The week of Dec. 2-6, singer-songwriters Jennifer Daniels and Jeff Neal came to Russellville Middle School to present their interactive workshop, “Songwriting IS Writing!”, which is designed to get students excited about reading, writing, and creatively expressing themselves. 

They set up in the classroom of RMS English Teacher Lauren Fynboe, and the 8th-graders had the chance to be a part of this amazing opportunity. 

On the first day, each class started with four different “beats” to choose from for the melody of their songs. Then, they started to write lyrics to their choruses according to how their “beats” sounded. 

How exactly did they do this? They tapped out syllables that corresponded to the timing of their “beats” and found which words could match up with those syllables. The students then tried to figure out a catchphrase for the chorus to figure out the overarching theme of the song. On the second day, they continued writing their lyrics and edited what they had written the day before. 

With the professional equipment that Daniels and Neal brought, it was time to start recording. On days three and four, Neal began recording the students singing.  Every student in each class all had some part to play in singing their song. With four voices being recorded at a time, each group sang a certain part of their song, whether it was one of the verses or the chorus. Some students even had the opportunity to sing a solo or duet for certain parts of their songs. 

On the fifth and final day of this workshop, the students decided to add in some “ear candy” such as a rap verse, beatboxing, and some even sang verses in different languages to make their song special. 

With all of this content to edit, Daniels and Neal went on their way to finish the final product so the students could get it as soon as possible. 

When asked what she thought about this workshop, Fynboe stated that this was a wonderful opportunity to bring the arts and real-world learning into our writing program. Students commented on how “cool” it was to “make and record our own song.” Some had even said that they had “always dreamed of being a famous singer,” and this was one step closer to their goal. 

Once Daniels and Neal finish editing the songs from each class, they will send them to Mrs. Fynboe, and she is hoping to put them all on CD’s to sell for the 8th-grade class funds.