Students in the Song Writing Club Learn to Share Their Music

Clustered in a small closet full of choir robes, members of the Song writing Club sit in a haphazard circle. When they hear their leader strum on his guitar, they fall quiet and, right on cue, all join in singing “She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5, a song that each member knows and can be a part of.

The Song writing Club, sponsored by Choir teacher Ken Foley, is a place for students to receive feedback on the songs they’ve written, listen to music and connect with people who share their passion. Sophomore Mason Pashia, an active choir member and guitar player, founded the club in Jan 2010.

Since their first meeting, they have met at least once a week, usually on Thursdays, during seminar. Pashia started the club because of his strong desire to receive extra criticism from his peers. He wanted people who were interested in music to tell him which parts in his songs were weak, which parts got repetitive or which parts were strong.

“[The club] is a great place to bounce ideas around,” Pashia said. “It’s also a way for people to get their work out there and hopefully a place for them to break out of their shell.”

When Pashia came up with the idea, he knew Foley would be the perfect sponsor. He suspected that Foley would say yes because of the choir teacher’s continual support for his students’ ideas. When he asked for permission, Pashia said Foley was genuinely excited.

“I thought it was a very neat idea that these kids wanted to come together, as a club, not to just write songs but to share their ideas and give forth their input,” Foley said.

The only issue was finding a stable place to house the club when they met; the Choir room is usually occupied by other Choir students and therefore inaccessible. Pashia explains that since there isn’t a set area to practice every week, it is hard to keep the club structured.

Foley lightheartedly calls the club the “Traveling Hippie Song writing Club” because he finds it humorous that they haven’t been able to practice in the same place twice. Other locations that the club has found to practice in are the lobby of the auditorium, the ensemble room and the music hallway.

Another issue that they run into is the task of staying on topic during meetings. The majority of the members are best friends, so this causes issues when it comes to maintaining control. Also, some members are shy when it comes to sharing their work. Pashia hopes that over time they will warm up to the group and show what they have.

Even though they have small issues with organization, it is worth it to Pashia when he feels like he has made a difference.

“At one of the meeting I played one of the recent songs I had written and almost everyone was speechless,” Pashia said. “I think it is really fun to have my music heard by others.”

Sophomore Lily Kaufmann began attending the meetings because of the social aspect of the club. She wanted to spend her seminars with her friends instead of in a quiet classroom. Once they started bringing instruments and using pen and paper, Kaufmann began to really enjoy the club for the musical aspect, not just because her friends were in it.

“I continue to go because I love to write music, it’s what I do to express my feelings,” Kaufmann said. “Plus music brings people together. It’s a universal language that everybody knows and never gets old.”

Even though she didn’t expect it, Kaufmann said she has learned a lot from the club. She thought it would be difficult to participate because of the similarity in the members’ song writing. She now realizes that this problem is what has helped her most; she knows that a different opinion can open her eyes to a completely different side of a song that she had never seen before.

She remembers one meeting last year in particular where this realization was very evident. They were assigned to bring their favorite piece of music to share with the group. Kaufmann brought the sheet music to “Drops of Jupiter” by Train.

“It was interesting hearing people’s choices; the songs all reflected the person who picked them,” Kaufmann said.

This year, Pashia has many goals for the club. He hopes to enter at least 50 percent of the members’ works into song writing competitions, as well as attend an open-mic night somewhere. He wants the members to perform their creations, and he has planned some exercise that he wants to try to get the creativity flowing beforehand.

Even though Foley believes that it is neat that they have even started the club, he thinks they could be more successful if they became more structured by meeting after school hours, one day a week. He also thinks it would be a good idea for them to organize gigs outside of school to show off their talent.

“All of us love music and being creative,” Pashia said. “It gives us a chance to be surrounded by people who have the same outlook on life which isn’t always common.”