Composing a diary of songs
Student writes songs for therapy, wins $7K and trip to NYC in lyrics competition
Carol Wehe
Issue date: 11/6/08 Section: Arts
The sun shone through the trees, casting shadows on sophomore Kathryn "Andy" Anderson as she sat on her back porch and cradled her blue guitar, wishing that despite a broken finger she could play one of her songs.
Anderson began writing lyrics as a therapy, a diary of her experiences. She bought her trademark blue guitar at 16, and it saw her through her enlistment in the U.S. Army after 9/11, then to the University of Nevada and finally to her transfer to Hillsdale College.
Now with a broken ring finger, a souvenir from this semester's intramural football season, Anderson said she misses the comfort of picking out songs on her old guitar.
She has performed her music under the stage name Katie Elaine, but as an American Studies major, she relegates songwriting about her life experiences to a hobby.
"I'm focused more on my faith and school right now," she said. "Story songs are my favorite."
Simple everyday life provides her inspiration. Songs developed from normal events often become the most popular because there is a human element people recognize and translate to their own experiences, she said.
Already, Anderson has won $7,000 and a trip to New York City for her song "Lucky Charms." She entered her lyrics in a contest at the suggestion of a high-school friend.
"I did it for the experience," she said. "I wanted to win a prize."
"Lucky Charms" won the grand prize at a studio in Las Vegas, and producers said her music brought a fresh youthful sound to the old city
Later, a singer and actress bought the rights to use the lyrics. Anderson likes the new version of "Lucky Charms," but is still critical of her own music.
"I'm a better writer than I am a musician," she said.
She hopes one day "a high-caliber artist" will pick up her lyrics so she can hear them popularized.
For now, Anderson focuses on studying, but in her spare time she writes songs about her and her friends' experiences. This summer, Anderson wrote a song for Hillsdale graduates Alex and Paige Roodhouse, working their love story into a song for their wedding.
"It's a beautiful song," said Ben Roodhouse '03. "It's got something that can catch people's hearts."
Anderson said she works patterned phrases - even if they don't rhyme - from everyday life into lyrics.
"All the lyrics are so awkward," she said. But "singing it is different than just reading it. When you sing it, it rhymes."
The hard part in the music business is actually finding an outlet for the music once it's written.
Getting that big break is "a time issue as well as a talent issue," she said. "You pretty much have to shove your foot in the door."
That's why, for now, Anderson keeps her songwriting on "a back burner," waiting for the day when her big break will come.
Anderson began writing lyrics as a therapy, a diary of her experiences. She bought her trademark blue guitar at 16, and it saw her through her enlistment in the U.S. Army after 9/11, then to the University of Nevada and finally to her transfer to Hillsdale College.
Now with a broken ring finger, a souvenir from this semester's intramural football season, Anderson said she misses the comfort of picking out songs on her old guitar.
She has performed her music under the stage name Katie Elaine, but as an American Studies major, she relegates songwriting about her life experiences to a hobby.
"I'm focused more on my faith and school right now," she said. "Story songs are my favorite."
Simple everyday life provides her inspiration. Songs developed from normal events often become the most popular because there is a human element people recognize and translate to their own experiences, she said.
Already, Anderson has won $7,000 and a trip to New York City for her song "Lucky Charms." She entered her lyrics in a contest at the suggestion of a high-school friend.
"I did it for the experience," she said. "I wanted to win a prize."
"Lucky Charms" won the grand prize at a studio in Las Vegas, and producers said her music brought a fresh youthful sound to the old city
Later, a singer and actress bought the rights to use the lyrics. Anderson likes the new version of "Lucky Charms," but is still critical of her own music.
"I'm a better writer than I am a musician," she said.
She hopes one day "a high-caliber artist" will pick up her lyrics so she can hear them popularized.
For now, Anderson focuses on studying, but in her spare time she writes songs about her and her friends' experiences. This summer, Anderson wrote a song for Hillsdale graduates Alex and Paige Roodhouse, working their love story into a song for their wedding.
"It's a beautiful song," said Ben Roodhouse '03. "It's got something that can catch people's hearts."
Anderson said she works patterned phrases - even if they don't rhyme - from everyday life into lyrics.
"All the lyrics are so awkward," she said. But "singing it is different than just reading it. When you sing it, it rhymes."
The hard part in the music business is actually finding an outlet for the music once it's written.
Getting that big break is "a time issue as well as a talent issue," she said. "You pretty much have to shove your foot in the door."
That's why, for now, Anderson keeps her songwriting on "a back burner," waiting for the day when her big break will come.
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