The Song Machine - Children's Songwriting Workshop

I'm excited to announce that my "Song Machine" Children's Songwriting Workshop will be offered by the Lansing, MI Parks and Recreation department this summer. The official listing is below, Lansing residents can register starting March 16, non-residents March 23.

SONGWRITING FOR CHILDREN (Recommended ages 8-12) Children are natural songwriters, and these fun and involving "Song Machine" workshops are designed to help them embrace and express their creativity. Educator and singer/songwriter Ben Hassenger (of Mystic Shake, Blue Jello) will lead the class through group song writing projects which will help foster their understanding of basic melody, harmony and rhythm aspects of music, learn about rhyming, metaphor and other creative writing skills and encourage expression of their feelings and thoughts as well as nurture teamwork and collaboration skills. Activities will include creating basic rhythm instruments, audio and video recordings and a performance on the last day of class to share their new songs with friends and family. Parents are welcome to stay, lend a hand and join in the fun! Instructor: Ben Hassenger. Activity #450330A $32/Res; $37/Non-Resident. June/16 to July/9 Tue & Thu 9-10 am Southside Center (Hill). Register online at: http://www.lansingmi.gov/parks or call (517) 483-4277

"The Corner" my musical tribute to Tiger Stadium in Detroit

I am a big Detroit Tigers fan and spent many a summer cheering on my Tabbies at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in the Corktown district of Detroit. Much of the stadium has been torn down (the Tigers moved to the new Comerica Park in 2000), but The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy has been successfully been raising funds to preserve the original Navin Field structure for future generations to enjoy. I am happy that this song and video have played a small part in those efforts. There was also a nice article about the song here on the Major League Baseball website MLB.com.
 

. . . and it will all seem funny

Well, I guess I've decided to start a blog. Why? I'm not sure, but since I'm planning on some big changes in my life as of right about now - it seems a good time to document it all, at least for my amusement. I have been taking Technology for Educators classes at Michigan State University in order to renew my teaching certificate and plan on eventually focusing my life around music, education, and travel. It should prove to be quite the adventure, with more than a few wrong turns, and not much of a GPS to guide me - we'll see where I end up!