William’s Song is Our Song

More than a decade ago, I was thinking about music and all the places it met me. How music could be found on sunny days. On windy days. Rainy days and Mondays… but seriously, music has met me everywhere I needed it to be. In different seasons. Moods. Special moments. While I cooked. Or read. Or worked out. I love that about music!! How it expresses the things we can’t say, as Victor Hugo once said.  

As I thought about music, I decided to write a short poem in the notes section of my phone. It wasn’t anything fancy. Just a few short lines… “Music on a sunny day. Music on a cloudy day. Music on a windy day. Music on a rainy day.” And then I kept adding thoughts to it. Months would go by, and I’d come back to the poem. I honestly don’t remember how often I reread what I’d written or how much I wrote, or how often I tweaked a word or line here and there. All I know is that I thought it would make a wonderful children’s book someday. And this was years before I ever intentionally set out to write a book. I thought the poem might be a great way to introduce children to music with a simplistic and repetitious use of the word “Music” because music was, and still is, what has shaped my life. And if you’re a part of the F-Flat Community, music has likely shaped your life, too.

About two or three years ago, I looked over the poem again and moved it over to a Google Doc. Over time, I added a few extra lines that solidified it and decided it was done. If you create or write, compose or conduct, you know the work never finishes; we have to decide it’s done or else nothing would ever be shared! I began thinking about how to incorporate a story with the poem. And one day, I was thinking about how music showed up in my life and how music has been an influential piece in my family’s lives. Then I knew the story I wanted to tell with this poem: William’s Song, the story of my grandfather’s life. With the help of illustrator Anna Betts (@Anna_Betts_Art), the story was brought to life to express how music moves throughout our lives.

My Grandfather’s Story

William ‘Bill’ Dale was a wonderful grandfather and remarkable musician who influenced my life. His life was not easy. He experienced the loss of both parents as a child, the Great Depression, and service as a Lieutenant in India during WWII. Bill also had beautiful moments in life that included earning his music degree at Yale, marrying my grandmother, building a family of four beautiful daughters, and being on the music staff at Connecticut College for many, many years. Music impacted the lives of each daughter in different ways. My mom is a pianist, music teacher, accompanist, and church choir director. Her love of music heavily influenced my life, and music continues to travel through my life to my own girls and one day, hopefully, to their own children. I wanted William’s Song to share my grandfather’s story while also telling our stories: the story of how music makes a difference in our lives and meets us where we are each day.

William’s Song Text

The text of the book expresses where we find music. As you read it, I’d encourage you to picture how you find music in these various ways in your own life. Think about the genres, styles, and feelings that come to mind for you.

Music on a sunny day

Music on a cloudy day

Music on a windy day

Music on a rainy day

 

Music as the sun shines bright

Music as the moon at night

Music as the stars come round

Music as the seas abound

 

Music when I’m down and out

Music when I’m all about

Music when I’m angry inside

Music when the rage subsides


Music in my busy mind

Music in my soul divine

Music in my tapping feet

Music in my heart’s strong beat

 

Music made within my mind

Music made for humankind

Music through each breath and song

Music through my whole life long

Ideas for Using the Book

There are many ways this book could be shared with your students or your children at home. 

  1. Simply read it. The illustrations by Anna Betts (@Anna_Betts_Art) are gorgeous and truly bring the text and story to life. There are many clickable elements in the interactive version that bring the story to life through sound and pictures.
  2. Incorporate drawing and writing activities that focus on SEL with your students where they can create their own version of the poem, listen to music examples to make connections to emotions and feelings, design playlists, and recognize where music shows up in their own lives.
  3. Teach one of the music pieces from the teacher’s guide to your students. You’ll find a choral piece as well as Orff-inspired pieces for xylophones and drums.
  4. Incorporating technology like Soundtrap or Flip open up possibilities for student voice, digital music creation, and video.
  5. Create a program using the text as a guide. Select music for students to perform between stanzas.

My hope is that William’s Song will allow you to bring the beauty of music to your students, share how music moves through our lives, and give students beautiful musical experiences inspired by the book. I also hope that William’s Song will be your song as you live out the impact music has made in your own life as you teach, inspire, direct, listen, and share the music that is inside of you with others.

Click here to learn more about William’s song and how to use it in your classroom.