Thursday, January 17, 2013

Sangre Ridge Residency - Songs of Ember

I worked with the Sangre Ridge fourth grade this December
To help them write songs based on The City of Ember.
I wrote and recorded four songs with four classes.
On December 18 we performed for the masses...

Each class presented their song for the whole school that morning.
Even though the songs were still brand new, the kids did a great job singing!
I followed along with the guitar the best I could!
That evening we gathered to perform for parents.
Fourth graders welcomed fellow students with cheers as they came in through the door.
Then they all gathered in one of the classrooms. Everyone was excited and nervous!
We had a huge turn-out, with parents seated all the way to the back of the room!
Each class had their turn on stage.
We used the projector so everybody could follow along with the words.

You can listen to and download the kids' songs on BandCamp:




The PTA was also kind enough to purchase CDs of the songs for all the kids! The talented folks at DiscMakers took different pieces of artwork the kids made to illustrate their songs and combined them to design a really cool cover / CD label.







Many thanks to the Oklahoma Arts Council for their support, which made this project possible!

This week I begin a new residency at Will Rogers!

2 comments:

  1. This is a great project! People that say Oklahoma doesn't care about music are so beyond wrong. I grew up on the east coast and have now since moved to Arkansas where I had a bit of an education breaking down my east coast snobbery and a lesson in humility.

    We've got a great group in our area, Trout Fishing in America, that does songwriting workshops--I wonder if they've ever done this sort of thing before. They do have some awesome lesson plans you might find useful: https://www.troutmusic.com/for-educators/lesson-plans/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kim, thanks! I know Keith and Ezra - I've even sat in on one of their workshops. It was a lot of fun. They have the advantage of being two people - Ezra plays a guitar while Keith writes the words up. Some of their workshop songs end up on their albums, polished up a bit, like "Alien in My Nose." I'll check out the lesson plans. Thanks!

      Delete