“It’s important to know that it is not necessary for a musician to be able to read music to make music,” says Ms. Elise, Artist-in-Residence. “Many musicians learn and create music by ear. Written music is just a code, a language for musicians to communicate with each other.”
Elise Witt’s “Ready or Not” imagines our human journeys, through the image of packing a magic suitcase. Join our #ReadyorNotSuitcase Community Art Project on Facebook and Instagram! @ReadyOrNotSuitcase
How do we deal with the many feelings we experience while stuck at home and living through a pandemic? For some GVP students, the answer is through songwriting. A new student-led Songwriters’ Club has flourished at GVP as a unique space for students to explore composing their own songs and remixing others’. Students meet weekly via Zoom to workshop original lyrics and share their latest creations with peers. They swap techniques for using GarageBand, a digital music creation studio available on their iPads. And the finished products are impressive: as STEAM Coordinator Danielle Ereddia says, “It’s not only that students are writing lyrics, they’re writing melodies and using loops, voice filters, and instruments on GarageBand to construct multi-layered songs…with up to 14 different tracks on one song.”
Traditional folk song with new verses by Elise Witt
by Elise Witt
© Non Si Sa Mai Music ASCAP
sung by Springdale Park Elementary Spark
Atlanta GA ~ Directed by Brianne Turgeon