Electrifying - Grease

Recommendations

Info

Pitfalls If you are not a musician and would like someone else to set your lyrics to music, be careful that you don’t get hung too up on writing verse with a perfect rhythm and rhyme structure. It is often more satisfying for the listener if you can come up with some unexpected rhymes, like the example below which uses irony in the lyrics as well. BABY, DON’T SWEAT IT YOU’RE NOT CUT OUT TO HOLD A JOB BETTER FORGET IT WHO WANTS HER HAIR DONE BY A SLOB? NOW YOUR BANGS ARE CURLED, YOUR LASHES TWIRLED, BUT STILL THE WORLD IS CRUEL WIPE OFF THAT ANGEL FACE AND GO BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL Try writing the lyrics to fit an existing tune so that your structure and rhythm will sound right! Then take the tune away and give the words to your friendly musician to compose a tune to fit. Don’t, under any circumstances, tell him or her what your starting tune was, as that will have too much influence. Stand back and see what she or he comes up with and you should be amazed by the end result. On the next page is a worksheet to start you off, featuring the song Those Magic Changes from the show. www.greasethemusical.co.uk © 2000 PN & DI Associates. All rights reserved. The Tempo Pop songs are usually written in 4/4 time; one, two, three, four. As a lyricist you need to be aware of that, but don’t get hung up about it. Set the tempo according to the mood of the song - fast if it’s energetic or angry, mid tempo for a good solid pop song or slow for a sad song or a ballad. Definitions Verse: The verses all have the same melody but different lyrics. The verse lyrics give us information about the situation, emotions or people in the song. Chorus: The chorus is the section in which both melody and lyrics are repeated. In the chorus you will usually find the “hook” of the song - this is the melody which will buzz around in people’s heads for days after they have heard it. The title may well be the words that go with the hook. The title of the song almost always appears in the chorus section and may be repeated two or more times. Bridge: Also known as the middle eight. The bridge has a different melody, lyrics and chord progression from the verse or chorus. It provides a break from the repetition of verse and chorus and is sometimes an emotional turning point. Inspiration To Get You Started: 5 Top Love Songs Through The Ages All these songs have different structures. See if you can work out what they are. Love Me Tender Let’s Get it On Teenage Kicks I Will Always Love You Breathe Can you name the year and artist of these songs? What are your top five love songs? 23
Follow Up Activities Music Worksheet: Those Magic Changes Curriculum Links: GCSE music Doody is getting to grips with the ingredients of a good love song as he struggles to work out what chords to play at the opening of “Those Magic www.greasethemusical.co.uk © 2000 PN & DI Associates. All rights reserved. Changes” – listen to it on the original cast recording and look at this extract, which shows the opening verse before the “magic change”. 1. Write your own lyric to this short section of melody. 2. In pairs, compose a new section of music to fit your lyrics. 3. Advanced composers can try to work out what comes next. Can you continue the melody line? When you’ve had a stab at it, listen again to the cast recording and see if you had a similar idea or did you create something entirely new? 24
Page 1 and 2: ELECTRIFYING GO GO GO! Sky News BRA
Page 3 and 4: Introduction Welcome to Rydell High
Page 5 and 6: The Show Song by Song Synopsis - AC
Page 7 and 8: The Show Timeline of Grease 1970 At
Page 9 and 10: Style File Growing Up on Grease: 19
Page 11 and 12: Style File 1950s American Fashion C
Page 13 and 14: Style File 1950s American Motors Cu
Page 15 and 16: Backstage Pass Who’s Who: The Big
Page 17 and 18: Backstage Pass A Day In The Life Of
Page 19 and 20: flyman, Sound op, LX op and Follows
Page 21 and 22: Backstage Pass Technical Cues Works
Page 23: Follow Up Activities Write Your Own
Page 27: Follow Up Activities Further Ideas

Electrifying - Grease

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?