Musical Affirmations
One-Liner Songs
You don’t need a lot of words to make a meaningful song. One-line is enough. When we say so little (in so much space), the little we say grows in weight. By giving something so much room, the depth of meaning blooms.
Plus, there’s magic in repetition. Positive affirmations have been found to help make positive transformations1. Though most folks are more familiar with literal affirmations like: “I poop every day.” or “I love my wrinkly face,” the affirmations of This Wonderful World lean on metaphors and symbols such as: “the dung beetle always finds a meal.”
Keep in mind that singing lyrics adds a whole new dimension of meaning to words through the feeling of the melody and through the delivery. The same one-line feels very different when sung at a fast or slow tempo or when sung in major (happy/bright) or minor (sad/dark) keys. Similarly, it changes feel and meaning when sung softly or loudly. You can build a song with lots of feeling and meaning simply by singing the same line with a range of delivery.
Give it a Go!
Write an affirmative phrase about something that you find in nature and sing it over and over and over again (go for at least a minute -more is better).
Explore singing it in different tempos, moods and volumes: sing it as a celebration, then sing it as a lament. Sing it in a way that makes your booty move, then sing it in a way that slows down into a groove.
Explore what it’s like to highlight different words or phrases that you repeat on their own.
Try it in Call and Response. Having two parts in response to each other makes it more engaging to sing one-liners for longer periods of time. Here’s two ways to do this:
When the call and the response have the exact same words, the melody slightly changes for each
The call and response can also be two different phrases. For example, the call “the dung beetle always finds a meal” might be responded to with: “never, never goes hungry.”
Learn about the history of call and response here. Check out some modern call and response here
Check Out More Songwriting Practices:
Read More About the Foundations of Reflective Art with:
The Heart of Reflective Arts: for peace within and all around
https://www.mentalhealth.com/tools/science-of-affirmations#:~:text=The%20success%20of%20positive%20daily,esteem%20and%20confidence.(9)