Curated OER
Life Reflections in Songwriting and Poetry
Students analyze, discuss and compare sources of inspiration, use of words and imagery, and other differences in writing styles between two featured songwriters. This is an introductory lesson to a creative project unit.
Curated OER
Songwriting
Students watch the "The Greatest TV Moments: Sesame Street Music A to Z" video and brainstorm what the songs may be about. They choose a theme for a song, write a short topic-related poem, and compose music for it.
Curated OER
Sing, America, Sing!
Students articulate their thoughts about citizenship in songs and poems. They write a songor a poem that describes what citizenship means to them. They plan a Citizenship Day during which students perform their songs and read their poems.
Curated OER
Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson - Lesson 3
young scholars create song lyrics for two verses and one chorus. They compare their song writing process to the process described by ie Nelson and Sheryl Crow.
BBC
Bbc Radio2: Sold on Song
If you love classic pop and rock songs and performers, you'll want to visit this site. Includes background information and audio, a glossary, a guide to songwriting styles, songwriting tips, music quizzes, interviews, and so much more....
PBS
Pbs: Off the Charts Web Karaoke
This online karaoke machine, developed for "Off the Charts," an episode about songwriters that aired on the award-winning PBS series "Independent Lens," lets you try out your songwriting talents. First you write the lyrics for a song set...
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Arts Edge: Composing With Solfege
Through solfege, students will create their own musical compositions as Maria did in the musical The Sound of Music.
Other
Writingsongs
Provides information about composing music and songwriting. Of interest is the Tips & Information section where there are several articles of advice about songwriting.
Other
The Golden Rules of Songwriting
Do you have the desire to begin writing music but don't know how to get started? This well written article provides some very good advice to help you on your way.
Other
How Anyone Can Write Better Lyrics
If you like to write lyrics or poems then you will want to look at this site. It gives good advice on how to improve your writing and suggests other resources you may want to invest in.
Other
Verse Development
You have written some lyrics to a song, but are they any any good? Do they capture the listener? This column offers great advice about how to develop your verses to keep them interesting. Through analysis of other lyrics the author will...
Other
Irene Jackson's Songwriting Tips
Numerous postings from this Canadian song writer. Maybe they will inspire you to write an award winning song.
Other
Jeff Mallett's Songwriter Site
thinking about becoming a songwriter? Look here to get advice, find organizations, get writing tips, even a little business advice.
Other
Rock Instrumental Songwriting
Aimed primarily at the young guitarist, this column addresses how to begin writing your own songs. There is some good advice on how to begin to think of the structure of your song as opposed to just thinking of a few riffs.
Other
Structural Chord Progressions
When composing music, it is good to be sure you have the right set of chords surrounding your melody. This column provides a brief overview on how to begin to think of chord structures for your songs.
Other
Compositional Inspiration
Without going into specifics, this article provides general ideas on how to begin writing your own music. A few of the ideas discussed are recording yourself playing around, learn a new scale or pattern, and apply some new music theory...
Other
Guitar Nine: So You Want to Be a Songwriter?
As the title suggests, this column deals with songwriting. It does not tell you specifically how to write a song, but it does cover a lot of good information and advice and how to get started.
Other
Writing Guitar Licks
You have just written a cool guitar lick and you want to play it in your favorite song, however, it just doesn't sound good in the song. This article explains how you can break down your lick into the key components and refine it to suit...