Song Parody Writing Comedy Session

Paper and pencil for writing new lyrics

Phone or speaker for playing the reference song

Original lyrics to reference (printed or pulled up on screen)

Choose a well-known song with a catchy melody. "Happy Birthday," "Let It Go," "Old Town Road," or any current favorite.

Decide on the parody theme together. What's funny to your kid right now? School? Their messy room? The family pet? Homework?

Pull up or write out the original lyrics so you can see the structure — how many syllables per line, where the rhymes fall.

Start replacing original words with new ones that match the theme. Work line by line. "Let it go, let it go" becomes "Do my homework, do my homework."

Focus on nailing the chorus first. It repeats, so it has the biggest impact and gets the most laughs.

Read through the entire parody and adjust any words that don't quite fit the rhythm or melody.

Perform the parody. Sing it with full commitment. Record it on video for maximum replay value.

Matching syllables to the original melody is the key skill here. "Let it GO" is three syllables with emphasis on the third — the replacement needs the same pattern.

Humor comes from surprise. The funniest parodies set up an expectation with the familiar melody and then deliver unexpected, silly lyrics.

"Weird Al" Yankovic is the master of song parodies. Watch some of his videos together for inspiration and to show that this is a legitimate art form.

Help with rhyming when your child gets stuck. Having a list of rhyming words for their theme speeds up the writing process.

Parody writing exercises the same skills as poetry: syllable counting, rhyme, rhythm, and creative wordplay. It's literacy disguised as comedy.