To wrap up 2 weeks of songwriting resources, I put together a video blog with a couple tips, tricks, and examples. I hope you enjoy these ideas and you can use them in your sessions! Read More
Tag: Resources
Practice Olympics – Wrap Up
A few weeks ago I posted that my students were going to be participating in the Practice Olympics, in which they would work on different practice related events. In order to “medal” they had to complete a certain number of events. 2 events = Bronze level prize (sheet of stickers) 3 events = Silver level prize (Stickers + Kazoo + Harmonica) 4 events = Gold level prize (Stickers + Kazoo + Harmonica + Gold Medal) I am pleased to announce that ALL of my students that participated earned at least a Bronze prize and most earned Silver or Gold. They were THRILLED about the events and excited to work toward the different level prizes. Parents also appreciated getting to see their kids excited about practicing. This was also a great way for me to see what kinds of practicing motivates each individual and what specific areas (ex. note naming, note writing, identifying parts of music, sight reading, etc.) might need a little extra work. All around, I call this event a success and plan on doing it again in 2 Read More
Apps I Love for Songwriting – MOGUL
I was in a lesson with a teenage student when I saw they were writing down the lyrics to a new song using an app. Within the app she was able to look up rhyming words, synonyms, antonyms, download beats, and more. I was really excited by the idea of this app and had to share it with you all! I have not personally used it, but it looks really interesting! The App is called MOGUL and is for the iPhone and iPad. The following is part of a description from http://prmac.com/release-id-46722.htm Songwriting: MOGUL is a simple to use, yet fully featured songwriting app. Songwriter’s can use the built in reference tools to define words and find rhymes, synonyms and antonyms. Words can be collected and saved in an idea bank for later use. It allows users to create and store all of their lyrics in one place and for the serious songwriter it provides the ability to easily search and sort through hundreds of documents. Recording Studio: MOGUL comes equipped with three vocal tracks for recording audio and one beat Read More
Songwriting – Word Blob Inspiration
Even though writing a song doesn’t have to be hard, coming up with the right words can be tricky. I find this especially true when working with teens and adolescents who are interested in writing a song, but have no idea where to start. So, we look for ways to strike up some ideas and channel that creative spirit. Sometimes, just by talking out loud to themselves or to me, an idea is formed and the right words come spilling out! If they get stuck, I offer this simple idea to get things moving. Create a word blob (I know there are other names for it…this is just the one I use. Quick example below) A mess of words on a page all related to whatever topic you want to talk about. It doesn’t have to be pretty. You don’t have to use all of the words you come up with. You can use whatever medium you prefer. Write as many words as you can think. Don’t hesitate, just do! Write now, edit later. The point is to just get your Read More
Mad Libs and Rhyming Words for Songwriting
Today, I have two more simple ideas for quick and easy song writing in a music therapy session! With some of my clients working on both academic and speech goals, Mad Libs are a great way to get them participating. I either look for free online Mad Libs I can print, use this online resource in my session, or create my own story. I then have clients fill in the appropriate type of word to complete the story. To make it musical, we keep a steady beat, add appropriate instrumentation, identify instruments that go with the story, or add a simple melody and chords. This has been a great way to work on articulation, rate of speech, and academic concepts with a couple of my clients. Another simple thing we have done is writing out rhyming words on strips of paper, then arranging them in a way that makes some sense, adding filler words as needed. To make it musical we add a beat and simple melody. We then rearrange the words to create the second line of Read More