“Just start songwriting!” said the music teacher to a class full of scared, confused, and overwhelmed middle schoolers.
Big surprise – it did NOT work.
Teaching songwriting is COMPLICATED. The possibilities are ENDLESS and students often don’t even know where to begin. To curb this challenge, music teachers need to scaffold their songwriting lessons so that students are GUIDED and feel they are on the right track.
Here are some tips on how you can guide YOUR music students in becoming the world’s next great songwriter!
1. Give students brainstorming GUIDELINES to follow.
“Brainstorming” alone can be too broad for students. Give them boundaries within which they can generate ideas. Start with a topic (friendship, dreams, hope, seasons, future, etc.), then set up one (or more) of the following guidelines.
- CONSIDER THE 5 SENSES – When you think of your topic, consider each of your senses. What do you see, feel, hear, smell, and taste?
- MEMORY LANE- List as many memories as possible that come to mind when you think of this topic.
- SAME AND OPPOSITE WORDS- What are some words that mean the SAME THING as this topic. What are some words that mean the OPPOSITE.
- STORY TIME- What are other stories, songs, art, images, shows, movies, etc. that focus on this topic. Could you reference any of these?
2. When writing lyrics- start SMALL and STRUCTURED.
A verse or chorus can be just 4 lines. Easy peasy. Have your students begin with just this.
To structure this, your students will need to have a basic rhyme scheme in place. A good basic scheme is AABB or ABAB.
When writing their 4-line songs, have students use their best brainstorming words/ideas and utilize a RHYMING dictionary. Having this tool to use, the preparation done, and the structure set in place, students should be confident to begin writing.
3. When approaching the musical composition, have students begin with a chord progression.
It’s okay if your students can’t play any chords. There are online chord generators that do an AMAZING job of having students find a progression they love through simple trial-and-error and will play it on a loop for them.
Once the chord progression is set, have students try “singing” their lyrics over the harmony. This will be messy, sloppy, and silly at first, but eventually it should solidify into a tune. If they get stuck, have students audiate (sing In their heads) their lyrics while the chord progression is playing to guide their ears.
4. Have students create melodies for OTHER students lyrics.
It is amazing how DIFFERENT two settings of the same poem can be. After students have created their own melodies, have them swap poems with another student and create another melody. Having other students approach one students lyrics can be a wonderful lesson in how personal artistry, experience, and style influence the creative process. It is also a meaningful, no-prep extension for students who finish early.
5. Record and “release” their songs.
This one hits the “why” of the lesson for the students. Who are they writing for? After students record their songs on their chrome books, will they only be a grade?
Consider having a song “release” for student projects by finding a way to highlight their work outside of music class. Is their a younger grade level you could play this for? Are their parents/families that would appreciate this song attached to an email of how well the student is doing in music class? Are there other teachers that these students would like to share their work with?
A “release” can be a great way to motivate students to do their best and feel a sense of meaning in their school work.
Thanks for reading!
Looking for song writing ideas? Check out this songwriting project on my TPT store!
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