Songwriting with children

It is always beneficial to include a variety of different activities in your young students’ instrumental lessons. There are a vast number of musical exercises that can help students become familiar with various different musical concepts, as well as furthering their understanding of music theory.

One such activity is songwriting. Children love writing their own songs. Not only is it incredibly fun, but songwriting also has a number of extra important benefits.

Here are my top five reasons to introduce songwriting into your young students’ lessons:

1. It’s a vehicle for creativity and self-expression. Songwriting actively encourages children to be creative and expressive. They can choose to write about absolutely anything, and this is an exciting prospect!

2. It furthers children’s understanding of music theory. In order to write their own song, children must learn about the various components of a song, such as melody, harmony, rhythm and lyrics. Putting these elements into practice in a song of their own helps consolidate their understanding of these fundamental musical features.

3. It gives children a sense of achievement. Your student can be proud that they have created something of their very own.

4. There are cross curricular benefits. Writing a song means writing lyrics. This helps children think about how to use language, and how to write creatively.

5. It gives children an alternative way to engage with music. Introducing songwriting into your lessons gives students some variation, and shows them that performing is just one of many ways to make music.