Soundtrack of My Life Autobiography Project



Soundtrack of My Life Autobiography Project

Think of incidents from your life. What music would you put in the background as a soundtrack?

Add your song ideas to these lists!

Childhood songs:

“Itsy Bitsy Spider”

“The Wheels on the Bus”

Songs that remind people of their first boyfriend or girlfriend:

Theme song from Titanic, “My Heart Will Go On”

“I Swear” Boyz II Men

“Soldier Boy”

“Truly, Madly, Deeply” by Savage Garden

Songs we all seem to know and relate to:

John Lennon’s “Imagine”

Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”

Songs about people, places, events, memories, and so on:

Lynard Skynard’s “Sweet Home Alabama”

Garth Brooks’ “The Dance”

“Hakuna Matata” from the Lion King

"Fishing in the Dark" …for fishermen

"Take Me Out to the Ball Park"…for baseball players

"The Wheels on the Bus"…for school bus riders

"I'm Being Eaten by a Boa Constrictor"…for those who went to day care

Think about how soundtracks create different moods during movies and television shows:

“Summer Nights” The classic Grease soundtrack evokes a happy-go lucky feel, while “Hopelessly Devoted” is full of melancholy.

The Twilight Zone creates an eerie, creepy mood, while the Friends theme, “I’ll be There for You” is upbeat and fun and reminds us of our own friendships.

The music from the shower scene in Psycho makes us feel terrified, suspenseful, or anxious, even when we hear it outside of the movie.

Other familiar soundtracks:

The Lion King

Shrek

The Sound of Music

Coyote Ugly

Oh Brother Where Art Thou

Step Up

The Opera

Spiderman 2

Songs outside the normal musical choices:

“Amazing Grace” reminded a student of when his grandparents died.

“Don’t Laugh at Me” by Mark Wills is about being made fun of, something another student dealt with her whole life.

Madonna’s “Material Girl” describes the student’s selfish teenage years.

“Small Town” by John Mellencamp tells the story of life in a small town in Colorado.

Enya’s “Only Time” explains that true understanding may take a whole lifetime.

An example from Mrs. Haberstick:

At my dad's funeral everyone appeared to be sad, so my son stood up on the pew, turned to the audience and sang "This Old Man" with all the gestures at the top of his lungs for the congregation. He and my dad used to sing this song together riding in the car. My dad would have loved it. Horrified, my husband carried him out.

Be creative with titles!

So It Goes…

True Tales

A Paragon

Grains of Sand

Simply Complicated

Life As I Know It

Death Do Us In

Brainstorm with your friends and family!

Example paragraph:

“Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” represents a dark period in my life when my mother died suddenly, the Columbine tragedy happened in my home state, two close friends died, and I lost three students within three years. The words ‘you’re in the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort there’ reflect my hope that those I lost have found peace wherever their souls may dwell. The song’s slow, haunting rhythm exemplifies the way I felt during that time.”

-Betsie Nielson, Dove Creek High School, Dove Creek, Colorado.

Nelson, Betsie. “Classroom Notes Plus,” NCTE Secondary Resources, January 2006, pages 7-10.

TITLES

Soundtrack of My Life

A title is an invitation to the reader.

Titles should:

1. be brief and striking

2. be original

3. fit the subject matter

4. relate to controlling purpose

Ways to try:

1. Think of appropriate words. Then choose one for your title.

2. Think of phrases of less than five words—a phrase title.

3. If these two don’t work, write a direct sentence summing up what you have written, and then narrow it down.

4. A special way of finding a title is to sum up your writing with abstract words that suggest the general human experience in your writing.

Examples: “Endless Infinity”

“Hidden Emotion”

“A Dreamer’s Vision”

“Words in the Wind”

“Life Passed By”

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