Elizabeth Vaughn

Day 16: Create a new song based using forms and elements from other songs

Summary / Understanding statement:

- By studying and analyzing songs and their forms and elements, students will gain an
understanding of the building blocks that comprise a songs construction with certain
forms and guidelines and will be able to apply their understanding to constructing their
own original work.

2-4 "I can" statements/Objective:

- I can listen to a song and sketch out how it is constructed/identify certain aspects that
comprise its form and apply this knowledge to my own compositions
- I can branch out from existing forms and ideas to create my own unique work.
- I can organize my original musical ideas into a coherent order and form to create a
cohesive piece of music.
- I can deconstruct my own work to analyze and develop it.

Materials:

- Something to play music from-a speaker, computer, etc.

- Paper and writing utensils.
- Notecards
- A whiteboard, chalkboard, or large sheet of paper to collaborate on, markers.
- Optional accompanying instruments for students to accompany each other and/or
themselves, such as ukulele, piano, or guitar.
- A ukulele (for the instructor to assist in accompaniment)

A detailed plan/process with duration stamps for each step:

1. Try to write a song on the spot, playing a simple chord progression on ukulele and improve a
melody and simply set of lyrics. Perform an improvised verse and hook/chorus to demonstrate
simple songwriting form and ideas. Ask the students, What worked? and, What areas can be
improved upon?. Ask the students to quickly analyze and identify what was the hook/chorus
and what was the verse. Introduce the class period goal of composing one song together.

2. Pick a theme/subject to write about. Students can spitball ideas in a brainstorming spiderweb on
one large whiteboard or large piece of paper. This step is very important, as it will determine the
lyrics, mood, mode, and message of the song. Once ideas have been flushed out, have the class
come to an agreement on one song idea and move from there in developing the meaning and
mood of the song. (5 minutes)

3. Start on ukuleles, and then have students pick possible instruments to add in later. Have
 students select one or two instruments (in addition to ukulele) to begin writing with. This can be
the teacher playing ukulele, piano, etc., or students playing their own instruments as a form of
accompaniment or to carry the melody. Here, there is still a heavy emphasis on the importance
of instrumentation when trying to convey a certain feeling or depict a certain scene. (5 minutes)

4. Establish harmonic fundamentals: key, mode, and a chord progression for a chorus (at least for a
chorus, can add a verse if moving quickly- bridges tend to have some sort of harmonic change,
can focus on later when developing the bridge). For additional support, teacher can display
common chord progressions found in songs they have been studying. Begin notating (very open
endedly, as it is subject to change) the established key, chord progression, and the like. (5
minutes)

5. Either have the teacher or a student play through the chord progression, and have rest of class
brainstorm (in the form of improvisation!) melodic content. If students added voice in the
beginning instrumentation, also use this time to pair developing lyrics with melodic ideas and
phrases. (10 minutes)

6. Develop a chorus with the entire class. This should include a melody and a chord progression
underneath it. If there are lyrics, include these here as well. (5 minutes)

7. Divide and conquer: Students have been studying the different elements commonly found in
songs- have them self-divide into groups to develop these elements (a bridge, verses,
backgrounds, added instruments, more lyrics, added rhythms, etc.-- anything they choose to add
into the song, groups and the elements they develop are up to students). Teacher at this time
can walk around and assist where their help is requested. (10 minutes)

8. Regroup and present each element. Using smaller pieces of paper (perhaps notecards) have
students label each element theyve just created, using the terminology theyve been learning.
Determine a cohesive order in which these elements will be played throughout the song, using
the notecards in group discussion. (5 minutes)

9. If any students do not have a part in the performance of the song yet, have students develop
new aspects/parts they can be included in (ostinatos, harmonies of the melody, backgrounds,
added percussion, etc.) (2 minutes)

10. Play through the new song! Ask students to look at the piece theyve just created and find things
commonly found in the songs theyve been studying about in previous classes. Explain to
students that this is just one way to approach composition, and that they may or may not
choose to use this sample exercise as a basis for their own individual compositions. (4 minutes)

Extension ideas

If we finish early, we might start discussing individual compositions for

students to start in the classroom and develop outside of class.
 If a student is ready to move ahead, the teacher can encourage them to
add more elements to the song and connect these original ideas with
aspects of songwriting theyve been studying.
For a follow up, students can take this experience and apply it to their own
ideas for individual compositions, and bring them into class to present and
receive peer feedback on.

Adaptations:

To ensure that instruction and the creating space are inclusive to all
student populations, the teacher will create a safe space for exploration by
offering suggestions in place of critique and corrections. Students will work
on this as one large group, in small subgroups, and then return to working
as one large group. To manage appropriate pacing, students will be
encouraged to engage and help each other in the writing process, and if
they want to change areas of writing/subgroups, they will not be bound to
just one sub group for the duration of that step in the writing process.
To provide a variety of modalities, we will use the board/a large piece of
paper (visual), accompanying instruments (ukulele, piano, guitar, etc.,
aural), and objects representing different compositional elements
(kinesthetic).

Assessments:

1. I can listen to a song and sketch out how it is constructed/identify certain

aspects that comprise its form. This can be assessed throughout the entire
lesson, but especially so in step 6. The ability to identify and pair what theyve
written with compositional elements theyve learned and studied can be
assessed simply by what they write on the cards and the reasoning behind their
labels.
2. I can construct a song using various elements found in music I listen to or have
studied. This is a group activity for the entire class, but can be best assessed
when students split into subgroups to compose and regroup later to piece them
together and demonstrate and understanding of compositional construction.
3. I can branch out from existing forms and ideas to create my own unique work.
This will be seen and assessed best in step 5, when students improvise and test
out their own ideas. Teachers can simply look for a willingness to participate in
this step for assessment.
4. I can organize my original musical ideas into a coherent order and form to
create a cohesive piece of music. This can also be seen in step 6, when students
take their labeled note cards and move them around until finding a cohesive,
sensible order of elements.
5. I can deconstruct my own work to analyze and develop it. This will be observed
best when students regroup to put different pieces together. Some students
compositional ideas may not work or fit within the given song and ideas were
developing- the ability of a student to look at what theyve written and be able
to adjust it and develop their ideas can be seen in a willingness to alter their
work in collaboration with others.