Music Teachers, Local Folk Musicians, Kids and the Public Library
Ira Lax
In a time when funds to support extras for music programs are scarce, I will describe a way to marshal community resources to pass on valuable musical traditions and build community bonds. These are partnerships that unite K-12 schools with your public library, along with local musicians and other resi- dents interested in passing on their knowledge of folkways to the next generation. I have found that a project that enlists community resources to pass on traditional music and dance to children is very attractive to regional foundations, and the public library can sometimes assist with funding.
Ann Arbor District Library’s Library Songsters program has existed for more than a decade. The goal is to bring a local folk or blues musician into the classroom to teach students how to write their own songs based on what they’re learning. This has been most successful with the use of themes from so- cial studies and history classes––where stories abound––but it has also worked well in English and Science classrooms. The key ingredient is a teacher who is comfortable working with a musician from the community.
Library Songsters was initially called Folk & Blues in the Schools. The program was established in 1999 with a grant received by The Ark, one of America’s great folk, ethnic and alternative music clubs, from the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. The Ark (
theark.com) has been in continuous op- eration in Ann Arbor since 1965. In 2001, the Ann Arbor Dis- trict Library adopted the program with grants from Mervyn’s department store, Target, and the Rosebud Foundation. AADL soon became the sole funder. Participating musicians over the last fifteen years include Robert Jones, Peter Madcat Ruth, Sandor Slomovits, Mark Braun (Mr. B), Betsy Beckerman, Rollie Tussing, Will Danforth, Ray Kamalay, Andy and Lar- kin Cohen and Kitty Donohoe.
Music teachers have had success with this concept because it offers them and their students the opportunity to collaborate with beloved local musicians. Teachers at urban schools may already be aware of the musicians in the community because they perform in local venues. Teachers in rural areas may find talented amateur musicians whose musical experience come from playing with family, friends, religious institutions or schools, part of a long tradition of music at the heart of almost any region. These songsters have much to teach about how their repertoire has been woven into the fabric of the com- munity over the generations. This is a great opportunity for musicians to pass their musical heritage along to the students, and thereby perpetuate a valuable tradition, bringing everyone closer.
Those who teach in or near a university town may be able to enlist a visiting musician from another part of the world. For example, at the University of Michigan Center for World Performance Studies, faculty member Carol Richardson ar- ranged for Ghanaian master drummers Koo Nimo (2002) and Antoinette Kudoto (2004) to work with middle school stu- dents in Ann Arbor and Chelsea. Each of these master musi- cians presented a unique style of teaching drumming, dancing and singing, while conveying a whole culture of language, rhythm and sound to these lucky students.
A more typical and recent example of community collabora- tion was with music teacher Cynthia Page-Bogen in the Ann Arbor (MI) Public Schools in her three fifth grade Humanities classes. Part of Humanities curriculum is the topic of Core Democratic Values, such as justice, fairness and diversity, which can elicit strong feelings in young people. Local musi- cian Joe Reilly visited each of the three classes once a week for three or four weeks. Each class wrote a song together on the theme of Core Democratic Values. The collaboration be- tween musician and students was wonderful to behold, and included brainstorming, choosing a tune, writing lyrics, and getting ready to perform at the library after three meetings. The last class session was a ninety-minute field trip to the li- brary (with special adults and siblings invited) to sing their songs for other participating classes. One of the AADL librar- ians was invited to tell a story and do a book talk (a library scavenger hunt is sometimes included, too). While their songs may not be polished yet, the experience is very positive and it’s great community outreach for the library.
Most musicians are known for writing or playing certain types of songs for a specific age range. If you have the flexibility, it helps if you’re not asking the musician to stretch too far from what they most often do. However, some musicians who play mostly standards for adult audiences may relish the chance to work with K-12 students on songs about the timber and min- ing eras in late nineteenth century America.
Kids also love to write songs about the environmental or rec- reational aspects of a park, favorite river, lake, mountain range or natural feature in their region or state. The songs have often become part of a spring concert. Parents love to see school- public library collaboration because it is a positive demonstra- tion about how tax dollars are being spent.
It is worth mentioning that this project works especially well for more high-energy students who have a hard time doing seatwork. These young people often learn better being more
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