A group of campers and teachers from the Young Songwriter’s Camp standing with guest artist Halleyanna (third from left), standing in front of the van that took George Strait to Nashville the first time he went.
by KIM HILSENBECK
Central Texas youth ages 12-18 honed their songwriting skills and musicianship at the Young Songwriters’ Camp, held June 18-23 at the historic Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos.
The mash-up of the two sponsoring organizations, Cheatham Street Music Foundation and Central Texas Writing Project, seemed a natural combination. The Cheatham Street Music Foundation endeavors to develop, promote and preserve Texas music. The group nurtures songwriters and musicians through opportunities to perform music and participate in songwriting contests.
The Central Texas Writing Project focuses the knowledge, expertise and leadership of Central Texas educators on sustained efforts to improve writing and literacy learning at all levels.
During the week-long camp, guest artists and Texas musicians such as HalleyAnna, Missoula Slim, Aaron Allan, Nathan Hamilton and Brady Black provided inspiration to the campers.
HalleyAnna offered her insight on such camp topics as co-writing, getting started in the music business and where she finds inspiration.
Activities for the camp included audio blogging and journaling. In an event called writing from the senses, campers engaged in a series of tasks such as “magic box,” “message in a bottle” and “down the rabbit hole.”
In another activity, called turning titles into a song, students picked five song titles from their iPods and wrote them down. They spread all the song titles out on a big table and each student wrote a verse using the 30 song titles provided.
Guest artist Nathan Hamilton helped the campers with activities such as six word song. He also helped them connect with the audience and one-hand clapping.
