Below you’ll find a guide for songwriting ideas and group activities, as well as supplemental resources related to playing ukulele and guitar. Please reach out to us if you have other ideas! We would love your feedback. Email us here: info@myvoicemusic.org
MUSICAL RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIES FROM MY VOICE MUSIC
These are activities and resources designed to facilitate music and poetry activities without having to be a musician or poet. These are “just add water” activities! Feel free to make any accommodations or variations, and make it work for you and your program.
SONGWRITING IDEAS
GROUP ACTIVITIES
SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES BELOW:
UKULELE & GUITAR CHORD CHARTS, TUNING, & TUTORIALS
Ukulele:
Guitar:
Tuning your ukuleles and guitars:
Popular ukulele song tutorials:
Song charts:
Songwriting tips:
Sing-along and instructional videos from MVM staff:
MY VOICE MUSIC JOURNAL + SONGWRITING PROMPTS
The following writing prompts can be used as an activity on your unit - with groups or individuals- and also as a prompt for our “Let’s Write A Song Together” project (write a poem, draw a picture, tell us about your day; have treatment staff email us the information; MVM staff will turn it into a song and send it back!).
ACTIVITIES:
Write about an object in the room without saying it’s name. See if someone can guess what you’re writing about (ex: the lamp, couch, window, rug, etc)
5-Minute Poem Challenge about a specific subject, object, feeling, etc. (ex: loneliness, the ocean, your favorite food, your dog/cat/pet, Miley Cyrus, etc…). Set a timer.
Blackout poems: Take an existing poem and black-out any combination of words and phrases to make your own original poem. See examples here.
~ Poetry Websites ~
Draw a picture about anything then write about it and share your story.
Randomly select one short sentence from ANY text. It can be a storybook, a fashion magazine, your grandma’s lemon bar recipe… anything! Read it over and over until you feel it take on a rhythm. Read it over and over until you feel it take on the rise and fall of a melody line. Now sing just the melody, without the words. Then write some new words to your crafted melody!
Think of someone that you don’t know very well. Imagine in detail what they might be daydreaming or thinking right now. Take two minutes and write it out.
Take one minute to close your eyes and listen to your surroundings. List every sound that you heard in that minute, along with any other words, images, or associations that come up with it.
Invent an imaginary word. Say it out loud, and then define it in a sentence or two. Take 30 seconds.
Choose 3 things: Look around the room and choose 3 different things. Write about those 3 things, but don’t actually name them in the story/poem/song.
Pair and share: Create a writing prompt for a friend and have them do the same for you. Then free-write for 5 minutes, circle the lines you like best, and share with each other!
Write the worst lyric you can possibly think of: Be as rude, boring, angry, or ridiculous as you want to be. Write for 3 minutes.
Pick a primary color (red, yellow, blue, green). Look around the room and list as many different shades of that color that you can see. Feel free to make up the color names! Take 2 minutes.
Write a Haiku (3 phrases of 5, 7, and 5)
Dark assaults the light (5 syllables)
Clouds are sweeping past the sky (7 syllables)
I can’t see the stars (5 syllables)
Corona Virus
Is it a dream or nightmare?
Need virtual hugs
Deeper, Thought Provoking Prompts
What do you love about who you are? What are the gifts you have to offer?
What do you love about where you come from?
What do you want people to know about you? Your history? Your family?
Write just a part of your story. What would you tell people about yourself? Your home? Someone/something you love? An important tradition? A time of change?
Think of a challenging moment where you wish things had gone differently. Re-story what happened and write a “new ending”.
What are 3 things you would bring if you were stranded on a desert island? Why?
What would your last meal be if the apocalypse happened?
What superpower would you want and why?
What 3 people (alive or dead) would you invite to your dinner party? What would they eat? What would they bring? What would they wear/look like/be like? What would they talk about?
Choose a smell that has a special meaning for you- think about your senses! Write about it for 4-5 minutes (ex: Fresh laundry, warm chocolate chip cookies, lavender, cut grass, etc)
If you were able to lucid dream, what is the first thing that you would dream about and do?
If your life was a book or movie, how would the narrator describe you as a character?
Would you rather meet your ancestors or your future children? Why?
Is a hot dog a sandwich? Why or why not?
TREATMENT CENTER ACTIVITIES
Things you can do for Icebreakers, Groups, Somatic exercises, etc.
Start every activity with a check-in question, and end with a debrief (see end of document).
CHECK-IN QUESTIONS
If you were a weather system today, what would you be?
What do you love about who you are? What are the gifts you have to offer?
What are 3 things you would bring if you were stranded on a desert island? Why?
What would your last meal be if the apocalypse happened?
What superpower would you want and why?
What 3 people (alive or dead) would you invite to your dinner party?
What is your favorite smell?
Where is your favorite place?
What would your performer / “stage name” be?
Would you rather meet your ancestors or your future children? Why?
Is a hot dog a sandwich? Why or why not?
1.) Countdown Body Movement (Somatic Activity)
Time: 3-5 minutes
Materials: Nothing
Purpose: Connection/Icebreaker. Allows everyone to “get silly” and use their bodies.
Have everyone stand up in a circle. Start from 5 (or any higher number like 10 or 20) and shake your limbs 5x in this order- right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot- while counting down from 5.
During the next round, shake your limbs 4x in the same order- right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot- and count down from 4.
Then the next round do this and countdown to 3, then 2, then 1. Each time follow the same exact order: right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot.
You can also do it multiple times and get faster each round. It can be very helpful in moving frenetic energy within the group!
2.) Telephone Artwork (**can also do this activity with lyrics)
Time: 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the circle
Materials: Paper, Markers, Colored Pencils
Purpose: Creative Risk, Group Cohesion, Imagination
Everyone sits in a circle with a piece of blank paper. Have drawing supplies available in the middle of the circle for folks to use. Identify someone (who is participating or not) to set a timer for 45 seconds and be the “timekeeper”. For the round of 45 seconds, everyone draws on their own paper. You can draw anything that comes to mind; it can be any combo of colors, shapes, objects, figures, lines, abstracts, etc.
When the first round of 45 seconds is up, stop drawing, and pass your paper to the person on your right. Start the timer again for 45 secs and begin drawing and adding onto the new paper that you just received- from the person on your left.
Keep doing this (and switching papers every round of 45 secs) until you get your original piece of paper back to you. Look at the collective final drawing, with all the additions, and write 3 words that come to mind on the back of your paper.
Share drawings and debrief. Some questions you can ask the group:
What came up for you in this process?
What is going on in your drawing? What’s your favorite part?
How did your art change during this collective process?
Is there anything that surprised you?
What were the 3 words you wrote on the back? Does this resonate with who you are?
3.) Draw your world
Time: 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the circle
Materials: Paper, Markers, Colored Pencils
Purpose: Creative Risk, Imagination, Personal Reflection, Storytelling
Everyone starts with a piece of paper and art supplies. Ask each person to visually represent their world in a way that speaks to them (“How would you represent your world?”) This could be with any combo of symbols, colors, images, abstract drawings, shapes, etc. There is no wrong or right way to do this. You can represent your world however you’d like! Allow the group to draw for about 5-7 minutes then go around and ask folks to share/describe “their world” with the group.
4.) Letter From the Future
Time: 20 minutes
Materials: Pen and Paper
Purpose: Creative Risk, Group Cohesion, Imagination
Ask participants to think of a time in the future, say, at the end of the school year, or at the completion of a program term or specific rite of passage (i.e. high school graduation, “when you’re 18”, “when you’re 50”, etc). Now think of a person who is very supportive and revels in your success. It can be a family member or a friend. The person can even be deceased.
The object of this activity is to write a letter to this person from the vantage point of the time in the future that you have identified. You have been successful beyond your wildest dreams and you are telling this person all about it! What happened, what does it feel like, what steps did you take to get there, and what’s next. Just let your mind go and record the good news on paper to your supportive person.
Once everyone has written a page or so, call a halt to the writing, and invite people to read all or some of their writing to a partner or to the group.
5.) Share your first concert experience or the first album you owned
Time: 10 minutes
Materials: Nothing
Purpose: Group Cohesion, Story-telling, Listening, Disarm the room
Ask participants to think about the first concert they ever attended and ask them to share it with the group.
Who was it? Where was it? When was it? Who did you go with? Who opened for them? Did you enjoy the concert? Did anything stand out about the experience?
If they have not been to a concert, ask them to think about the first album they ever owned.
What was it? Where did you get it? How did you listen to it? What was your favorite song from it?
Model the story-telling, first! Be funny. Engaging. Even awkward! Then ask if anyone would like to share their experience with the group. Go around and give everyone a chance to share.
6.) Three Things
Time: 5-10 minutes
Materials: Nothing
Purpose: Group Cohesion, Creative Risk, Imagination, Improvisation
With the tendency to let our generating brain and our critiquing brain run at the same time, the goal of this game is to leave our critiquing brain behind, and generate freely.
Stand in a circle. The facilitator turns to the person on their right and says, "Name 3 things you would do if...." (*then fill in the blank with the first thing that comes to mind; it can be super silly like "3 things you would do if you had spaghetti for arms" or “3 things you would do if you were a monster”).
The person on their right then responds with the FIRST 3 things that come to mind, as quickly as possible. Don’t think too much! It should be fast paced! Nonsense!
After they answer, the whole group responds by chanting together, "3 THINGS!"
The person that just answered then turns to their right and says another prompt such as “Name 3 things you would do if you were invisible”, and so on, until it gets back to the original facilitator.
You can go deeper and deeper with this, as the group and space allow. For example: “Name 3 things you would do to change the world…” “Name 3 things you would do to feel more connected to your community…” “Name 3 things you would do if your inner critic didn’t exist…” etc.
Remember, after each response, to chant “3 THINGS!” as a group. This helps signal the end of someone’s turn and brings group cohesion (“call and response”) to the process.
7.) Yes, and...
Time: 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the circle
Materials: Nothing
Purpose: Group Cohesion, Imagination, Storytelling, Improvisation
Stand or sit together in a circle. One person starts telling a story about anything… it doesn’t have to be linear or even make sense; it only has to be appropriate!
After they are done- or after a few sentences- the person to their right can (respectfully interrupt) and say, “Yes, and…” then continue the story, in their own way, with the allowance for everything.
Repeat. Until you go around the entire circle.
8.) Story Roulette
Time: 5-15 minutes
Materials: Nothing
Purpose: To inspire "FREE FLOW" creativity where there are no mistakes. Model the Hip-Hop spirit of Improv. To not overthink the process and let creativity flow.
Stand in a circle. The facilitator starts off a story (it can be about anything!) and passes it on to the next person, to their right.
Then that person will continue to add to the story and pass it onto the next person to their right.
Keep going until it gets back to the facilitator who closes it out and creates an ending, or keeps passing it on, until the story has reached a closing point naturally.
9.) Rhythm Maker
Time: 5-15 min
Materials: Nothing
Purpose: To build community awareness, be in sync, and practice listening.
After you explain the game, stand or sit in a circle. The facilitator chooses one volunteer to be the “detective” who leaves the room.
The facilitator selects a Rhythm Maker, choosing someone who wants to lead. The Rhythm Maker starts playing a rhythm (hand claps, snaps, chest taps, etc.) and everyone else follows it.
The Detective comes back in, stands in the center of the circle, and tries to guess WHO the Rhythm Maker is- as that person changes up the rhythm(s) while everyone follows them.
The Detective gets three guesses. The Rhythm Maker becomes the next Detective. Repeat process.
10.) Sound Game
Time: 5 + minutes
Materials: Nothing
Purpose: Practice improvisation, build community, break the ice!
This game is played in a circle. Go around the circle and have each participant share a sound that is melodic or rhythmic (examples: tongue click, a sigh, a series of notes, an owl hoot, beatboxing) that will be “the sound”.
Have the first participant in the circle repeat “the sound”. The second person then joins them. Continue on like this: one by one, go around the circle and have the other participants join in until everyone is repeating their sound and improvising together.
Another version of this is with “LOOPING”. Go around the circle and have each participant share a sound that is melodic or rhythmic. Ask each person to make a different type of sound this round.
Once everyone has their own sound and has shared it with the group, start with the first participant.
Have the first person make their unique sound and keep going with it (aka “loop). Have the second person join in by adding their own sound, on top of the first sound. Continue on like this: one by one, with each participant joining in and layering different sounds until you have one collaborative, group piece of “loops”!
11.) Circle of Writers
Time: 20-30 minutes
Materials: Strips of paper, small container, writing paper, pencils, timer
Purpose: Storytelling, build community, creative writing
Ask each person to take two slips of paper, write a topic on each of the slips, and put them in the small container (bowl etc).
Go over the rules as a group: “We’re going to pick a topic (from the bowl) for everyone to write about- stream of consciousness- without stopping. Don’t worry about spelling or making sense. Write whatever comes up. You can write fiction or from your own life. And if you don’t know what to write, just write that, “I don’t know what to write” until something comes or doesn’t.”
Pick a topic (blindly from the bowl), announce it, and have everyone free-write for X minutes (10-20 is usually enough).
After X minutes, ask the group to stop writing. Ask if anyone would like to share their piece or a section of their piece with the group. Remind them that sharing is optional.
After someone reads their piece, say “Thank you for sharing”.
If you think your group would do better with the option to draw about the topic, you can do that too. You can also pick more than one topic, or add a second or third topic, as time goes on- to inspire more in-depth writings.
12.) Refrigerator Poetry
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials: Color “Post-it” notes or different colored scraps of paper, pencils/pens
Purpose: Creative writing, collaboration, group cohesion
As a group, generate words on different colored Post-It notes. You can be the writer or have one of your participants do it.
Use the following prompts or make up your own: Verbs (action words, things you like to do); Adjectives (colors, feelings, words to describe an object in the room); Nouns (foods, things you see in the room, smells, objects).
Or have each participant say one word to describe a shared experience they’ve had such as what it’s like during the Coronavirus pandemic, when you’re bored, your friends are mad at you, etc.
After you’ve generated your words, ask the group or a few folks (if it’s a large group) to choose some words and rearrange them. The goal is to create a poem! Feel free to write and add extra words as needed. The words can be rearranged multiple times until you come up with a collaborative piece.
Read it out loud.
At the end of it all… DEBRIEF!
One or two-word checkout: Everyone stands in a circle. Go around the circle and ask each person to say 1 or 2 words to sum up how they’re feeling (or how an activity or exercise went etc). You can also ask each person to add a body movement or “action” to pair with the word(s) as you go around and share.
Appreciation circle: Pass a talking piece (or object) around the circle. The person holding the talking piece then receives one minute of praise from the group. You can ask for praise in popcorn style or ask one or two people to praise the person for the entire minute. This allows for more in-depth praise.
Closing Intention: Ask participants to think about one way they can put what they’ve learned to work, back home. Their intention should be something specific and doable. Say the theme of the program is taking creative risks, the question might be, “What is one thing you commit to doing to taking creative risks in your life?” Share these intentions.