IF your child has a beat, a riff, a groove, a poem without a melody or a melody without poem locked inside them, they may be able to find the key at West Vancouver songwriting camp.
The camp is led by North Vancouver singer-songwriter Laurel Barker, better known as Laurell, the singer of "Can't Stop Falling," who is slated to help aspiring musicians fine-tune their found tunes.
During a 2010 Canadian tour, Laurell decided she wasn't content to whittle away her time in hotel rooms, so she sought out an opportunity to work with school kids.
"It went from talking about my career to jumping right in and writing songs with these classes right on the spot," she says. "I just realized that I had a rapport with kids that really worked for them and kept them engaged and interested."
Demonstrating some of the basics of songwriting allows children to uncover emotions, according to Laurell. She says it lifts a bit of a window for them to start expressing themselves.
"I just realized that I loved helping kids do that, and helping them say something," she explains.
Laurell credits her life in music to a series of great teachers from high school and Capilano University. "They never tried to break my spirit," she says. "I think that they saw something in me and helped bring it out rather than squash it."
Learning to write a song is a matter of craft and defiance of conventions.
"It's kind of like learning a language. There are specific rules that you apply when you come to write a commercial pop song," she says. "I teach (students) everything there is to know and how to follow all the rules, but then the goal is to also use their own way of breaking those rules to make the song really their own."
Laurell says her teaching style puts a greater emphasis on practice than on theory.
"Now I give way more opportunities to break up into groups or into solo time and apply a very small concept that we've learned," she says.
One of the keys to a successful camp is creating a supportive atmosphere and eliminating feelings of fear.
"I've really come to understand the value of creating a safe environment with kids where they're willing to risk in front of each other," she says, discussing the importance of peer respect. "The last time I taught this camp, by the end of the week the kids were all sharing their ideas whereas on the first day there were a lot of shy faces."
While most children in previous camps have been able to play a musical instrument, Laurell says that isn't required.
"I think, realistically, you don't even have to play an instrument. If somebody is just interested in being a lyricist there's absolutely room for them," she says. "What I'll end up doing is teaming up players with writers, writers with players, and giving lots of different opportunities for the kids who maybe are less skilled to work with the kids who are more skilled."
Laurell encourages any child with an interest in expressing themselves through song to give the camp a try.
"If they don't come then they'll never know. If they do come then I can guarantee they're going to find out things about songwriting and develop some skills that they otherwise never would have had. Whether or not they fall in love with songwriting is another question."
The morning camp is for children ages 11-15, and runs from July 8 to 12 at the West Vancouver Community Centre. The cost of the camp is $205.
