Niwot resident challenges herself to write a new song for each day in November

You've probably heard of "no-shave November," which raises awareness for cancer research, but have you heard of "new-song November"?

Instead of a charitable campaign, it's a creative one in which singer-songwriters challenge themselves to write a new song every day of the month. Niwot resident Emma Schaefer, who graduated in 2018 from Shining Mountain Waldorf, was one participant this year, after seeing posts about it online for the past few years.

"I learned about this challenge from Lily DeTaeye," Schaefer said. "I met her in Colorado a few years ago through Rocky Mountain Song School. I've seen each November how she's done this challenge and I remember thinking 'wow that's so cool she's doing this, I wish I had the time.'"

Schaefer attends Grinnell College in Iowa and is studying multimedia storytelling--a major that she's created with the help of her advisors and professors. But, in light of COVID, she decided to take a year off school to focus on her own projects, like songwriting.

The inspirations for the songs were diverse, many simply written by being open to the proverbial moment. "I realized throughout the process that they [the songs] were so rooted in the specific day or moment, any moment has the potential to be a song," she said.

With this in mind, Schaefer said that she tried to go into the challenge without any expectations, which was harder, at times, than she anticipated. With a laugh, she explained that at first, she was worried that she'd write songs that she didn't like, or didn't feel were good enough.

"Every day, I reminded myself that it's okay, it [the song] doesn't have to be great. I ended up writing a lot of songs I'm really happy with because I had the freedom to not inhibit myself."

She shared how some songs were about various perspectives on the 2020 election, and another about 2020 itself, while other songs were made more in the moment. One memorable song was inspired by a conversation with her friends where she asked them for ideas and ended up writing a song about an old woman in the forest.

When listening to the songs, which are archived in Schaefer's Instagram memories, it's clear how raw and personal they are. Yet, they seem incredibly relatable at the same time. She sings with a bit of a folksy twang at times, while other songs sound like they belong in the boy-loses-girl (and the girl's moving on now) part of a romantic movie. In her videos, Schaefer not only shows off her singing chops, but also her talent with the piano and guitar.

For Schaefer, song-writing is both a passion and another way to make stories and connections with others. "There's so much division in our world right now in our society and I truly believe that stories are what bring people together," she said.

"When other people tell their story, that can build empathy and that's so integral in what can shape a healthy community, a healthy society," she said. ... "So sharing stories, in whatever way that may be, is something that can heal everyone because the storyteller is empowered when they share and the listeners are really impacted and it's this really beautiful."

To stay up to date with Emma Schaefer, you can subscribe to her mailing list at https://emmakieranmusic.com/subscribe where she sends out updates about her projects, or follow her at @Emma_Kieran on Instagram, where you can also view her songs from new-song November.