The LifeSong Project
The LifeSong Project works to preserve the memories and experiences of elders in a way that makes an indelible imprint on both the heart and mind. It also strives to acknowledge and honor the voices of our ancestors and their contribution to our rich American history and human experience. By being asked to recount life experiences and having these narratives translated through songs, the individual is given the opportunity to view and acknowledge their life as a purposeful and exciting story of challenges, successes, hardships and joys. The family and greater community are benefited by reinforcing the memory and legacy of their family members through a modality that is emotional and artistic.
It is no secret that music has a resounding effect on people of all ages. As our modern western society replaces oral tradition with our growing attachment to technology and media, important threads of our cultural fabric are disappearing. Oral tradition is dependent on memory. Research has shown that the rhythm and melody of music helps cement memories more firmly in the mind. The structure of songs as well as the images and emotions that they provoke are what make them such a profound vehicle for salvaging the deeply personal and unique legacies of our modern everyday heroes.
Havilah Rand
FOUNDER, LifeSong Project
Havilah is an award winning singer songwriter and educator. Her musical journey spans five full length albums and two decades weaving its way through the jazz halls of New York City, the alternative rock venues of post grunge Seattle and countless coffeeshops and theaters across the United States And Europe. Havilah also holds a Masters Degree in Teaching and has been a classroom educator in both public and alternative school settings for over ten years. She is the founder of Holistic ArtVentures, an organization that uses songwriting as a tool for bolstering empathy, creativity, collaboration and confidence. Through various songwriting programs, Havilah has written songs with hundreds of children and elderly and has even been nominated for the Esme Barrera Music in Education and Activism Award.
Process
The songwriting process with elders begins with an introductory meeting and conversation with a songwriter. Questions are asked about their life experience and the conversation is recorded. Then the songwriter spends a few weeks on their own writing the basic idea and structure of the song. A second meeting is arranged in order to check in and edit the song together. Finally, the song is finished and recorded and given to the collaborator along with the recording of the conversation. In some cases, bits and pieces of the recorded narrative are interwoven with the song.
Songs
LifeSong Project Songs
