Songwriting - Lyric WritingWeek 9

Harmony 2 Project• Please refer to the Songwriting description on

Moodle for a full description of your project

Song Form• Verse: Same melody, change the lyrics• Refrain: an anchor for listeners• Bridge: a break from repeated sections• Hook: memorable, catchy lyric and melody

The Verse• What is the verse lyric’s job?• The verse gives the listeners information• It is used to develop the story of the song• The chord progression and melody stay the same

in each verse• This is to ensure the listener recognizes this

section each time it comes around

The Hook• What is the hook?• The hook is the most memorable line in your

song• It often includes the title of the song• It grabs the listeners attention • It’s the line you remember even when you’ve

forgotten the rest of the song.

The Refrain• What is a refrain?• A phrase or line that occurs at the end or

beginning of each verse in a Verse/Verse/Bridge/Verse song• In an AABA song, the refrain is also the Hook• The refrain is used in place of the chorus as the

‘home base’ of the song

The Bridge• What is a bridge?• A bridge is the section that provides contrast

from the other repeated sections• It occurs about two-thirds of the way through the

song• The bridge section is usually unbalanced

ACTIVITYListing to the following songs, write down an analysis of the song form:

1. Who Says– John Mayer2. Don’t Know Why – Norah Jones3. Rolling in the Deep- Adele4. All About That Bass– Meghan Trainor

Rhyme• Rhymes provide an aural road-map of your song• It helps the listener hear the lyrical phrases in the

song• There are many different kinds of rhyme• Perfect rhyme • Family rhyme • Additive/subtractive rhyme

ACTIVITY• Find a perfect rhyme for the following words:• Light• Star• Joke

• Find a family rhyme for the following words:• Friend• Juice• Flicker

• Create and additive or subtractive rhyme for the following words:• House• Pines

Scansion/ - / - / - /Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb- / - / - /It’s fleece was white as snow - / - // - / - /And ev-ery-where that Ma-ry went - / - / - /The lamb was sure to go

7

6

8

6

4 stressed

3 stressed

4 stressed

3 stressed

Working from a TitleWhy start with a title?• Title provides the Hook and Refrain for your

song• Contains the central idea• Offers a multitude of lyric possibilities to be

explored

Criteria for a Good Title:• Your title should be

between 1 and 5 words long:• Make sure your title

isn’t an abstract statement• Be specific• Use concrete imagery

Which title appeals more to you?1. Love Relationships

Can Be Difficult2. Heartbreak Warfare

Why?

How do I come up with a Title?Your title should be between 1 and 5 words long:• Use a common phrase/saying to add your own

spin to• Read headlines in newspapers, online news sites

and magazines• Watch classic movies, TV dramas, and reality

shows• Listen to your own conversations• Play the Find-a-Title Game

Find a Title

Ain’t Fool Inside Ocean Taste

Beautiful Ghost Kiss Picture Thunder

Breathe Halfway Lesson Rain Understand

Empty House Midnight Shadow Woman

Eyes Hungry Never Somewhere Young

1. Pick five or so words from this list.2. Arrange them in pairs or short phrases3. Which one appeals to you most?

• Midnight Woman• Ghost House• Midnight Shadow• Shadow Woman• Somewhere Shadow• Midnight Ghost Woman• Ghosts at Midnight• Shadow’s in the House• Woman’s Shadow• etc

Ghost Midnight Shadow Woman Somewhere House

Developing sectionsFind the questions the title asks:• Who• What • When • Where• How• Why

Shadow Woman• Who is this Shadow Woman?• What is her relationship to the singer?• Why is she a Shadow Woman?• How is she viewed? Negative or Positive• When does she become a Shadow Woman?• Where is she placed in the singer’s life?• How many characters are involved in this story?

Building Boxes – Productive Repetition• To make sure that your title/refrain gains more

weight each time it is heard, make sure you are adding something to the story in each verse.• What are some ways you could do this?• Chronological (different times)• Geographical (different places)• Narrative perspective (different people)• Etc…

The SHADOW WOMAN is mine

I have a SHADOW WOMAN

I like my SHADOW WOMAN

BORING!

V1

V2

V3

I’m cheating on you so now I’m the SHADOW WOMAN

I see you sneaking around, I know you’ve got a

SHADOW WOMAN

It’s me or her, you choose – no more SHADOW WOMAN

V1

V2

V3

Building Word Sheets• Spend some time finding strong, image inducing

(noun, adjective) words that relate to your song• Once you have 10 words, stop• Find ten rhymes for each of these ten words• Allow your imagination to savor each word as

you find it, opening up new lyric possibilities• Only pick the rhymes that you think resonate

with the theme of the song.

SHADOW WOMANSHADOW WOMAN CHEATING DARK LIESDe facto ? sneaking spark wise

tobacco fleeting stark rise

chateau meeting smart wives

plateau sleeping depart prize

Put it all together• Use your brainstorms, word sheets and boxes to

start developing your lyric• Write the whole song out in prose, use those

words to build even more word sheets• Look up words in the Roget’s International

Thesaurus to develop your ideas further• Write one verse, then analyze the scansion to

ensure you have the correct number of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line• REWRITE REWRITE REWRITE

ACTIVITY• Find a title for your song• Brainstorm your title, find an angle• Begin working on your development boxes and

rhyme sheet.