Around the region: Quist shares songwriting talents

Songwriting isn't hard — at least it's not for Montana musician Rob Quist.

That's why Quist and his musician-daughter Halladay headed to East and North middle schools on Monday to help demystify the art form of writing music and create a couple of pieces that will be performed at a Tuesday night concert to benefit the Great Falls Public Schools music program.

"A lot of kids have trouble expressing themselves," Quist said. "But they can express it through music."

Quist passed out a worksheet of sorts for the students to begin understanding the process. It starts with a universal idea, a strong hook, a strong start and then a payoff in the end. The universal idea East Middle School students came up with Monday morning was spending time with friends. At North Middle School, it was debatable whether they were writing about summer or standing around the fire — both of which Quist was working to consolidate into one song Monday afternoon.

"Hopefully — if we can get it done," he said.

There was talk of campfires, bogey-boarding, surf's up, cowabunga and castles — all of which Halladay was furiously writing down on the board.

"Castles in the sand," she said. "That's a great image."

Logan Tracy was enjoying the process of working with a Montana music legend.

"It's kind of an honor," the eighth-grader said. "It's not something that we are generally used to at school."

Jewel Sangrey said she contributed the universal idea of summer to the song and was having fun adding lyrics as she could.

"I think it's really cool and a really great opportunity for kids who don't have experience," she said.

Dusty Molyneaux, director of music for Great Falls Public Schools, said the Uptown Optimists are supporting this concert. One of the members of the local service organization knows Quist and asked him to participate and make it a fundraiser for the district's music program. Rob Quist and Friends will perform their own music first, then a short intermission and East and North Middle School students will perform their own pieces, along with the ones they wrote with Quist.

Molyneaux said the district gets a lot of guest musicians who work with kids on their performances, but typically it's at the high school level and it doesn't usually have a lot to do with songwriting.

"This has been really fun," he said. "It's nice to bring something in for these kids."

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Cates at 791-1463. Follow her on Twitter @GFTrib_KCates.

If you go

WHAT: Rob Quist and Friends

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Great Falls High auditorium

COST: Tickets, $12-$15, can be purchased at the door