Quack? Quilts? Quarries?
Budding Lyricists At Burleigh Elementary Learn To Make Hard Choices
by Adam Kirby, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal, April, 2005
Ken Lonnquist has done musician-in-residence programs at dozens of schools over the past decade, but Burleigh Elementary School is the only one he has toured on three separate occasions.
"It’'s no coincidence," Lonnquist said. "The students are exceptionally creative, and the teaching staff are as supportive as any staff anywhere," he said.
“"It’'s very cozy that way. You don’t have to be worried about making a misstep,â€" he said.
Lonnquist’'s third Burleigh residency (his previous visits were in 1995 and ’1999) wrapped up last week, capped by a concert sung by the very students who helped write the lyrics.
The songs the students created featured a different style --- R&B, pop, folk, calypso, and some bluesy-folk. Each grade level collaborated on a song, with lyrics inspired by curriculum the students were studying in their regular academic classes.
Third graders, for example, wrote a song about diversity, based on the themes of a book they were studying called “"Whoever You Are"
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The ABCs AS They Relate To Wisconsin
Fourth-graders, who were studying Wisconsin culture, wrote a song about the ABCs of the state. Each line in the song included a letter correlating to some of the Dairy State’'s famed offerings.
“"That’'s how they learn --- all mashed together, not in separate departments,â€" said Burleigh music teacher Katie Bart. “"Blending music with other subjects is magical for the kids.â€"
The students got pretty passionate about the lyrics, lobbying for changes right up until show time. How about Vernon County instead of Venison? Zoo instead of Zinc? Quacking ducks instead of quilts and quarries?
“"At some point you'’ve got to stop making changes and sing the song,â€" Lonnquist patiently told the agitated songwriters.
The musician-in-residence experience offered advantages for the students and Lonnquist. From his vantage point, the residencies tend to rejuvenate his love of music, he said.
“"They take you into the joy of their own experience --- it’'s immediate, and all their barriers are down. They haven'’t learned to be ‘appropriate’ all the time, and in art, that’s good,â€" Lonnquist said.
Students Like The Change
For the students, the musical interludes were a change of pace, an example of the learning-made-fun ideal.
“"It was kind of like poetry, and it was real exciting working with Mr. Ken,"†said fourth-grader Alisha Harper of Brookfield. "“it makes me feel good to know there’'s somebody out there writing songs for kids not just, like, rap.â€"
Said fourth-grader Carrera Powell of Brookfield: “"To write a song with him, it makes me feel really special. It’'s a step out of the ordinary.â€"
Moreover, the songmaking process itself was a valuable learning tool, Bart said. "It helped students understand that being creative is not automatic, that it takes experimentation and time," she said.
The songs the students created are to be archived at the Burleigh library. Some may even be incorporated into Lonnquist’'s stage show, or the albums he sells on his Web site, www.kenland.com. And the music will almost certainly be adopted by a few of the teachers to complement their curriculums in the future.
“"I like when residency songs are curriculum-based,â€" Lonnquist said, “"because at the very least, you create something that the teachers can use year after year when they come back to that topic.â€"
