Songwriting: Music Creation

In a Popular Idiom
by Brian Zeller
bzeller@rhcsd.org

NYSSMA Winter Conference

Rochester, NY
December 5, 2015

Form
o Encourage students to use common forms
o 1st form Preamble (followed by AABA, usually)
o 2nd form VCVCIC
o 3rd form VCVCBC
o 4th form VLCVLCBC (lift=prechorus, 2-6 lines)
o 5th form AABA
o 6th form CVC(musical interlude)BC Rondo form (ABACA)
Harmony
o Common chord progressions are useful to beginning, intermediate, and advanced
songwriters.
Beginning songwriters can use common chord progressions to provide harmonic
structure
Intermediate songwriters can substitute other chords into common chord
progressions, experiment with new sounds
Advanced writers still make use of common chord progressions, but should be
encouraged to make more modifications
o Progressions
I-V-vi-IV and its variants
Different starting point
Different order
Other Progressions
Rhythm changes (I-vi-ii-V)
Blues
I-VI-III-bVII (minor)
Descending fifth sequence (vi-ii-V-I)
Pachelbel progression (I-V-vi-iii)
Descending/ascending bass (I-V6-vi-I6/4-IV-I6-ii-I)
Minor descending tetrachord (vi-V-IV-III)
o Harmonic Variation Strategies
Modal mixture/Relative or parallel major/minor
 Alternate bass notes
Passing chords diatonic planing, diminished chords, etc.
Hybrid progressions
Modulation
Melody
o Melodic and instrumental hooks are essential to a song
o Crafting a Strong Melody
Repetition, repetition, repetition
Should be singable
Emphasize steps or small skips over leaps
Keep within reasonable vocal range
Notes in melody should compliment harmonic choices
Interaction of melody of lyrics
The melody and lyrics need to work together
As lyrics get busier, melody gets simpler
Melody should reinforce strong and weak syllables of lyric
Be aware of rhythmic and melodic accents
Working with student songwriters
o Creative Process
Varies from writer to writer. Encourage students to experiment to find their
method.
Melody/lyrics: which comes first?
Save every idea dont trust memory
o Great songwriters are great editors
o Social Concerns
Reluctance to share - Creating and sharing anything can make a student feel
vulnerable.
Share with teacher individually or in small groups minimizes social
risks for students
Ask students to provide positive feedback about each others pieces
Over time, work to create an environment of trust and openness in
songwriting groups.
Personal topics - Some students find songwriting to be an outlet for expressing
feelings and emotions difficult to express any other way. These autobiographical
songs can be especially difficult to share with others.
o Encourage students to create a character and write from the voice
of that character.
o Song can draw on personal experiences and emotions but with
detachment, and thus protection
o I also try to exercise restraint in asking students where they got
the idea for a song.
o Musical Concerns
Rhyme scheme
Student presents song with incoherent rhyme scheme
 o Ask students to analyze lyrics of 3-5 of their favorite songs, circling
and linking rhyming words, then specify rhyme scheme (e.g.
ABAB)
o Strongly encourage students to maintain rhyme scheme for all
similar sections in song (i.e. all verses)
o Encourage use of rhyming dictionary and thesaurus (many are
free, available online)
Melody
Student presents song with rambling, run-on, or otherwise or
unmemorable melody
Lack of repetition
o What is students favorite part of melody?
o Can this become the basis of a new, more unified melodic idea?
No Hook
o Prioritize writing a memorable hook.
o Identify most memorable part of melody in several favorite songs.
What makes it memorable?
o Have students write hooks and sing them for each other. Can they
remember each others hooks after a few minutes?
Harmony
Student presents a song with harmonic issues
o Melody does not match chords
Point out problem areas, propose specific solutions with
less experienced writers
o Chord progression eccentricities
Unusual chord progressions, if they work, are okay
Such progressions make writing more difficult
Encourage less-experienced writers to use standard chord
progressions, perhaps with simple modifications
Building on songwriting
o All musical building blocks of songwriting form, harmony, melody, et al.
o Arranging
o Recording and production
o Notation
o Composition
o Suggested resources
Murphy, Ralph J. Murphys Laws of Songwriting. Nashville: Murphy Music
Consulting, 2011.
Jordan, Barbara L. Songwriters Playground: Innovative Exercises in Creative
Songwriting. Booksurge Publishing, 2008.
Pattison, Pat. Writing Better Lyrics: The Essential Guide to Powerful Songwriting.
Cincinatti: Writers Digest Books, 2009.
Pattison, Pat. Songwriting Without Boundaries: Lyric Writing Exercises for Finding
Your Voice. Cincinatti: Writers Digest Books, 2011.