1. The greatest songs ever

In  2005  the  New  Musical  Express  conducted  a  poll  in  66  countries  to  find  out  the  top  10  best  ever  songs.  The  results  are  shown  below.  Choose  ONE  song  to  listen  to.  

 

1  "We  Are  the  Champions"  see  video  

Queen  

2   "  Toxic"  see  video   Britney  Spears  

3  "Billie  Jean"  see  video  

Michael  Jackson  

4  "Hotel  California"  see  video  

Eagles  

5  "La  Tortura"  see  video  

Shakira  

6  "Smells  Like  Teen  Spirit"  see  video    

Nirvana  

7  "Yesterday"  see  video  

The  Beatles  

8   "One"  see  video   U2  

9   "Imagine"  see  video   John  Lennon  

10  "Sultans  of  Swing"  see  video  

Dire  Straits  

 

Whichever  one  you  choose,  think  about  why  people  like  it  so  much.  Is  it  the  lyrics?  Has  it  got  a  great  tune?  Is  it  inspiring  or  mood-­‐changing?  Does  it  do  something  unusual?  There  has  to  be  a  reason  these  songs  are  so  loved.  Work  out  what  it  is.    

Create  a  new  page  in  this  document  and  write  about  why  the  song  is  so  popular.  Make  sure  you  answer  the  ques(ons  above,  and  use  musical  terminology  where  appropriate  (see  final  page  for  suggested  musical  terms).  You  need  to  write  at  least  150  words.  

The best way to complete this sheet is on the computer. Then you can email your work directly to your teacher without having

to print anything. Remember it is extremely important to write in your own

words—do not copy and paste!

Year 9 investigation: Songwriting

2. Investigating hooks

 

What  is  a  hook?  (in  a  song)  

We  don’t  mean  a  fish  hook  or  a  coat  hook!  

Look  this  up  (you  could  use  Wikipedia)  and  write  a  defini&on  in  your  own  words  here:    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day  Tripper  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwmtNk_Yb2Q    

Beat  It  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdxUFDoQe0    

Happy  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-­‐sUYtM    

Billie  Jean  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi_XLOBDo_Y    

Supers''on  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDZFf0pm0SE    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where  is  the  hook  in  each  of  the  songs  on  the  le#?  Give  the  (me  reference  (i.e.  1:26),  the  words  (if  it  is  sung)  or  say  what  instrument  it  is  played  on  (if  it  is  not  sung).  Remember  a  song  may  have  more  than  one  hook!  

Day  Tripper            

Beat  It                    

Happy                      

Billie  Jean                            

Supers''on                                              

 

3. Investigating key changes

 

Watch  this  discussion  about  key  changes:  

h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30m7NUAWB54      

In  your  own  words,  why  do  songs  have  key  changes,  and  how  can  you  tell  when  it  has  happened?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Man  in  the  Mirror  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PivWY9wn5ps    

 

Livin’  on  a  Prayer  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDK9QqIzhwk    

 

The  Wizard  and  I  from  Wicked  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72A4VG_3aiI    

 

Love  Story  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xg3vE8Ie_E    

   

 

All  of  the  songs  on  the  left  have  big  key  changes.  Can  you  identify  where  they  are?  Give  a  time  reference  (i.e.  1:26)    Man  in  the  Mirror    Livin’  on  a  Prayer    The  Wizard  and  I    Love  Story      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Investigating song structure

 

Watch  this  video  about  song  structure:  

h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXifpcE7ewU  

You  will  need  to  use  the  musical  terms  from  the  video  (also  seen  in  the  picture  opposite)  for  the  task  below.    

Wake  me  Up  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcrbM1l_BoI    

 

Life  on  Mars    

h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-­‐-­‐IqqusnNQ    

 

One  Day  Like  This  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk2xaeXnxlM    

 

Skyfall  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StJLvbPIvTw    

 

Bangarang  h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJVmu6y5w    

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choose  one  of  the  songs  from  the  list  on  the  left.  Write  out  its  structure,  and  say  what  the  texture  is  (i.e.  what  instruments/voices  are  heard  in  each  section).        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Create an extended piece of work about songwriting.    

•  Recommended websites to find more info You will find lots of information of Wikipedia about your chosen songwriter. They might even have their own website. You can also search YouTube, iTunes or Spotify for their music. •  Subject-specific terms that can/should be used: lyrics, chords, melody, harmony, bass line, riff, hook, key change, major/minor, intro, outro, verse, chorus, pre-chorus, bridge, middle 8, instrumental.    

 

You can choose how you do this: •  A piece of extended writing (word

document) - this should be over 1000 words

•  A podcast (i.e. audio recording) •  A video •  A powerpoint (minimum 8 slides, include

diagrams, pictures and hyperlinks) •  A detailed mindmap or infographic (for

more info on how to do this, visit http://www.mind-mapping.co.uk/make-mind-map.htm, http://www.easel.ly/ or  http://infogr.am/ )

You need to choose a songwriter to focus on. (This can be a team who work together, i.e. Holland/Dozier/Holland). Make sure

it’s someone who actually writes songs, not just sings them! Include the following:

• Their musical background – how did they learn to write songs?

• How do they go about writing their songs?

• What are their most famous songs?

• Have they always written in the same style, or different styles?

• An analysis of at least one of their songs, and why you think it’s successful.