A few blog posts ago I introduced my unique bespoke end-to-end musical project Elaine Lennon's THE HOMEBIRD SESSIONS Songwriting Education in Schools Presents: A Song for Holy Cross Primary.
I've been leading STEM-based workshops with groups of children from the school to gain their ideas and thoughts on song content for their song which has been inspired by the school's Gold Rights Respecting Accreditation.
Here's a quick round up of what's been happening in my Top 3 priority Milestone areas:
1 - Write
2 - Record
3 - Release
1 - WRITE
I'm thrilled to share we now have the 'WRITE' milestones well and truly completed!
It was a real inspiration for me working with groups from each class to gain their ideas for the song. I summarised their little idea gems and worked through the final theme, structure, lyrics and melody with the 15 strong Holy Cross School Choir (seen below).
I am so proud of all we have managed to achieve so far! The lyrics are inspirational, positive & heartwarming, the melody will have you up out of your seats dancing along and the catchy lyrical and melodic hooks will stay with you long after the track has ended! These children are a credit to their parents and school!
If you'd like to develop your own songwriting skills, or help your little one hone their writing skills, head over to the Top Tips for Aspiring Songwriters section of the blog for ideas on developing your songwriting craft!
2 - RECORD
After we tied down the lyrics and agreed our melody and catchy hooks it was time for me to bring my 'pop-up' recording studio into the school and get some of those beautiful vocals recorded!
I created a basic chord progression to match our melody and added pianos and synths with my eldest son Jamie overseeing the percussion. 12-year-old Jamie, a former Holy Cross pupil himself, recently played guest drummer with Global Pop Sensation Tom Walker at his Edinburgh Show - he has also been put forward by St Maurices High School to represent them in the North Lanarkshire 'Musician o the Year' competition so I am in good drumming company!.
A true community project, the fantastic guitars for the recording were kindly provided by John Mellon, (also known as the Holy Cross Primary School football coach!) and are sounding great alongside my piano & synths!
I have been working hard on the editing and 'mix' and today finalised and 'mastered' the track! Wohooo! I cannot wait to share it with the kids and see their reaction!
3 - RELEASE
Get your dancing shoes ready and your singing voices warmed up! Now it's on to building a release plan so we can get our song out for you to enjoy!
Their art competition to design the digital ARTWORK for the single was a roaring success with so many outstanding creations it was extremely difficult for the school and their 'Rights Respecting' children's council members to decide on a clear winner! We hope to announce the winner and runners up soon and share the final digital artwork with you all soon!
I will be working with Mrs Murphy and her wonderful team at Holy Cross and will create a media release pack and plan which will include an exciting live performance of the song!
Mrs Murphy pulled out all the stops and I am honoured now to be working with John McDonald who has been filming and will produce an official video for the release. John has many years experience working for the BBC, STV and other major networks and has been a joy to work with on this project! He may even include some of the footage I took recently of the kids performing the song in Edinburgh's Scottish Parliament building (no less!) on a recent school trip to the venue (not like me to miss an opportunity like that! lol!)
Remember - if you want your child to have the opportunity to appear in the video you MUST COMPLETE & RETURN YOUR CONSENT forms to the school!
How can you help your Little Birds and Little Sailors?
Holy Cross parents and guardians - you may have noticed some school ties and jumpers sporting badges and stickers with my 'Little Bird Little Sailor' brand and logo? The Little Bird symbolises our creativity and the power of dreaming big, while the Little Sailor embodies problem-solving and resilience! Reinforcing the positive message of creativity and growth is key to all I do when working with your little ones!
Remember you can help reinforce to your child the ethos and share the Story behind the logo which you can find in the Welcome section of my blog.
You can also visit my shop for some inspiring and motivational merchandise including the limited. edition Little Bird and Little Sailor jewellery sets!
What to do now?
1 - Ask your kids over the dinner table all about the project - read through the top tips with them and get them to try out the exercises too if they like! Get involved in any way you can - practice interview skills with them at home, help them work on their dance / vocal performances, talk to them about the songs you like and why and help them come up with ideas that show what it really feels like to be a part of a Rights Respecting school!
2 - Spread the Word! Spread the word from the outset of how amazing our kids are and get them talking about what they have learned and enjoyed about being part of this musical adventure! We want our kids to be proud of their part in the project and know they are helping the school as part of it too!
3 - Get involved! Are you a local small to medium-sized business out there who would like to SPONSOR the project in any way and have your business added to the credits? An interview in this blog to let all 350+ parents know what an amazing company you are helping out the school and letting them know all about your business product or service? ;) Contact me at info@elainelennon.com if you are interested in doing this!
I am SO excited to be starting this 'Elaine Lennon's WRITE - RECORD - RELEASE' project with the lovely children and staff at Holy Cross! Thanks for being a part of the project too! Lets raise Rights Respecting awareness and LOTS of much-needed funds for the school the same time!!
Thanks for reading and pop back in soon to read future updates!
Listen to my music on all major digital platforms or buy physical copies from HMV or my online SHOP
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