Inspiration and song ideas come from many places such as interacting with children in the classroom, talking with teachers, reading through curriculum guides, books, newspaper and magazine articles.
Q: Do you have any advice for budding songwriters/composers?
I’m in a very specialized song writing niche and I’m not qualified to give advice about how to become a popular song writer or a Broadway or film composer.
From my point of view, I would say first, learn everything you can about the craft of song writing. If you want to specialize in writing educational songs for children it’s important to learn about child development and keep up with current research.
Books about song writing that I found helpful are:
The Craft of Lyric Writing by Sheila Davis
If They Ask You, You Can Write a Song by Al Kasha & Joel Hirschhorn
How I Write Songs by Tom T. Hall
Here are a few of the many books that have given me valuable information about young children and education:
Beginning to Read by Marilyn Jager Adams
Number in Preschool & Kindergarten by Constance Kamii
Rethinking the Brain by Rima Shore
Much More Than ABC’s by Judith A. Schickedanz
The Young Child and Mathematics by Juanita V. Copley
Teaching: From Command to Discovery by Muska Mosston
Frames of Mind- The Theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner
First Steps in Teaching Creative Dance to Children - Mary Joyce
The NAEYC web site and journal is another good resource for information on young children and education.
A word of caution: Don’t make the mistake of thinking that writing for children is easier than writing for the adult market. In fact, it’s more challenging in some ways because you need to know about so many different things.
Q: If there is one thing that you'd like to change in the way the educational system is today, what would it be?
I would like to see more schools recognize the value of the arts and not separate arts from academics. In other words, to recognize how art supports the development of language, and skills in reading and mathematics while at the same time developing aesthetic awareness and adding richness to life and providing opportunities for self expression and self discovery.
I would also like to see schools and communities provide more after school programs particularly for children in urban areas. These would be places where students can be safe and receive individual attention, and tutoring.
Thank you Hap, for your very enlightening and interesting answers. I'm sure that all our readers have enjoyed learning so much about "Music Through Movement" and the way it can really benefit children. It certainly was a pleasure being able to speak with you today. On behalf of About.com, I wish you many more successes in the future.
