Bishop Challoner Music

Name: _____________________________ Form:___________________________

Year 7 Song Writing

In this project you will be composing your own pop song in a small group.

To keep your group on track, you will need to fill out the following each lesson.

Week In our session today we… In our next session we need to…
For In our session today we played ‘I In our next session we need to start to
example… Need A Dollar’ as a class and write our own lyrics.
learnt about the main parts in a
pop song.
Session 1

Session 2

Session 3

Session 4

Session 5

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ALOE BLACC, CHRIS WEBBY FEAT MAC MILLER ‘I NEED A

DOLLAR’

SINGING PART
Chorus
I need a dollar, dollar, a dollar is what I need (hey hey)
I need a dollar, dollar, a dollar is what I need (hey hey)
I need a dollar, dollar, a dollar is what I need
And if I share with you my story would you share your dollar with me?
VERSE 1
Bad times are comin and I reap what I done sow (hey hey)
Well let me tell you something all that glitters ain’t gold (hey hey)
It’s been a long old trouble, long old troublesome road
And I’m looking for somebody come and help me carry this load
CHORUS
I need a dollar dollar etc ...
VERSE 2
I had a job but the boss man let me go (He said)
I’m sorry but I won’t be needing your help no more (I said)
Please mister boss man I need this job more than you know
But he gave me my last paycheque and he sent me on out the door
CHORUS
I need a dollar dollar etc …

RAP PART (enters after the first chorus)

You see I’m broke, I’m not tryna brag
About money, cars, clothes, jewelry and swag
About to be the first dude with the game in the bag
Who still lives home with his mom and his dad
Screw taking a cab, I’ll save my dough
And get to jogging, yeah my funds are that low
My car’s dented up with some dirty ass rims
My left headlight is duct-taped in
You think I’m joking? I wish
But I’ve also accepted the fact that this life ain’t all it
And I ain’t here to complain
But yo I’m just saying that uh, I’ll take your dollar even if it’s change
Cause I’ve given you nothing but free music
When I do release an album you can buy, please do it
Now there’s a fan base followin’ this character
About to show the world how to make it in America

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Ukulele Part

Piano Chords Part

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Bass Part
Tricky bass part:

Trickier bass part:

Drum Part

Tricky Part

Trickier part

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SONGWRITING
There are lots of parts which make up a good pop song, but we are going to focus on the
following:

LYRICS

DRUM RHYTHM

MELODY

RIFF

Before we start we want to decide on the theme of our song based on our stimulus which is
the planet. Mindmap your ideas below:

The Planet

You also need to decide what style of song you are going to write. Is it a slow-tempo R&B
song or a fast grime song?

_________________________________________________________________________

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LYRICS
From the topic of the planet you now need to create a chain of words to help form your
lyrics.

For example…

Trees  Strong  Roots  Family

  

  

  

  

RHYTHM AND RHYME

To write good lyrics:

 Lyrics should have a rhythm

 Lyrics tend to be grouped 4 lines at a time
 Lyrics should rhyme (not always) in either AABB or ABAB format

For example:

AABB Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me just for today,
Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away (Eminem: Sing for the Moment)

ABCB Remember those walls I built

Baby they’re tumbling down
They didn’t even put up a fight
They didn’t even make a sound
(Beyonce: Halo)

Now try writing your own lyrics!

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Use words that you brainstormed earlier to inspire you.

Remember to look at the structure. The Verse always has different lyrics, but the Chorus is
always the same. We will use the following structure:

Introduction Verse 1 Chorus Verse 2 Chorusx2 Outro

The introduction and outro are usually instrumental. So therefore you need to write lyrics
for the Chorus and 2x Verses. If you do all this then you can try and write a bridge section
which is usually very different and comes before the double chorus.

Verse 1 (4 lines) Chorus (4 lines)

Verse 2 (4 lines)

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MELODY
The melody of a song is often what sticks in peoples’ heads. Many very popular songs only
use a small range of notes which make them easy for people to sing and remember

Somebody That I Used To Know

Most melodies move in steps without too many jumps.

Make sure the notes are comfortable for the person singing (not too high or low).

Try using the pentatonic scale to create your melody, this has been used in 1000s of songs.

C Major Pentatonic C Minor Pentatonic

Now compose your own melody!

Compose some melodic ideas using your lyrics and the pentatonic scale. Then work out how
to notate them on the manuscript below. If you are finding this tricky, use the food method.

Melody Ideas

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RIFF
A Riff is a repeated pattern that is usually found at the start of the song, it may repeat
through the whole song or start and stop.

Here are some famous examples to try out

Coldplay Clocks

Ben E King: Stand By Me

What makes a good Riff?

 It needs to be based on the notes of your chords

 Catchy Rhythm
 Easy to Remember
 2/4/8 Bars Long
 High pitch (‘Clocks’) or low pitched (Stand By Me)

Now compose your own riff!

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NOTEFINDERS

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