February 13, 2002

Project gives schools reason to sing

Dan Hall helps classes create own songs for concert

By LISA PERKINS
Herald staff writer
There was a lot of toe tapping and finger strumming going on at Holy Angels and Immaculate Conception Elementary schools last week - thanks to songwriter musician Dan Hall.
Hall worked with each grade level to write an original song about a concept currently being studied. Each classroom contributed a verse on subjects such as water, simple machines and lighthouses. Hall guided the creativity as he strummed the melody on his guitar. The ideas, however, were right from the kids.
Fourth-graders in Kathy Blankenship's class added their knowledge of the depths of the ocean:
Down in the ocean, the water is cold and it's dark,
The pressure is rising, the landscape is barren and stark.
Fish without eyes, what a surprise,
Chemicals make their own light.
Tempting their prey, so they can't go away,
Then all of a sudden they bite.
Once the verses were complete, Hall recorded the musical accompaniment. Hall then recorded each song, sung by the student songwriters, on to a compact disc that would be made available to parents at a concert that took place Friday in the St. Francis High School gymnasium.
"They come out will a real appreciation of good song writing," said Hall, who has worked with more than 40,000 students and written more than 350 songs since 1989.
Hall, a Flint native, is a folk musician and performer by trade. His work in classrooms and around the midwest began with a project much closer to home.
"I got started in this when I wrote a song with my two boys. We had so much fun, I convinced their principal to let me try it in their school. It has been a lot of fun," he said.