Hello, everyone.

Welcome.

My name is Miss Ashley from Lincoln Center.

And I'm so excited that you're here with me.

And I'm even more excited to play with something today that really hooks you into a song, called a chorus.

Now a chorus is a super important part that helps us to tell the story of the song.

And there are some pretty cool tools that we can use to help us recognize when it's a chorus.

First, the chorus is going to hold the theme or the main idea of the song.

Second, it often has lines that rhyme, kind of like that.

[LAUGHTER] It's usually pretty short and catchy.

So it's easy for you to remember it.

And you really know it's the chorus because it often repeats throughout the song, meaning it'll come back to that part again.

So let's take a look at that chorus we heard at the beginning of the video.

And let's see if that sounds something like a chorus.

And I bet you, you might already have the tune in your head.

Because it's catchy.

So let's try it.

(SINGING) Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

You love me, and I love you.

See?

It's pretty catchy, right?

And because it's a chorus, you could sing it again.

So let's try singing it one more time.

(SINGING) Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

You love me, and I love you.

So if we were writing that song, we'd probably say that that song is probably about love.

Could be loving someone in your family or loving your friend.

So it's a song about love.

So that chorus holds that theme and main idea of love.

So before we try writing our own chorus-- of course, we have to write our own.

Let's take a listen to that chorus we heard at the beginning and see if it sounds chorus-y, so we can get a good idea.

(SINGING) Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

You love me, and I love you.

Sound like a chorus?

I think so.

Holds the theme of the song about love, blue and you.

So lines that rhyme.

It's pretty short, right?

I bet you could already sing it with me again.

And if we wanted to, we could repeat it again.

So let's try repeating it.

(SINGING) Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

You love me, and I love you.

And we could just keep singing that over and over again because the chorus is easy to repeat.

OK, so now that we know the tools that we can use to recognize a chorus, how about we use those tools to create our own chorus?

Now something important to note is that these are tools, not rules.

So different songs might sound different ways.

But we're just going to do sort of a basic chorus together today.

All right, so you can go along with me and write with me.

Or you can try and writing your own at home.

And I'll be checking in on you to see how you're doing.

So the first tool we said is that the chorus holds the theme of the main idea of the song.

So how about if we're writing, we all brainstorm some themes, our main ideas.

I'll brainstorm some here.

And you can help me out.

Or you can be brainstorming things that you want to write about, at home.

So it's pretty rainy outside.

So I could write a song about that.

Maybe the clouds in the sky.

Or I could write a song about my best friend, who I love so much.

I could write a song about my favorite pet.

92 00:05:02,820 --> 00:05:08,100 Or I could write a song about believing in myself or believing in yourself.

I kind of like that.

Yeah, I want to write something about believing in myself.

So for writing a song about believing in ourselves or believing in yourself, you need some words that make us think about believing in ourselves because now that we have our theme, we want to start thinking about some lines that rhyme.

And the only way that we can think about that is to get some words that rhyme.

So words that make me think about believing in myself.

It could be great.

That could be a good word to rhyme.

Believing in myself could be courage.

That's not an easy word to rhyme or dreams or dream-- ooh, dreams.

Yes, dreams.

Let's go a dream.

So now that I know that my song is about believing in myself and I want to start with the word dream to help me start thinking of my lyrics-- remember, the lyrics are the words to your song-- what are some words that rhyme with dream?

Dream, team, ice cream, stream, kind of like streaming on TV or a stream, little body of water, seem.

Ooh, dream, seem, that could be a really good one.

Dream, seen, beam-- like sunbeam.

Ooh, let's go with that.

OK, so we have three words that rhyme.

Dream, seem, and beam.

So if we want to get lines that rhyme, we need to add some words around those lines or around those rhymes rather, to get our chorus going.

So a song about believing in yourself and we're going to try to use the word dream, seem, and beam.

So the first line, I think I want my first line to end with the word, dream.

Now while I'm thinking about my lyrics, what are some things you came up with?

And then, what are some words that you could use to help you think about our talk about that theme in your lyrics?

So I'm starting with the dream.

Believing in yourself.

How about because songs kind of have this idea of stories with them, it all starts.

How do we start?

Oh, got it.

OK, so we're going to start our cause by saying it all starts with a dream.

[LAUGHTER] I love that line, OK?

It all starts with a dream.

So now we have seem and beam that we can use next.

So I think I want to use seem in my next line, so that I can really start hearing these lines that rhyme that will help us start to get that chorus feel.

So it all starts with the dream.

152 00:08:45,500 --> 00:08:49,040 Seem, hard, seem hard.

But that doesn't work.

So oh, here's a trick.

So you can take words that you might say one way and in song lyrics, say them kind of backwards a little bit to make those lines really work.

So instead of saying it seems hard, I can say, so hard, it might seem.

And it still makes sense, right?

So my line so far are, it all starts with a dream.

So hard, it might seem.

So to really finish this out, I think I want to add two more lines.

But I only have one more word that rhymes.

And that is totally OK. One of the lines doesn't have to rhyme.

So it all starts with dream.

So hard, it might seem.

Believe that you can do it.

Because remember, we're about believing in ourselves.

It all starts with a dream.

So hard, it might seem.

Believe that you can do it.

And it's sunbeams.

And what are sunbeams?

They're light coming off of the sun.

So and let your light beam.

So those are the lyrics to my chorus.

I'll say them again.

And I'm curious to know what are some lyrics that you've come up with.

Here are the lyrics.

It all starts with a dream.

So hard, it might seem.

Believe that you can do it.

And let your light beam.

Now it's starting to sound pretty chorus-y.

But there's something else we have to add to really make it sound like a chorus.

OK, so our chorus is looking pretty good so far.

We've got some good strong lines and a good theme going.

But we need one more thing, so that it really is a chorus.

And that's a melody.

You have to add a tune to it so now's a good time.

If you're able to parse your video and you want to, you can work on your lyrics a little bit longer.

But if not, come along with me.

So when we're getting into thinking about melody and how do we add a tune to our lyrics, there is really no trick to it, except to really let the words guide you.

It's how you want it to feel, how you want others to feel, when they listen to it.

And then, how are you saying the words.

And that will help you determine how that melody is going to sound.

So let's get into that and try some things out.

So when I want to come up with a melody idea, the first thing I do is I say it how I'm thinking about singing it.

So let's start with our first line.

It all starts with a dream.

I definitely wouldn't sing it like that.

So maybe, I want to start to think about what words I want to bring out and kind of what shape I want to create with my voice.

Remember, we can always make different choices with our voice.

So it all starts with the dream.

Or it all starts with the dream.

That one doesn't feel so natural.

The first one feels more natural to me.

It all starts with the dream.

So it all starts with the dream.

So I'm already starting to kind of speak sing it a little bit.

So I could give some notes to it and give it some tune.

And it might say, (SINGING) It all, it all starts with the dream.

And see how I'm kind of letting the shape of the way I speak it help me think about how I want to sing it.

So that first line could be-- (SINGING) It all starts with the dream.

And then we could do the same exact thing for that next line.

So those words are so hard it might seem.

So if I want to say it, I might give it that same shape and say, so hard, it might seem.

So really, the way that I see it is how I want to sing it.

So, so hard, it might seem.

So the first line is-- (SINGING) It all starts with the dream.

The second line could just follow right behind that.

And say-- (SINGING) so hard it might seem.

OK, and we've already got some melody going.

So you can try that with your words at home.

I'm going to try to finish this last part of the chorus, two my lines.

So we can do the shape, like we just did.

Or we can sort of aim for words and then make a choice whether we want to go high or we want to go low or sort of stay the same on certain words.

And that's also thinking about shape.

But now it's got us thinking if we want to go up or down, instead of like falling or not.

So on this next line, believe that you can do it, I'm kind of wondering, what will happen if I really gave some emphasis on the word, can.

If that was kind of like where it was aiming for.

So believe that you can do it.

I could say it fast like that.

Believe that you can do it.

Or I could say, believe that you can do it.

So that's already kind of different.

And I kind of like bringing out the word, can.

So if I want to give that some pictures tone or sound, then I kind of have to decide if I want to go up, down, or stay the same.

So let's try down.

(SINGING) Believe that you can do it.

Ah, does that really do anything?

Not really.

What about staying the same?

(SINGING) Believe that you can do it.

Believe they can do it.

Ah, not as special.

What if I go up?

(SINGING) Believe that you can do it.

Yeah, see?

You can really let the words guide you.

And then, on this last one, and let your light beam, we'll try to let the words guide us again.

So before we do that, let's hear what we have so far.

(SINGING) It all starts with the dream.

So hard it might seem.

Believe that you can do it.

And then that last one.

And let your light beam.

And I kind of already did what I kind of want to do.

And let your light beam.

And let your light beam.

(SINGING) And let your-- and let.

Yeah, we want to give some time on let.

(SINGING) And let your light beam.

OK, so it's catchy.

It's pretty simple.

And it kind of follows the shape of the words that you're trying to create.

OK, so let's put that all together and see how that sounds.

One, two, three.

(SINGING) It starts with a dream.

So hard, it might seem.

Believe that you can do it.

And let your light beam.

And because it's a chorus, you could go right back into it.

(SINGING) It all starts with a dream.

So hard it might seem.

Believe that you can do it.

And let your light beam.

OK, I hope you're letting your light beam and shine and believing in yourself.

OK, so before we finish up, I definitely want to sing that again with you.

But we've got to make sure that our chorus is kind of checking off all those tools, not rules, that we talked about earlier.

So let's check that out.

So our chorus is done.

So let's double check it against our tools one more time to make sure it's done.

All right, so we said that the chorus holds the theme or the main idea of the song.

And remember, our theme was believing in yourself.

So I think we've got that pretty covered.

We're really talking about believing that you can do it.

So yep, got the theme.

Next, we said that it has lines that rhyme.

And I think we're doing pretty good.

We've got dream, seem, beam.

So we've definitely got lines that rhyme.

And then, we have a catchy melody.

So it's easy to remember.

And it really hooks you into the song.

So you can double check your chorus at home and make sure it has all those tools going for it, too.

And maybe you've added some more.

All right, I'm excited for this part.

We're going to really sing our chorus now.

And I want you to sing along with me at home.

We're going to sing it twice because remember a chorus can easily repeat.

Oh, that's another tool.

It can easily repeat.

So we're going to sing it once.

And you'll kind of practice it with me.

And then on the second time, I want you to really get into it.

OK, ready?

One, two, three.

(SINGING) It starts with a dream.

So hard, it seem.

Believe that you can do it.

And let your light beam.

It all starts with a dream.

So hard, it might seem.

Believe that you can do it.

And let your light beam.

[LAUGHTER] Thank you so much for singing with me.

If you enjoyed getting into courses with us today, then you can listen to some of your favorite songs and look for some of these tools that we explored.

Remember these are tools, not rules.

So you may even discover more tools.

And as always, you can always keep writing.

You never know.

You might just end up with a whole song.

All right, so before we go, I just want to remind you of our song that we worked on today to really believe in yourself.

So let's sing our chorus one more time, really believing in ourselves.

Ready?

One, two, three.

(SINGING) It all starts with a dream.

So hard, it might seem.

Believe that you can do it.

And let your light beam.

[LAUGHTER] I Miss Ashley from Lincoln Center.

Remember to make a choice with your voice today.

Goodbye.