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Free Writing

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Lyric writing exercise - free writing with Jackson

In this video...

Naarm/Melbourne based musician, songwriter and SongMakers mentor Jackson Phelan (Rat!hammock) gives an example of how the lyric writing activity ‘Free Writing’ works.

What you need / How to start

Materials

  • Either a pen and paper, or a laptop with a document open
  • A 3 minute timer

Seating

You can sit anywhere in the room. It’s best to complete this activity alone.

What to do

Start

Begin your 3 minute timer and spend the entire time writing.

  • You are not allowed to edit or read your writing back, just keep writing whatever comes to mind
  • It might be about something you had for breakfast, a test you are worried about, an interesting person you met
  • It can be anything, as long as you are writing about it and you are not spending any time editing that writing

Stop

Once the time is up, you can reread your writing.

Is there a line amongst your writing that is interesting to you?

Maybe one line or one word will spark some curiosity or give you an idea for an entire song or some new lines!

e.g.
It was a time I felt loved
I was wearing velvet gloves
I fell when I was shoved
Then I saw it from above

The SongMakers VCE Music Resources have been made possible with the support of the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Community Support Fund.
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