize the lyrics and characterize their voice.

5. Class Performance/Recording: Rehearse the song and perform it together. The performance can also be video/audio recorded and posted on a social media channel or website to showcase the class.

OPTIONAL GROUP SONGWRITING EXTENSION

1. Create/Assign Groups: Allow students to choose their groups or place them in groups based on their previous performance in the class. Have them come up with a band name and a topic for their song.

2. Key and Chord Progression: Assign each group a key and have them create two complimentary chord progressions using only the I, IV, V, and vi chords in their key. The chord progressions should have differing harmonic rhythm. One should be one chord per measure and the other should be two chords per measure. For more advanced groups, they can choose their own harmonic rhythm.

3. Scratch Track Creation: Have the strongest player in each group play the chord progressions on a loop and another member record it on a device.

4. Lyric Writing: Instruct students to listen to their scratch tracks and write the verse or chorus. Have groups share out their lyrics for each song section to different groups to help refine.

5. Part Assignment & Practice: Either have students choose or assign students to either bass or different power chord variation. Have advanced students write a melody using octaves. Have students create an arrangement of their parts following a simplified verse/chorus song form. Intro - Verse 1 - Chorus - Verse 2 - Chorus - Ending

6. Part Tracking: Help groups record their parts indivually on different tracks of a DAW.

7. Vocal Recording Practice: Have students practice singing their parts over the parts they have tracked

8. Vocal Recording: Assist students in tracking the vocal parts to their song. I co-produce the tracks and give each band 15 minutes to record vocals.

9. Mixing: Create a quick mix of their song, export it to an audio file to share.

OPTIONAL PLAYLIST WALL INSTRUCTIONS

1. Album Art: While students are waiting to record, have them generate album art for their song using whatever medium they feel comfortable with.

2. Lyric Video: After the song has been recording, let students use whatever tool they want (Capcut, Keynote, Powerpoint, Google Slides) to record a lyric video and sync the video to the audio.

3. Video Upload: Upload the lyric video with sync’d audio to a video hosting platform like Youtube or Vimeo.

4. QR Code Creation: Generate a QR code for each video.

5. Print And Display: Add the QR code to the album art for each song and have students create a display outside of the music classroom or in another viseable area.

Opening And Closing Activity Ideas

Opening Activities: Supply partially completed lyrics on the board when students walk in, have them complete the lyrics in their bands at the start of the period. Find a song or song section that has interesting lyrics or prosody and play it while students walk in. Prompt them to reflect on the lyrics in their practice journal. Have students create writing, rehearsal, or practice goals at the beginning of each period.

Closing Activities: Share out incomplete song sections from bands for peer review. Do a five minute “quick-write” at the end of class where students have to come up with lyrics for an entire song section in a short amount of time.

Assessment:

Individual assessment is based on participation in the songwriting and recording/performance process. Each song needs the following:

• Two four chord progressions of contrasting harmonic rhythm

• The title of the song in the chorus

• Longer note values in the chorus

• A verse that tells a story

• Clear song structure.

Differentiation:

Remediation: Provide chord templates or simplified song structures for students who find songwriting challenging. For students that are having a difficult time recording in time, have them record each chord separately and arrange their notes in post production.

Enrichment: Encourage students to add complex elements like bridges or octave melodies.

Notes:

Having defined checkpoints during the composition and recording process will make it easier for students to complete their creative tasks. When there is large stretched of time, it is easy for students to overanalyze their work and reach “paralysis through analysis”. It is important to talk about the editorial voice and its role in the iterative process of songwriting. If you choose to record the songs that individual groups write, it is a good idea to act as their producer- this will help them with their instrumental tracking as well as honing the melodies. The most common issues I see with first songwriting attempts is with the prosody (rhythm of the words). Have students say the words to each other out loud when writing to act as a check. It is important to discuss how to give and receive feedback in the songwriting process. Facilitate these discussions and be aware of student social and emotional needs.

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