Spring 2009: Look Around You!

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NEW SUMMER PROGRAMS!
I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner
Spring Songwriting Challenge
Poll: What Did William Carlos Williams Eat?


SUMMER PROGRAMS: Register Now!
I'm excited to announce that we have two brand new additions to our summer programs this year. Songwriting for Kids Vol. 2 (K-3) and Poetry Writing for Kids (3-5). If you like to write, I hope you'll join us for one of our fun workshops. We'll learn how songs, stories, and poems are put together and have lots of fun creating our own! Sessions will be held the weeks of July 13th and July 20th, 2009. For more information, please visit the Songwriting for Kids website or download the 2009 brochure (.pdf).


I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner

Congratulations to Chloe, age 10...Chloe wrote a hit song!

Chloe, from Renoldburg, Ohio, wrote a song called "Once Upon a Time" and you can view the lyrics at the I Wrote a Hit Song! webpage. I think it's great! Please stop by and leave a comment for Chloe to let her know how much you enjoyed her song.


Songwriting Challenge: Look Around You!

It's springtime, and after a long winter in Maine, I'm so glad to finally open the windows wide, take long walks, and take a good look at the changing world around me. Birds are starting to come back from the south and sing outside my window, trees are beginning to bud (and that means *leaves* and *green* will be here soon!), and little green sprouts are beginning to poke up from the ground.

All of these things can make great subjects for songs. The other day, I was watching a blue bird hop around from branch to branch, and this little rhyme popped into my head:

Hey little bluebird
What you gonna' do?
I might have a little secret
That I could share with you

I jotted it down, and then I started to wonder what kind of secret it could be. Maybe the secret is the beginning of Spring. Or the beginning of a song!

Spring '09 Songwriting Challenge:
Stand outside for 10 or 15 minutes and Look Around You!
Can you write a song about what you see?

Here are some things to think about:

1. Pay attention to your senses. What do you SEE, HEAR, SMELL, or FEEL?
   
2. Let your imagination run wild. Do you live in the country? Try to imagine where that squirrel might be rushing off to. Do you live in the city? Try to imagine where the taxis are all rushing off to. What is that place like? Is it real, or is it a fantasy world?
   
3. Try it again. I bet if you try it again tomorrow, you'll notice something completely new.
   

Here's a video from Secret Agent 23 Skidoo that I like and thought you might like too (thanks to Zooglobble for the link):



Poll: What Did William Carlos Williams Eat?

April is Poetry Month, so here is one of my favorite poems by William Carlos Williams. Can you fill in the blank and guess what it was that the poet ate?

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the ______
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold


(Click for answer)
If you can't see the poll, just click here. (Once you vote, you'll be able to see other people's answers, too.)

Winter 2009: All You Need Is Love

Do you know a friend who would like Songwriting for Kids?
Click here to send them a link to this newsletter!

Reminder: the SFK Club Newsletter has switched to a quarterly schedule. We'll publish an issue in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Here’s what’s in this quarter's newsletter (click a chapter title to go straight to that chapter):

I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner
Winter Songwriting Challenge
Poll: Secret Love


I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner

Congratulations to Lorenzo, age 8...Lorenzo wrote a hit song!

Lorenzo, from Westerville, Ohio, wrote a great song about leaving the past behind. You can view the lyrics at the I Wrote a Hit Song! webpage. Please stop by and leave a comment for Lorenzo to let him know how much you enjoyed his song.

If you'd like to enter the I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest, read the contest rules here. The next winner will be chosen randomly from all the entries and announced in the Spring newsletter. Good luck!


Songwriting Challenge: All You Need Is Love

What would you say if I asked you: what is the most popular kind of song?

It's pretty obvious. Just listen to the radio. Pop in a CD. Shuffle your iPod. Everybody's singing love songs! Love songs have been popular ever since music began.

Why? Because everybody needs a little love...even dogs, tomatoes, and planets (click on those words for videos of songs about each of those being loved or looking for love!)

Winter '08 Songwriting Challenge:
Can you write a Love Song?

There are lots of different ways to do it.
Here are some ideas:

• Write about lost love
• Write about found love
• Write about a silly love (anybody here love Skittles as much as I do?)
• Write about a serious love
• Make sure there are a few details that will make the listener understand why you are/were/or could be in love (what color are those Skittles? what color are her eyes? what color was the sky the day you lost your dog?)
  

Sometimes, you can just keep it simple. Check out this song by The Beatles. They don't get too complicated:

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

Poll: Secret Love

If you can't see the poll, just click here. (Once you vote, you'll be able to see other people's answers, too.)

Fall 2008: Got the Blues?

Do you know a friend who would like Songwriting for Kids?
Click here to send them a link to this newsletter!

Reminder: the SFK Club Newsletter has switched to a quarterly schedule. We'll publish an issue in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Here’s what’s in this quarter's newsletter (click a chapter title to go straight to that chapter):

NEW BOOK! Hip Hop Speaks to Children
I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner
Fall Songwriting Challenge
Poll: Names of the Blues


NEW BOOK! HIP HOP SPEAKS TO CHILDREN

I'm excited to announce that my song, "Long Track Blues," with words by poet Sterling A. Brown has been included in a new children's book/CD set edited by Nikki Giovanni. Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat has received rave reviews and is #9 on the New York Times Bestselling Picture Books list this week!

Read the story behind Long Track Blues at my blog, Please Come Flying.

Listen to the All Things Considered interview with Nikki Giovanni...including a clip from "Long Track Blues"!


I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner

Congratulations to Lauren, age 7... Lauren wrote a hit song!

Lauren, from Louisville, Kentucky, wrote a great song about trying to get to know someone better. You can view the lyrics at the I Wrote a Hit Song! webpage. Please stop by and leave a comment for Lauren to let her know how much you enjoyed her song.

If you'd like to enter the I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest, read the contest rules here. The next winner will be announced in the Winter newsletter. Good luck!


Songwriting Challenge: Got the Blues?

We've all felt down in the dumps. Lost a dog. Lost a friend. The sun won't come out. Bike broke again. That's the blues. The deep down underground blues.

This month's Songwriting Challenge is to gather up all that gloom and doom and put it into a song. A BLUES SONG. I love to sing the blues. Because the funny thing about singing the blues...no matter how bad I feel to begin with, singing the blues almost always makes me feel better.

Fall '08 Songwriting Challenge:
Can you write a Blues Song?

There are lots of different ways to do it.
Here are some tips:

It's all about feeling it.

• What's got you down?
  
• Tell it like you're telling it to your best friend.
  
• Put some soul into it.
• Let it all hang out.

Try to write an AAB Blues.

• An AAB blues has 3 lines per verse. The first line is repeated twice. LIKE THIS:

When you were lonesome, I treated you kind
When you were lonesome, I treated you kind
But since you've got money, it has changed your mind

Days are lonesome, nights are so long
Days are lonesome, nights are so long
I'm a good gal, but I just been treated wrong

(from Bessie Smith's "Lost Your Head Blues")

Poll: Names of the Blues

If you can't see the poll, just click here. (Once you vote, you'll be able to see other people's answers, too.)

Summer 2008: Road Trip

Do you know a friend who would like Songwriting for Kids?
Click here to send them a link to this newsletter!

Reminder: the SFK Club Newsletter has switched to a quarterly schedule. We'll publish an issue in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Here’s what’s in this quarter's newsletter (click a chapter title to go straight to that chapter):

SUMMER PROGRAMS DEADLINE: JUNE 20
I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner
Summer Songwriting Challenge
Poll: Where Do You Think *You're* Going?


SUMMER PROGRAMS DEADLINE: FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008

This summer’s Songwriting for Kids and Fiction Writing for Kids programs at Bowdoin College are going to be so much fun. It’s hard to believe the deadline is right around the corner. Tomorrow, in fact! I hope you can join us! For more information, please visit the Songwriting for Kids website or download the 2008 brochure (.pdf).


I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner

Congratulations to Ketty, age 9... Ketty wrote a hit song!

Ketty, from Brunswick, Maine, wrote a song called "Aligator" and you can view the lyrics at the I Wrote a Hit Song! webpage. It even has sheet music for the melody! Please stop by and leave a comment for Ketty to let her know how much you enjoyed her song.

If you'd like to enter the I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest, read the contest rules here. We are now on a quarterly instead of a monthly system, so the next winner will be announced in the Fall newsletter around September 15. That means you have all summer to submit your masterpiece!


Songwriting Challenge: Road Trip

School’s out! For lots of my students, that means a trip of some sort. Some are going for a weekend visit with grandparents or friends. Some are going camping. Some are going to the city. One of my students is going to another country to meet family members she’s never met before! Even Kevin and I are getting into the act and taking a road trip this summer.

There are MANY great songs about traveling. Oh Susanna is a song about a singer traveling to find his true love. This Land Is Your Land is about all the things the songwriter, Woody Guthrie, saw when he traveled across America. Gum Tree Canoe is a great song about traveling to escape slavery. In fact, my entire American Songs vol. 2 is devoted to songs about traveling in one way or another.

Summer '08 Songwriting Challenge:
Can you write a Traveling Song?

Here are some different ways to do it:

Write about a trip you are taking this summer.

• Be like Woody Guthrie. Pay attention to what is around you.
• What is the landscape like?
• What kinds of people, animals, insects, birds do you see?
• What makes this place interesting?

Write about a trip you *wish* you were taking.

• Listen to the traditional spiritual Unclouded Day and hear how the songwriter wrote about a land he had heard about but never seen. You could do the same.
  
• What would the place be like?
• How would you feel when you got there?

Take a trip in your home town.

• Take a walk or ride your bike to the library, or the ice cream store, or take a trip into town with your mom or your brother.
  
• Pretend you've never been there before in your life.
  
• What would a stranger think of where you live?
• Try it at home: Pretend you are walking into your room for the very first time.
  
• What would you notice first?
  
• What do you see that makes you want to write about it?
  

Poll: Where Do You Think *You're* Going?

If you can't see the poll, just click here. (Once you vote, you'll be able to see other people's answers, too.)

Spring 2008: Something New

Do you know a friend who would like Songwriting for Kids?
Click here to send them a link to this newsletter!

The SFK Club Newsletter is switching to a quarterly schedule. We'll publish an issue in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Here’s what’s in this quarter's newsletter (click a chapter title to go straight to that chapter):

SUMMER PROGRAMS ARE HERE!
I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner
Spring Songwriting Challenge
Poll: Quote of the Day


SUMMER PROGRAMS ARE HERE!

I hope you'll join us for a Songwriting for Kids or Fiction Writing for Kids workshop this year. We'll learn how songs and stories are put together and have lots of fun creating our own! Sessions will be held the week of July 14th, 2008. For more information, please visit the Songwriting for Kids website or download the 2008 brochure (.pdf).


I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner

Congratulations to Oksana, age 6...Oksana wrote a hit song!

Oksana, from Great Falls, Virginia, wrote a song called "Since My Friend Moved Away" and you can view the lyrics at the I Wrote a Hit Song! webpage. I think it's great! Please stop by and leave a comment for Oksana to let her know how much you enjoyed her song.


Songwriting Challenge: Something New

Spring, at least for those of us in cold climates, means all kinds of new things: flowers, green grass, sunshine, birds coming back from the South, t-shirts (maybe even shorts for those of us who are *really* brave!)

Spring '08 Songwriting Challenge:
Can you write a song about something NEW in your life?

Here are some things to think about:

1. It could be absolutely true. It could be a song about a new friend, new sister or brother, new house, new shoes, new school.
   
2. It could be totally fake. How about a new planet, new country, new monster, new invention, new flying saucer?
   
3. How does the *new* thing make you feel? Happy, excited, sad, scared? Make sure those emotions are reflected in the song.
   
4. What's the *best* part about the new thing?

Here's a great example of a song about something new. It's called "New Blue Star" by Gustafer Yellowgold. (Sadly, I can't post the whole song here. The whole thing...& lots of other cool songs & videos...can be found on Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World.)




Poll: Quote of the Day

(Click for answer)
If you can't see the poll, just click here. (Once you vote, you'll be able to see other people's answers, too.)