Don't Bore Us, Get Us to the Chorus
Objectives:
Essential Questions:
Materials:
Journal Timed Freewrite:
Vocabulary:
Introduction:
Throughout the history of Popular music, listeners have been drawn to the chorus more than any other section of the song. Choruses are catchy, easy to remember, and summarize the main point of a song. Whether they’re called a chorus, hook, or refrain is irrelevant. The fact remains that a chorus’ purpose has always been to grab the listener’s attention and never let go, even after a song has faded to silence.
Activities:
Homework/Extension:
- Students will devise a list of popular songs with the catchiest choruses.
- Students will synthesize lyrics for a main idea.
- Students will use the main idea of a song to inspire the composition of three distinct choruses.
Essential Questions:
- What musical attributes contribute to the catchiness of a chorus?
- What lyrical attributes contribute to a chorus being easily remembered?
- Can an argument be made that the chorus is the most important part of a song?
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
- Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text.
Materials:
Journal Timed Freewrite:
- If time permits these timed freewrites can start each class, and create a rhythm to the beginning of each session, along with developing the craft of journaling as an integral process of generating, fostering, and capturing inspired thoughts and ideas.
- Prompt: Consult the “Ecology Facts and Journal Prompts” handout to chose a topic for this class.
Vocabulary:
- Chorus/Hook/Refrain: Contrasts a verse in popular music and usually contains repeated, catchy musical content.
Introduction:
Throughout the history of Popular music, listeners have been drawn to the chorus more than any other section of the song. Choruses are catchy, easy to remember, and summarize the main point of a song. Whether they’re called a chorus, hook, or refrain is irrelevant. The fact remains that a chorus’ purpose has always been to grab the listener’s attention and never let go, even after a song has faded to silence.
Activities:
- Have the artist track available for students to listen to while they work today. Perhaps allowing the track to simply play on repeat in the background will suffice.
- Distribute the Catchy Chorus Worksheet. After students complete both sections, allow them to discuss what makes their songs catchy in small groups.
- Distribute the original Rhyming Worksheet and the newer Composing a Chorus Worksheet. Have students read through their original lyrics and extract one main idea from their lyrics. Next, students will use this main idea to compose three possible hooks for their song.
- Students will share their three ideas with a partner who will score each chorus on a catchy scale from 1-10.
Homework/Extension:
- Interview an older adult in your life. Ask them to provide the name and artist of three popular songs from their teenage years. Next, listen to those songs, comparing and contrasting them with three of your own. Were there similarities and differences?
