Lesson 7

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• mavo, havo
• Leerjaar 2

Welcome back !

Today’s lesson 

• Practice your writing skills!
  
• Creative writing exercise: write your own song
  
• Watch a video -> five essential tips for writing great lyrics 
  
• Rhyming 
• Structure 
  
• Word association exercise 
  
• Get writing! 
  

Tips

• Find the right words (find the exact words that say it best)
  
• Write like people speak ( the words you use have to make sense live)
  
• Be specific (specific words that belong in your song -> makes your song unique)
  
• Be smart with structure (important lines in the beginning/ end of sections)
• Keep it simple (eliminate the unnecessary)

Create your own song!

• What about rhyming? 
  

• Most song do rhyme, but it is not necessary!
  

Create your own song!

• You have my heart, and we'll never be worlds apart
  
• Maybe in magazines, but you'll still be my star
  
• Baby, 'cause in the dark
  
• You can't see shiny cars
  
• And that's when you need me there
  
• With you I'll always share

VS 

• Am I more than you bargained for yet?
  
• I've been dying to tell you
  
• Anything you wanna hear
  
• 'Cause that's just who I am this week
  
• Lie in the grass next to the mausoleum
  
• I'm just a notch in your bedpost, but you're just a line in a song
  

Create your own song!

• Most songs have: 
  
• A beginning -> intro/ verse -> introduce your audience to the song 
  
• A middle: chorus (repeated multiple times) mean theme / message 
  
• End: outro/chorus -> conclusion 
  

genius.com

Create your own song!

• What should I write about? 
  
• A song can be about a place
  
• A person 
  
• An experience 
  
• An emotion 
  
• A problem you have 
  
• A dream 

Create your own song!

• What kind of music do you like? 
  
• Think of genres -> pop, R&B, rap, soul, rock, jazz, etc
  
• Think of a genre which fit you best
• Or go the complete opposite direction!

Create your own song!

• Word association 
  
• Choose ​ONE​ of these words.
  
• ‘LOVE’  ‘DREAM’ ​ ‘FRIEND’ ​ ‘MORNING’  ‘ADVENTURE’  ‘THUNDER’  ‘SCHOOL’ 
  

• When the time begins, write down as many words associated with that one word as possible. Be open-minded here - there are no wrong answers. 
  

• 3 minutes!
  

Create your own song!

• Make sure there is a: 
  
• Beginning (intro)
  
• Middle (verse/chorus)
  
• End (outro) 
  
• Make sure your song is between around 2-4 minutes long!
• Present your song at the end?