This week’s “Mondays On the Move” song is called “Give me a chance.” We wrote this song with a young man from Yemen, who told us he was so grateful to Belgium for welcoming him. All he wanted was to be given a chance to give something back in return. This year has been a…
Category: artform
Against All Odds
Tonight is the final awards ceremony for the Merrimack Valley Sandbox Winter Accelerator Program. It has been a challenging and very rewarding three months. Yet, I think I speak for everyone in my class when I write that this evening’s final ceremonies will be bittersweet for all of us. A couple of weeks ago, a…
Singing the songs of the people.
I grew up in a small town in eastern Massachusetts on the south shore. Throughout my childhood and into college, music was my identity. I played and performed classical piano; I was first chair for the clarinet in the school band; I listened to any and all music I could find. I started plucking around…
Inner voice, I hear you
I am thankful to have found a handful of people who saw me as an artist, a musician, and a songwriter and who patiently helped me begin to believe in my self as all of these identities, to learn to listen and hear my inner creative voice, and to find value and beauty in what…
Everyone has a story
Everyone has a story. Yes, that means you, too. This past Friday evening, I performed some original songs and led a songwriting demonstration in downtown Lowell at an artist maker’s space called Lowell Makes. It was part of a skill share through a local time bank called the Merrimack Valley Time Exchange (MVTE). One skill…
Symbiosis and Songwriting
A story. It has meaning, layers of meaning. It has a face, depth, and personality. It has a life. A song from a story is all these elements with the added dimension of music and the heart, soul, and spirit of a life. This morning, a friend from my childhood came to Lowell. In his…
Examples of Story-to-Song(s)
To try to shed a little more musical light on Story-to-Song, which I typically refer to in short as STS, I thought I would share a few examples of different kinds of StorytoSong(s) that I have written. Example #1: A short song I wrote with a friend when I was learning how to write a song…
Getting to know Story-to-Song
Songwriting can be a challenge to describe in words only, particularly a method like Story-to-Song. So, I thought it might be helpful to share a couple of informational videos I put together. In the first video, I offer a definition of Story-to-Song: In the second video, I describe how I discovered Story-to-Song: The third video…
Who is Story-to-Song?
When I begin working with a participant on their Story-to-Song, I hear a few comments on a regular basis: I have a terrible voice. I am not an artist. I am not creative. I do not have any stories that are interesting. This is where I come in and assure you that your stories are…
How much is that doggie in the window?
What kind of person is interested in a Story-to-Song experience? Could it be you? A friend? A family member? An organization? Would you pay to hear your own story in song? I am in the beginning stages of learning about all things having to do with starting a business. In place of melodies, my head…
Marieke is Guiding Song 