More Bloggy Stuff!

I've added a music player featuring Mystic Shake, Blue Jello, and my solo songs, a performance schedule widget, and links to my various websties - more Ben than you could ever imagine! (Or handle . . .) Take a listen and hope to see you out at a gig one of these days!

The Song Machine WebQuest "Nothin' But The Blues"

I have designed and uploaded my first Song Machine WebQuest "Nothin' But The Blues" for my Michigan State University CEP-811 Technology for Educators class. A WebQuest is a self-directed journey through a particular subject, I decided to explore the world of the blues and incorporate it into my Song Machine concept as a exercise in writing a blues song. I have designed it for 3rd to 5th graders, and it is still a work in progress, but click on the link above and see what you think.

Gardeners of the World - an International Songwriting Project

The Visiting International Professional Program (VIPP), a part of International Studies and Programs at Michigan State University since 1991, is a unique, non-degree certificate program for international professionals, businesses, and organizations, designed to meet the growing worldwide demand for educational training and to facilitate the exchange of ideas among real-world professionals. The participants are adult teachers, business people, bankers, and representatives of other professions and many bring their families with them for the 6 to 24 months they will be at Michigan State.

In the summer of 2008, Mr. William (Bill) Eubank, a VIPP instructor, asked if I would help a group of Chinese and Korean students write a theme song for the program. I had worked with Bill for the last few years, leading his students in a discussion of American folk and popular music, and exploring American culture through song and stories. I was excited to accept this new challenge.

We met four times in the fall of 2008 with a group of 10 to 12 students, pretty much evenly split between Chinese and Koreans. A long-time VIPP member, Dr. Tara Nath Sharma from Nepal was also an important part of the group. We started with listing the student’s backgrounds and their impressions, observations, and feelings about coming to the United States using questions such as: what is your occupation, what did you find when you came to Michigan, what is similar/different to home, what do you want to learn here, where have you traveled in the U.S., what is the MSU campus like, etc.

I listed all the answers in a professional computer songwriting program called Masterwriter, which helps organize writing and provides a handy thesaurus and rhyming dictionary. Bill then thought we should tie in the agricultural heritage of Michigan State with the song, and that’s how I came up with the Gardeners of the World title and the theme about spreading the seeds of understanding across cultures and the world. He also suggested somehow working in the green and white colors of the university, that’s where the “trees of green, snow so white” lines in the first verse came from.

Each week we met, we accomplished a little more. I brought in various rough drafts of the song and we discussed them. Near the end of the process it was pointed out that we hadn’t really mentioned much about the educational aspects of the program and MSU, so I went to the VIPP website (http://www.isp.msu.edu/VIPP) and worked some of the mission statement and information about the program into the song. We also decided, since we wouldn’t really have time to rehearse and work on the singing; that I would sing the verses and everyone could join in on the chorus and introduce themselves at the end of the song to help personalize it.

I made a rough recording of the song and emailed it to the participants along with the words so they could become familiar with it before the debut performance at their December 7, 2008 graduation luncheon at the University Club. I enlisted the help of my friends Mike Skory and Dick Rosemont on piano and percussion and the three of us and the group of students performed the song at the end of the festivities, with the rest of the luncheon attendees singing along on the chorus. When we were finished, there were many wet eyes in the crowd – it was an emotional experience. A hand-held video of the performance can be seen at: http://tinyurl.com/vippsong. There is also an interview of me by Michigan State journalism student Dan Hartley filmed at a VIPP lecture in January 2009 at: http://tinyurl.com/gardenersinterview (watch both in the high quality setting if possible), and an article about my participation in the program at: http://news.msu.edu/story/5887 .

As a result of our project, the VIPP students have memories of their visit and the program captured in video and song, and a nice souvenir of American folk music and culture which complements and reinforces their other experiences in our country. It also now serves as a tool for the VIPP to use in promoting the program to potential participants.

Gardeners of the World (The VIPP Song)
by Ben Hassenger and the MSU VIPP

We come from many countries
To an unfamiliar land
Leave our friends and family for
East Lansing Michigan
Trees of green
Snow so white
A new and wondrous sight

There are many reasons
We came to MSU
Gain a fresh global perspective
Education to pursue
Learn from each other
Discover how we've grown
And bring it all back home

We plant the seeds
We tend the soil
Give it everything it needs
And watch it grow
Sowing peace and understanding
Freedom and unity
We are gardeners of the world
We are VIPP

We take time to travel this great land
From sea to shining sea
LA and Las Vegas
The Statue of Liberty
The Grand Canyon and Yellowstone
Niagara Falls
The Island of Mackinaw

Here on the campus
We watch the seasons change
Cheer on the Spartans at
The tailgates and the games
Visit the gardens and museums
Attend the concerts and the plays
Celebrate the holidays

Chorus

We are professionals
With very busy lives
We face the challenges
Of these demanding times
Here we can prepare ourselves
With the knowledge that we need
The tools essential to succeed

Yes we come from many countries
Every corner of this globe
But we find we are all family
No matter where we go
We come here as strangers
And leave as friends
And it all goes ‘round again

Chorus