June 25th, 2013

6/25/13

In Class:

Over the performed progression, write a 4-line stanza using one of the following phrases:
- We are like birds                                                   - Each day is the same
- They wore each other like a pair of socks            - Death is one thing
- Lost within maps and compasses                         - But you’ve always told me

Instruction in The Stylistic Perspectives of Songwriting:

What approach(es) does the writer use to frame the lyrics of this song?
    ‘Narrative’ – i.e., this is what happened
    ‘Expressive’ – i.e., this is who I am or how I feel
    ‘Social critique’ – i.e., this is the way the world is
    ‘Meta-song’ – i.e., this is a song
Who does the writer address?
1st person - Introspective - "I," "me," "myself," "we," etc. - works especially well with Narrative & Expressive
2nd person - Apostrophe - "you" (sing. and pl.), "yourself," etc. - works especially well with Social critique
3rd person - Generalized - "he," "she," "they," etc. - works especially well with Narrative & Social critique

To help expand and improve our explication process, we identified several questions to build our analysis:

* What makes this a “good” song, lyrically? 
* What is the thematic message of this song?    ~  With all of the following questions, ask “…and how does that affect my interpretation?”
* What sort of voice and vocabulary does the writer use? 
* What stylistic perspective does this song use? 
* Who is the intended audience of this song? Who does the writer address?
* Where does the writer use figurative language (e.g., metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole) 
* Where do you see rhyme and/or repetition?

Listened to “Unity” by Trevor Hall (feat. Matisyahu) to demonstrate the process of answering some of these questions.

Independently, students worked on the following assignments:
- Finish your 15-song research collection!
- Revise and polish your lyrical explication.
- Read from How to Write a Hit Song: Preface, p. 1-3 (do 'Schoolhouse' exercise).

Exit ticket: List the four stylistic perspectives of songwriting.

Homework:
Finish the assignments listed above.
Write!