Five Steps To Songwriting: from a parody to a song of their own
A creative journey from highly scaffolded activities to independent song creation
This comprehensive songwriting scheme takes students from tasks where almost everything is provided, through to writing a song entirely of their own. Through five carefully structured tasks, students progressively develop their understanding of song structure, lyric writing, melody creation and music production.
Designed to build confidence while teaching core musical concepts, the scheme can be delivered over 15 hours and adapted for both primary and secondary levels. It incorporates opportunities for technology integration, collaborative work, and connection to broader themes like sustainability and wellbeing.
Five tasks, each one letting go of a little more
Each step builds upon previous learning while introducing new skills, allowing students to gradually develop their songwriting capabilities in an engaging and supportive environment.
Parody Challenge
Students start with a song that already exists, so nobody faces a blank page.
Make It Fit
Words and music have to agree with each other. This is where students feel that for the first time.
The Big Write
The first substantial piece of original lyric writing.
Backing Track Song
Lyrics and melody meet production. Students write against a track rather than in silence.
Write Your Own Song
The scaffolding is gone. By this point students have done every part of the job at least once, just never all at once.
How to structure it: the unit is designed to be completed as a whole-class workshop, with time allocated for students to work independently before bringing their work back to the whole-class setting.
What students learn
Song structure
How a song is put together, met through writing rather than through analysis of somebody else's.
Lyric writing
Getting words to say something, and to fit the music they sit on.
Melody creation
Writing a tune that carries the words rather than fighting them.
Music production
Turning a written song into something a listener can actually hear.
What's inside
Common questions
How long does it take to run?
The scheme can be delivered over 15 hours, and it adapts to both primary and secondary levels. Each step builds on the previous one, so the order matters more than the pacing.
Do students work alone or as a class?
Both. The unit is designed to be completed as a whole-class workshop, with time allocated for students to work independently before bringing their work back to the whole-class setting.
What if students have never written anything before?
That is what the first task is for. The Parody Challenge starts with a song that already exists, so nobody faces a blank page. The scaffolding falls away step by step until, by task five, students are writing from scratch.
Does it need music technology?
No, but it makes room for it. The scheme incorporates opportunities for technology integration, collaborative work, and connection to broader themes like sustainability and wellbeing.
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