OBJECTIVE: To learn about song structure/song writing by composing a song’s lyrics in the style of someone whose songs you admire. Submit your answers to questions 1-7 below in a single .doc, .docx or .pdf file in the dropbox on d2l. 1. Choose a band/artist that you would like to earn more about. Who’d you pick? 
NOTE: You may not choose an artist who doesn’t tend to use a lot of words in their music. You must choose an artist who tends to have songs with at least a medium amount of lyrics per song (100+ ish words).
 2. Learn if that artist records their own lyrics, or if they record songs written by someone else. Who writes their songs? How do you know? Cite your evidence.
 3. Analyze the song lyrics that this band/artist performed. Pick at least five songs and list them. NOTE: if you are analyzing a very prolific performer (e.g. Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, etc.) try to choose songs from a single album. Answer the following questions for each song. [write the title, then the letters below, with the answers] a. How many words are used in the song’s lyrics?
 b.What is the form of the songs lyrics? (e.g., Verse/Chorus/Verse/Break/Chorus/Chorus) 
 c. Discover any patterns between different verses by counting syllables per line. Do the syllables of one line from the first verse equal the same line in the second verse? 
 d.Do you notice any patterns in the way that particular parts of the song fit with others? For example, are the choruses significantly shorter/longer than the verses, or vice versa? Do the verses always narrate a story, or do the choruses always comment on feelings? e. is there a rhyme scheme used? 
 4. Prepare a paragraph (100+ words) that states what lyricist/artist you are analyzing, and then describe what the songs you analyzed are about. What kinds of songs does this artist write? 
5. Compose a song’s lyrics, which are modeled on the ones you analyzed. *Don’t plagiarize any part of any song. *Do not model a specific song and change the lyrics. *Everything you write should follow the model you analyzed, but be entirely your own words. *Do Write a complete song’s lyrics! 
*Do Read the Explanation about Song Lyrics Below First. 6. Explain how your song’s lyrics fit the model in a brief paragraph (150+ words).
 7. Finally, what did this assignment teach you about your artist or the process of writing songs? (brief paragraph – 150+ words) Typical Song Structure: Most popular songs contain verses and choruses, and many contain bridges or breaks. Compose a song that has multiple verses and a chorus. Compose a bridge/break lyric if you think it necessary. Rap verses can be used instead of or in conjunction with lyrical verses. See below for other distinctions/clarifications about these components of songs: Verse/Line Length: Song lyrics follow patterns related to the number of syllables per line. The pattern is sometimes approximate, but is almost always there. The reason that this happens is because melodies have notes, each of which can carry a single syllable. If a line of lyrics contains 10 syllables, it requires 10 notes in order to make a song. In the verses of most popular songs, the melodies repeat exactly from verse to verse. If a melody has 10 notes, you might squeeze in an extra syllable and have 11 syllables, or you might drop one note and have 9 syllables, but you couldn’t have things vary much beyond 1-2 syllables. So, if you have 10 syllables in the first line of verse one, verse two must have approximately ten syllables in its first line. Compare the opening of the two verses to the song “Brown Eyed Girl.” “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison v.1 Hey where did we go, in days when the rains came? v.3 So hard to find my way, now that I’m on my own. In verse one, there are 11 syllables used, 5 before the comma, and 6 after. In verse three, there are 12 syllables used, 6 before the comma, and 6 after. In the music of the song, the same melody is used for both phrases, and that melody contains a fixed amount of notes. You can sing two words to some of the notes, but you can’t wedge too many lyrics to that melody. In other words, to set a song to this tune, I would have to choose a lyric that had approximately 11-12 syllables on it, with a slight break around 5 or 6. Many of you are unaware of this aspect of song writing, and when you attempt to write your own verses, you need to be prepared to write verses that follow a pattern throughout. This restriction on verses is difficult, and part of why the fixed form of song lyrics can be challenging. RAP Verses: Please be aware that the line length concept doesn’t apply as strictly to rap verses, but rap verses also will have line length patterns. They just are more loosely applied, because the rhythm of the delivery can be adjusted. What’s important in rap verses is almost always rhyme and rhythm. If a rap verse has no rhyme in it, and if the words don’t flow together, then it won’t work. Hook/Chorus: The two words “hook and chorus” are used interchangeably today, but they both refer to that part of a popular song that repeats in the song. Typically, they distill what the song is about, on some level. For example, if a song tells a story, then the chorus will contain something related to the story; perhaps, it will be the emotional center of the song, or what the story is telling. It will almost always be the most memorable part of the song. The chorus often has some formal characteristics. A subtle charactheristic includes line length as measured in syllables, or notes of the melody. For example, if the chorus has four lines of lyrics, chances are, that the number of syllables per line follows some kind of pattern (e.g.9, 11, 9, 11). Begin to be aware of line length in the choruses of songs you listen to (line length = number of syllables per line). More typically, choruses and hooks follow a rhyme scheme. It isn’t a rule that is set in stone, but it happens most of the time. Try and be aware of this as you listen to songs you enjoy.
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