Sing for Someone Else

We often seek out media that we can relate to. It’s nice to hear that someone else is going through what you’re going through, but we can get trapped in our own perspectives and feelings. Being empathetic and understanding other people’s thought processes, especially when they disagree with yours, can be really hard! The goal of this exercise is to help you find someone else’s perspective in something that you have been so used to seeing one way. You don’t have to fully relate to their perspective in this, but it will help you understand another point of view.

1. Find a song or monologue that portrays a story that you resonate with emotionally
2. Find the story that’s shown in the song/monologue/poem and write it down. Be as detailed as possible.
3. Find another character within the story you’ve written and rewrite it from their perspective.
4. Take a verse or paragraph from the song or monologue and rewrite it from this new perspective
5. If you find yourself on a roll, rewrite more!
6. Take some time to perform these new verses/paragraphs just for yourself.
7. While you’re performing, take note of what changes. Does the melody shift? Does the tone change? How do you feel about the character now?
8. Send your teacher your rewritten verses/paragraphs along with the original ones

BONUS!

1. If you feel comfortable, you can also send a recording of yourself performing your new piece to your teacher as well but is not required.