Project: Songwriting
Writing a song is one of the best ways to apply your musical understanding in a creative way. In this project, you will write and record lyrics and a vocal line to create a short song.
Terms
Top Lining: The process of writing a vocal line over pre-existing musical material.
Figurative Language: Words used to create imagery or convey meaning beyond their literal dictionary definition.
Literal Language: Words that mean exactly what their dictionary definition states.
Lyrics: The words of a song.
Line: A single lyrical sentence.
Couplet: Two lyrical lines that work together.
Stanza: A set, usually of four lyrical lines, that follows a rhythmic pattern and rhyme scheme.
1 | Analyze
Look up the lyrics to a song you like, and analyze the point of view, message, tone, and language type. Additionally, label the rhythmic structure and rhyme scheme for each stanza.
2 | Practice Writing Lyrics
Create a vocal remix of a pre-existing song by keeping its structure but changing the content. Practice completing couplets and stanzas, and experiment with creating a vocal melody using the Toplining Practice Template
3 | Topic & Title
Get to know the members of your band and decide on a topic and title for your song. Remember, you can only change your topic and title once!
4 | Write The Chorus
Write the lyrics for the chorus of your song. The notes in the chorus should be longer than those in the verse, and the title of the song should be included in the lyrics.
5 | Write The Verses
Write the lyrics for the verses of your song. The words in the verse should flow faster than those in the chorus and can either tell a story or describe something. You can use RhymeZone.com to help.
6 | Writing The Melodies
Loop a section of your instrumental recording and add a melody to your lyrics if you haven’t done so already.
7 | Practice
Loop a section of your instrumental recording and add a melody to your lyrics if you haven’t already.
8 | Getting Ready To Record
Set up your recording space by minimizing background noise, locating and connecting the microphone on your device, and wearing headphones.
9 | Record
Record multiple takes of your song. Try adding character to your voice by doing a vocal impression of a singer you admire. Don’t be afraid to take risks!
10 | Mix & Share
Edit your takes and apply vocal cleanup, tuning, EQ, compression, reverb, and delay to your vocal tracks. Adjust the volumes of both the instrumental and vocal tracks to create a balanced mix.