June 01, 2010
It's not very often that a songwriter will crank out a song in five minutes – or with a shouting pack of spirited co-writers. But that's exactly what ASCAP member Darden Smith does regularly with his Be An Artist Program. Venturing into classrooms armed only with his guitar, his laptop and a sense of humor, Smith uses songwriting as a way to teach students to harness their own creativity.
"I don't tell them that they all should be songwriters – that's the last thing the world needs!" he says. "But I do try to encourage them to find their passion and follow what they love to do."
Smith started the Be An Artist Program in 2003 at local elementary schools in Austin, Texas, where he is based. Since then it has expanded to scores of middle schools and high schools across the United States and Europe. In recent months Smith has taught in schools in Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico, and in the suburbs of Atlanta; he's also spent extensive time in schools near Glasgow, Scotland, and in Northern Ireland, Germany and Paris.
In 50-minute sessions with groups usually ranging from 20 to 50 students, Smith helps students recognize the artistry inherent in their everyday lives, whether it's playing soccer, choosing a shirt to wear or biting into a piece of pizza. And he helps them realize that whatever they enjoy doing now as 12-year-olds is something they can do the rest of their lives.
Love to play video games? Learn to be a software developer and create them. Love to skateboard? Tony Hawk made a career from it. Love clothes and shopping? You can be a stylist or a personal shopper, he says. And Smith, who started playing the guitar when he was nine years old, uses his own life as an example. "I tell students, 'Look at me now! I'm 48 years old and I still love to play the guitar!'"
Smith also shows students how easy it is to try things they've never done before – like writing a song. Plucking a spontaneous idea from one of his students, Smith leads the group in writing a quick song – about anything from ninja dinosaurs to superheroes from Mars – which they then record on his laptop.
When he's not immersed in the Be An Artist Program, Smith continues to perform and to write songs in Austin, Nashville and Paris. Last fall he released After All This Time, a collection drawn from his 25-year recording career. His 12th album, Marathon, will be released in September.
For more information on the Be An Artist Program, please visit
