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Using Our Senses

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Using Our Senses

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Lyric writing exercise - Using our senses with Jackson

In this video...

Naarm/Melbourne based musician, songwriter, producer and SongMakers mentor Jackson Phelan (Rat!hammock) gives an example of the collaborative lyric writing activity ‘Using Our Senses’.

What you need / How to start

Everyone in your group will sit together in a circle and everyone will need

  • A piece of paper
  • Something to write with and
  • Something to lean on

What to do

Step 1

  • Write all the senses down on the side of your page: sight, touch, hear, smell, taste
  • Think of a place – it could be somewhere you feel comfortable / happy / excited
  • Write that place at the top of your page. For example, if you’re thinking about a car, write “CAR” at the top of the page

Sight

Next to the word SIGHT, write a sentence about what you can see in your chosen place.

Example (for “CAR”):

“I can see a new horizon.” (metaphorical)

or

“I can see the lights on my dashboard flashing.” (literal)

When you’re done, pass your paper to the left.

Touch

You will receive a paper from the right with a new place (for example, Grocery Store).

For TOUCH, write a sentence about what you could touch or feel in that place.

Example:

“I grabbed a cold metal can.”

Then pass your paper to the left.

Hear

You will receive a paper from the right. For HEARING, the new place might be Dog Park.

Write a sentence about what you hear there.

Example:

“I hear a loud woof.”

Then pass your paper to the left.

Smell

You will receive a paper from the right. For SMELL, your place might be Cinema.

Write a sentence about what you smell.

Example:

“Buttery popcorn and sweet M&Ms.”

Then pass your paper to the left.

Taste

You will receive a paper from the right. For TASTE, your place could be Beach.

Write a sentence about what you taste.

Example:

“The salty water hits my lips.”

Next Steps

You now have 5 lines for lyrics of a song, all describing the one place.

You could use this as inspiration to write any part of a song or as an activity if you’re stuck during the songwriting process

Remember that you can always change and workshop these lines. Swap out words to change the meaning or feeling, or add/drop a word to make it easier to sing.

The SongMakers VET 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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The SongMakers VET 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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The SongMakers program acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander custodians of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to them, their culture, and their Elders past, present and future.
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