active––dancing, playing an instrument or working in groups. It allows them to make a good impression and have fun learn- ing and moving at the same time.
A music educator could begin putting the project together by approaching a staff member at the local public library about a school-library partnership. This project appeals to both public institutions because this program educates children in many areas and encourages collaboration. For the school, it pro- motes the life-long learning relationship with the community, and the library is always looking for ways to increase its user base and collection circulation. Educators will also want to search for traditional musicians and singers in their area, mu- sicians who would like to teach songwriting to students at dif- ferent grade levels. Library Songsters has also used traditional dance presenters in classes where students are studying Amer- ican history or countries where the dances originate. Once teachers know the talent in their community, let that guide the project design. The excitement and creativity that results from just a few classroom meetings is a pleasant surprise.
The main idea is for ev- eryone to have fun learn- ing about themselves in relation to the communi- ty, and what a powerful song students can write with their classmates, even having never done it before! Children are used to hearing
highly pro- Joe Reilly, photo taken by Mark Clague
duced music, much of which is played on com- puters or other small elec- tronic devices.
But they will quickly involve themselves in this project because it’s creative and fun. It draws on so many of their strengths, such as brainstorming, playing with words, wanting to make the world a better place, bragging about their region or state and what’s special about it, or writing a song about something from history that they think is cool. It shows by the smiles on the children’s faces after they sing their songs and what they say about the unique opportunity take part in a workshop with a community musician, and to play with them at their school and at the public library!
Once the school-library-musician team is in place, schedule a planning meeting at the school so the musician can see the classroom and exchange ideas about the implementation of the project. Things to cover: identify the goal of the project; how you want the process to work; set dates for the three classroom sessions and the library visit; state that the musi- cian will lead the workshop with the presence and support of the teacher; and understand that the important thing is model-
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ing the songwriting process, not that the songs will be pol- ished, concert-ready productions (some students will try to memorize lyrics, but some will want to have the words with them). This one-hour planning meeting makes the musician more comfortable coming into the school environment and helps the teacher know what’s expected of them and what working with the musician will be like.
One of our collaborations was with a musician who taught songwriting and dance to a middle school class studying Rus- sia and Eastern Europe. First the musician gave an introduc- tion, talked about her instruments and played a few songs. Then students in groups of four or five did research and began writing their song together. They continued this work for the second and third sessions, with the musician and teacher mov- ing from group to group, helping with the process. This in- cluded how they would sing their song and if they would play instruments. The musician would take a break from songwrit- ing to teach dances in a spacious hallway. On the fourth day, the classes came to the library on a field trip to perform their songs and dances. If time permits, there is a discussion about how this program helped them learn the material, which is an important part of the process.
University of Michigan faculty member Mark Clague asked us if it would be possible to devote one of the Library Song- sters projects as a tribute to the 2014 bicentennial of the Star Spangled Banner. Because the concept of the program is so flexible, it was easy to accommodate his request; the format is in place and we just have to choose the theme. The fifth grad- ers at Lawton Elementary School in Ann Arbor came up with a wonderful patriotic song to honor our national anthem. Go to
starspangledmusic.org to learn more.
Why not give this a try in your school? Library Songsters (or choose your own name) offers an exciting partnership be- tween school, library and local musician. It is a natural com- ing together of teachers and tradition bearers who take great delight teaching children to value, participate in, and perpetu- ate community traditions. There is so much in modern media working against this type of cultural experience. It behooves us to try an innovative, collaborative program such as Library Songsters that breaks down barriers to learning, gets the com- munity involved, and results in an enriching experience and creative product.
Ira Lax (BA Oakland University, Secondary Ed., 1969; MA University of Montana, American History, 1984) has worked as a technician for Detroit Public Television and an alterna- tive high school teacher in Michigan. He is currently a Li- brary Technician in Outreach & Neighborhood Services at the Ann Arbor District. You can contact him at
laxi@aadl.org or 734-327-8365.
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