Kids love music, so it is no surprise that Timbuktu Publishing’s kids’ session on Writing Your First Song was such a big hit. It encouraged kids aged 7 and above to ideate on song lyrics and tune.
The session was conducted by Aparna, founder of Timbucktoo, a children’s publishing business, and Prasanna, a well-known guitarist. The session started off with Prasanna singing and playing some tunes on his guitar. Kids were encouraged to come and sing along. Though they were reluctant at first, the kids joined in once they got over their initial shyness. Many popular songs like Let It Go from Frozen and Shake It Off by Taylor Swift were sung once they got into the groove.
To begin the actual session, the children were divided into groups and given paper and pencil to start their songwriting journey. Aparna explained the concept of a chorus to the children: “All of you know what is a chorus line – usually four lines that are repeated through the song.”
They were given this chorus:
Oh my
Oh dear
What do we have here?
The kids huddled together and discussed various possible songs. With their overactive imagination, they came up with a variety of interesting situations that they could tune into a song. One even involved Santa Claus burning his pants. The end result of the activity was just to get children to have fun, and the enthusiasm of the kids showed that they had certainly achieved it.
By Samah Mariam