This spring, CICS West Belden was one of the recipients of a grant from the Lollapalooza Arts Education Fund! Led by music teacher Ms. Chopp, this grant allowed for an incredible residency partnership with Old Town School of Music.
The residency is based around songwriting basics, providing students with tools to express themselves as a group, and then as individuals. Each student in 5th-8th grade ended their two-week session with a group song they wrote with their class as well as a song they wrote as an individual.
The teaching artist began by reviewing and introducing concepts such as song structure, melody, accompaniment, and beat structure, providing examples and templates. Using prompts and creative writing exercises, students wrote their own lyrics and created their songs using Chrome Music Lab. Each student finished the residency with a demo of their very own individual and group songs!
Congratulations to all our student musicians on their hard work and beautiful music!