Students Band Together With Roving Music Man
Songwriting Sessions Bring Out Style, Creativity
by Jill Saito, Ft. Collins Coloradoan, October 14, 1997
Ken Lonnquist walked into McGraw Elementary School on Wednesday, guitar by his side, and looked into the audience.
What he saw was his next songwriting crew.
Lonnquist, a singer-songwriter from Madison, Wis., has traveled to schools for years to share his love and talent for music with kids.
“"I am here today to begin with you a three-day workshop extravaganza,â€" Lonnquist told the McGraw students.
By Friday, students in McGraw’'s six grade levels were singing six original songs they helped write with their artist-in-residence.
While the second-graders worked on a ditty about a bragging baby, fifth-graders fine-tuned a love song about an annoying boyfriend.
“"I got diapers from The Gap, I keep ‘'em in a drawer,â€" the second-graders sang. “"So if one gets stinky, I always got more...â€"
The songs may never reach the airwaves, but they’'re musical hits among the kids who wrote them.
“"We thought of a lot of ideas babies would have and put them in there,â€" second-grader Ashley Dunn said. “"I like how it came out.â€"
Lonnquist, who has recorded songs for children and adults, is spending time at three local schools to do songwriting sessions with kids.
McGraw, Beattie and Werner elementary schools raised money to bring Lonnquist to Fort Collins. Parents and teachers will get to hear their school’'s new songs during concerts Lonnquist is performing with kids at Rocky Mountain High School this month.
“"It’'s a very intensive process, and you put a lot of energy into it,â€" Lonnquist said about the residencies. “"They’'re always good for learning the artistic process of how a songwriter writes a song---a building block for all kinds of written expression.â€"
After the students agree on a topic for their song, Lonnquist works with them on choosing an appropriate mood and musical style.
“"You want them to build awareness about why certain music is chosen to go with certain words,"†he said. “"They don'’t tend to think about music and the underlying reasons for the choice of musical style.â€"
The fifth-graders’' song about an annoying boyfriend who picks his nose called for a pop-rock rhythm. However, the second-graders’ song about a bragging baby required a more finger-snapping beat.
Lonnquist has released eight records for children and five for adults. His own daughter, Natalie, was the inspiration for some of his music, most notably “Nattie of the Jungle,†which is about her messy room.
