I have a student who is an aspiring songwriter.
I take him through classic rock songs using a similar (but not as BRILLIANT! LOL) style.
Of course, we also include the lyrics in these analyses, and break them down into personification, alliteration, metaphor, internal rhyme, etc. Last week we analyzed Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were here” and the week before “Hotel California”’ The lyrics in “Wish You Were Here” use contrasting metaphor in much the same way as the Proverbs of Solomon.
I thoroughly enjoyed heard a 9 year old’s insight into the lyrics of “Ripple” by the Grateful Dead!
Most Classic Rock follows a variation of the Sonata format, With first and second subject expositions, a development (Bridge) and finally a Recap of the original theme at the end. Kids are absolutely enchanted when they see how it all comes together.
That is why I appreciate Maestro Schiff so much! :-)
If you ever have an interest in the 600+ songs of Franz Schubert, in the 37 disk Hyperion Schubert Edition, accompanist Graham Johnson analyzes each song in the liner notes.