The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum pulls back the curtain on songwriting in its new online video series, which debuts today (December 13). Words & Music: Journey of a Song pairs four teenage songwriters with professional songwriters and follows each teen from the writing room to the stage over four days.
Videos by American Songwriter
“By highlighting each teen’s journey, we are hopeful that viewers will see themselves in the project and be inspired to give it a try,” Katie Palmer, Senior Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, tells American Songwriter.
“We hope that viewers find their creative voice through songwriting,” she continues. “Expressing emotions can be challenging, but as Max Rees, one of the four young songwriters, says, ‘People write what they can’t say.’ By seeing others in action, teens can discover songwriting is a tool to develop and express their thoughts and feelings.”
[RELATED: Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to Debut Songwriter Mentorship Video Series]
It’s this vulnerability that Tenille Townes taught her young collaborator, Abby Whitman, when they got together to write “Peter in the Garden.”
“Doing co-writes can be pretty intimidating, but she told me to be brave every time I walk into a co-write,” Whitman recalls. “She also encouraged me to be honest and vulnerable with my writing, and that is a challenge I am definitely trying to implement.”
Whitman, who has been involved with the Museum’s Words & Music program since 2019, says she takes one of the skills she learned as a student into her everyday life.
“Something that I still use to this day when I get nervous is a skill that one of the mentors at Songwriting Camp taught me,” she explains. “She taught me to pause, physically make myself as big and tall as possible, and to let that feeling resonate in my brain so that I felt like I could do anything. Now, as I have transitioned to being a mentor to younger writers and performers, I have passed that practice on to them to help them get over their stage fright.”
For her writing session with Townes, Whitman came in with the chorus for “Peter in the Garden.” She admits that she was “stuck on the verses” and the country singer/songwriter helped her develop her thoughts and ideas for the song.
Whitman says Townes took the time to have her explain the story behind the song. It was during this process that the pair found the lyrics and were able to “tell the story of the moment.” For Townes, she says she learned just as much from her collaborator.
“That’s what I love about songwriting: I feel like I learn something from every person that I write a song with,” Townes says. “With Abby, I really recognized a lot of my younger self in her and it was a really special circle for me to sit there and imagine the way that I still feel about songwriting. She’s so lit up about it and passionate and to see that in the room sitting next to someone is really quite beautiful and contagious. It definitely inspired me to think about a lot of young songwriters out there that I think Abby represents. That to me was really important to think about again.”
Townes says a program like Words & Music: Journey of a Song would have been encouraging to her as a young songwriter. She describes the staff as being “incredible cheerleaders” who make sure the kids keep going.
“Sometimes all it takes is someone to see you and see that you’re putting in this effort to make something, and go, ‘I think you should keep doing it,’” she says. “I think that would have felt very encouraging to me, and probably would have kept songs happening sooner.
“There’s so many young people that are probably sitting in the room the same way that I was, trying to fill up pages of a notebook and holding a guitar in their hands and looking for a way to heal part of themselves and tell part of their story, and share their perspective into the world, which is so essential,” Townes adds. “That’s what continues our whole story of human nature. I’m so glad to know that the Hall of Fame is doing really important work out there to make that something that feels possible. … I hope that anyone watching this feels inspired to pick up a pen and start writing down their truth.”
In addition to partnering teen songwriters with professionals, the Museum has shared a step-by-step guide to writing song lyrics on its website. Palmer says this helps viewers put into practice the creative process demonstrated in the videos.
“The Museum’s award-winning Words & Music curriculum is largely used by educators, so we wanted to offer a version developed specifically for budding songwriters to explore independently,” Palmer explains. “The guide defines essential songwriting terms, encourages brainstorming and freewriting, and links to additional videos for examples and inspiration. It really highlights how to move through the songwriting process from ideation to refining lyrics and makes it approachable.”
Palmer says sharing the art of songwriting is an important part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s educational mission and she hopes people respond to the stories and video series. For Whitman, this has already been proven true.
“I was reminded of the incredible community that the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has created to support and grow singer/songwriters,” she says. “Being part of that community and meeting other writers where we can encourage and support each other may be the biggest takeaway I have from this experience.”
For more information on Words & Music: Journey of a Song and to apply for the Beginner-to-Intermediate Songwriting Camp, which runs June 10–15, 2024, visit the Museum’s website.
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
