“Billionaire” by Bruno Mars and Travie McCoy has been, in my experience, a great song for instrumental improvisation, songwriting, and song discussions! The song’s lyrics delve into just what the title suggests: what you would do if you were a billionaire. The song is not too difficult to learn and play in a variety of different strumming patterns and keys, and the upbeat and catchy melody can encourage clients to play along and add their own percussive rhythms. Below I have listed a step-by-step plan of a possible way to use this song in a session. The songwriting format is beneficial for clients who enjoy rap and hip hop but may not feel comfortable performing in this way. Clients can come up with their own lyrics and the pressure is put on the Music Therapy Student/Music Therapist to play back the song using whatever lyrics were given to them. Try coming up with a few example lyrics at home and to rap them into the song. Remember, practice makes perfect!
“Billionaire”- Songwriting
MTS will introduce “Billionaire” by Bruno Mars
MTS will start to sing and play “Billionaire”
Once the song is over, MTS will lead clients in discussion over what the song is about
MTS will ask clients if they’d like to change the lyrics to write new song
MTS will allow all clients the opportunity to suggest a lyric for the song
MTS will write all new lyrics on a whiteboard
MTS will provide structure for this experience by asking clients “what would you do if you had a billion dollars” and incorporate their answers into the song
Once each client has had a chance to respond, MTS will incorporate the new lyrics into the song as the group plays along on their instruments