1) Introduction:
Research Question: What about storytelling through song has influenced songwriting in modern music?
Thesis/Answer: The influence of songwriting is built on a human desire to feel connected to ones environment and the people in it through the medium of storytelling. This medium is constantly evolving, and the way in which lyrics and feeling are portrayed through artist's words has and will continue to change.
2) History of Storytelling In Song:
-Looking at songs of the underground railroad and how the lyrics were essential in communication.
-The Odyssey and how it was sung in Greek theater
- Biblical psalms
-Post WWII songs which propelled the flower power era
3) Songwriting/Storytelling methods:
a) Lyrical storytelling
-artistic difference b/w simple and complex/wordy lyrics- a lot about preference of the artist and the story the level of depth of story
b) Non-lyrical Storytelling
- "Bridging the Gap between feeling and melody"
- focusing on the music and carefully crafting the sound so that it appropriately articulates emotion that words can not
- This segways into listener interpretation, along with artist intent
c) Artist's intent/ listener interpretation
- Many songs have controversy over meaning and intent of writing the song
- Some songs are written with the intent of having the meaning be up to the listener, which is where meaningful connections are built
through storytelling
- Artist's can have intended meanings, but complexity of lyrics can skew the meaning, which can be good or bad
d) Collaborative songwriting
- A story told by many artists
4) Hard Data, Song Analysis and Interview Information
- I will be doing some concept album and individual song analysis to better understand songwriting and strengthen my view of storytelling
so that I can share it with others.
- I will also be writing 4 of my own songs, and analyzing the lyrics as part of the project
- Hard data will come from an interview with a close friend who is a songwriter, and also from a social experiment where people will write a
categorize there life as a story genre, tell the story and write a short song, while others will analyze lyrics.
- ALL OF THIS will really fuel the second half of the paper
5) Conclusion:
- Restate Thesis and give brief summary
Research Question: What about storytelling through song has influenced songwriting in modern music?
Thesis/Answer: The influence of songwriting is built on a human desire to feel connected to ones environment and the people in it through the medium of storytelling. This medium is constantly evolving, and the way in which lyrics and feeling are portrayed through artist's words has and will continue to change.
2) History of Storytelling In Song:
-Looking at songs of the underground railroad and how the lyrics were essential in communication.
-The Odyssey and how it was sung in Greek theater
- Biblical psalms
-Post WWII songs which propelled the flower power era
3) Songwriting/Storytelling methods:
a) Lyrical storytelling
-artistic difference b/w simple and complex/wordy lyrics- a lot about preference of the artist and the story the level of depth of story
b) Non-lyrical Storytelling
- "Bridging the Gap between feeling and melody"
- focusing on the music and carefully crafting the sound so that it appropriately articulates emotion that words can not
- This segways into listener interpretation, along with artist intent
c) Artist's intent/ listener interpretation
- Many songs have controversy over meaning and intent of writing the song
- Some songs are written with the intent of having the meaning be up to the listener, which is where meaningful connections are built
through storytelling
- Artist's can have intended meanings, but complexity of lyrics can skew the meaning, which can be good or bad
d) Collaborative songwriting
- A story told by many artists
4) Hard Data, Song Analysis and Interview Information
- I will be doing some concept album and individual song analysis to better understand songwriting and strengthen my view of storytelling
so that I can share it with others.
- I will also be writing 4 of my own songs, and analyzing the lyrics as part of the project
- Hard data will come from an interview with a close friend who is a songwriter, and also from a social experiment where people will write a
categorize there life as a story genre, tell the story and write a short song, while others will analyze lyrics.
- ALL OF THIS will really fuel the second half of the paper
5) Conclusion:
- Restate Thesis and give brief summary