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Songwriting and composition can be excellent ways to empower children and young people to create music and songs which are relevant and meaningful to them. This can be informally through playful improvisation or through more structured composition to create new pieces of work. Being playful with creativity has been shown to boost pro-social chemicals such as oxytocin and dopamine, especially when all ideas are respected, valued and there are ‘no mistakes’.
Creating a safe space to explore creative ideas and individual input is a great way to ignite interest and curiosity in music and singing. This can lead to more progression and perhaps more structured composition. Another tip for making a start into composition and songwriting is to begin with poetry/spoken word. Here you can develop prosody and explore the diversity of the voice as a step towards singing.
Benefits
Co-creating songs can be an excellent way to enhance cooperation and group work with children and young people
Creating songs is a way for children and young people to express emotions and ideas, in a safe and contained way – with no consequences (there is no wrong or right)
Involving children and young people in their own creative expression leads to greater feelings of empowerment and achievement – experiences which can support them with their wider learning
Songwriting can be a vehicle for supporting literacy skills (almost by stealth)
Things to Consider
Consider using AI to help generate ideas for song lyrics! It can be a useful starting point if needed
Link compositions to areas of the curriculum, to aid learning and find out what the students are interested in
Don’t underestimate the impact and importance of being playful, to create an environment of fun and safety
Songs don’t have to be chart topper potential – it’s more important that they are relevant and mean something to the pupils creating them
Working with groups can be a challenge, so you can encourage dividing out parts of songs, or even having smaller groups working on different songs
Sometimes lyrics which are personal can be triggering, so do ensure that you are quipped to help a child manage any emotions that might emerge – and be ready to listen, validate and signpost onto pastoral support if needed
Encouraging expression may sometimes mean that language could be potentially be offensive. Find ways to navigate this by making agreements/negotiating with the students about what feels an appropriate word or phrase which still holds the intention but maybe not using swear words (different settings may have different approaches/policies on language)
The young people that are attending music sessions at the moment, I know are benefiting massively from it.
Lizzy Watkiss, Occupational Therapist