Do+you+have+the+blues?

Directions for writing songs How to Record Song

Directions for how to listen to the songs


 * We will be working with [|James Frankel] and his music students from [|Franklin Avenue School] in New Jersey.**

You will be writing lyrics about the American Revolution to music that his students composed. The songs need to be totally complete by October 18 -- That means researched, written, recorded, edited, and converted into an Mp3.

=The following is from the Mr. Frankel's class wiki= =Writing Blues Lyrics=

1. Choose a topic that reflects the mood of the blues. 2. Follow the formula below for the four lines of each verse of a blues song:

1st Line: State the problem. 2nd Line: Repeat 1st line. 3rd Line: State half of the solution (or consequence). 4th Line: State the second half of the solution (or consequence).

Example:

The Homework Blues

I’ve got the homework blues ‘cause my teacher always gives us a ton. I’ve got the homework blues ‘cause my teacher always gives us a ton. And if I don’t do my homework, My parents won’t let me have fun.

Notice that the 1st line has 16 syllables. The 3rd and 4th line should add up to 16 as well. As a rule of thumb, however many syllables there are in the 1st line should be the same (or very nearly the same) as the 3rd and 4th line combined. Also, note that the last word of the 1st line rhymes with the last word of the 4th line. While not all blues songs follow this exact formula, it is a way to get started. Listen to as many blues songs as you can and see if they follow the same formula. If they don’t, what do they do differently?

(The following was created from a source lost long ago...opps) Blues songs are often written in what is called 12 bars. Each “bar” is four beats, each line has four bars or 16 beats. Song lyrics have poetic devices within the lyrics. Some of the devices are: Others include **//__rhyme, repetition, apostrophe, echo__//**
 * //__Alliteration__//** -- use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse; //"around the rock the ragged rascal ran."//
 * //__Imagery__//** -- A set of mental pictures or images, “//love is like an ocean.”//
 * //__Metaphor__//** -- A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in //“a sea of troubles”// or “//All the world's a stage.//”
 * //__Personification__//** -- A figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form, as in //Hunger sat shivering on the road// or //Flowers danced about the lawn.//
 * //__Simile__//** -- A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by //like// or //as,// as in //“How like the winter hath my absence been”// or //“So are you to my thoughts as food to life”//
 * //__Allusion__//** -- passing reference or indirect mention, “//bought me a present the day after the bank was robbed.”//
 * //__Hyperbole__//** -- A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect, as in //I could sleep for a year// or //This book weighs a ton.//
 * //__Euphemism__//** -- The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive: “//Euphemisms such as ‘slumber room’... abound in the funeral business.”//
 * //__Paradox__//** -- A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true: the paradox that standing is more tiring than walking.
 * "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child" (simile)
 * "Sun going down, dark gonna catch me here" (personification, imagery)
 * "They got me accused of forgery and I can't even write my name" (paradox)
 * "I had religion this very day, but the landlord and women would not let me pray" (internal rhyme, personification)
 * "I can hear the river calling by the light of a distant star" (personification, imagery)
 * "Woke up this morning with the jinx all around my bed" (metaphor)

(COPY AND PASTE THE FOLLOWING ONTO YOUR WIKI PAGE) What are you going to do in your song?

Title

VERSE ONE-Topic= Notes/Facts/Details/Links

What is you point in this verse? What should matter most to the listener?

1

2

3

4

VERSE TWO--Topic= Notes/Facts/Details/Links

What is you point in this verse? What should matter most to the listener?

1

2

3

4

VERSE THREE--Topic= Notes/Facts/Details/Links

What is you point in this verse? What should matter most to the listener? 1

2

3

4

VERSE FOUR--Topic= Notes/Facts/Details/Links

What is you point in this verse? What should matter most to the listener? 1

2

3

4

VERSE FiVE--Topic= Notes/Facts/Details/Links

What is you point in this verse? What should matter most to the listener? 1

2

3

4

VERSE SIX--Topic= Notes/Facts/Details/Links

What is you point in this verse? What should matter most to the listener?

1

2

3

4

VERSE SEVEN--Topic= Notes/Facts/Details/Links

What is you point in this verse? What should matter most to the listener?

1

2 3 4

VERSE EIGHT--Topic= Notes/Facts/Details/Links

What is you point in this verse? What should matter most to the listener? 1 1 2 3 4