Meet Woodlynn Daniel: Harvard’s most talented one-woman band

Singer-songwriter Woodlynn Daniel, 20, is famous for her stellar YouTube covers which have reached hundreds of thousands of viewers.

At Harvard, the Oceanside, NY native wows audiences at various performances, most recently the BSA’s Apollo Night.

As a Human Regenerative and Developmental Biology junior and a Pre-Med student, Woodlynn shows how Harvard students work hard and play (the piano and even the guitar) much harder.

How did you get into music?

I had a private music teacher who was teaching me piano, but was also the digital music instructor. So he was the one who taught me how to use music software, and that’s basically how I got into it.

So how did you get into making Youtube videos?

I wanted a way to share the music I was making. There are other platforms, but I felt that YouTube was the easiest for me to handle.

Your videos are awesome! How do you make them?

First, I obviously choose a song, and then I come up with an arrangement. I record the arrangement, and use this music software called Wondershare Video Editor that has the capabilities to do multi-window videos. So I just record all the parts in those windows and then put them together.

You collectively have hundreds of thousands of views. What has the response been like? 

It’s been pretty positive! I’m actually pleasantly surprised. People respond well.

What is your dream for singing?

I’m also a songwriter, so it would be nice if I could have my songs be as popular as these covers, or more! It would be nice if I could rise up among these musical ranks and be more popular as a pop artist.

Do you perform IRL?

Yeah, totally! Most recently, I performed at Apollo Night.

Out of all your videos, whats your favorite?

I think I’m tied between favorites. I like Lean On, which apparently a lot of people like; that’s the one with the most views. But I also like a more recent video I did, Disturbia. The piano worked our really well for that one!

We see that you play the piano in your videos. Do you play any other instruments?

I play the piano best. I’m learning guitar right now, but I’m definitely much better at piano than guitar.

You mentioned you performed at Apollo Night. How else are you pursuing music at Harvard?

In the Harvard Bubble, I just normally seek out performances that are most available. If someone sends an email, “Audition for this,” or “We’re having this event,” I’ll just sign up, you know? Casual.

What are your plans for after graduation? Do you see yourself singing in the future, or will Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology going to take over?

It’s hard because I’m a pre-med and a singer. It’s hard to tell right now what it’ll be, but those are my two main options right now.

Do you find balancing the two a crazy challenge?

It’s hard. Because school is a lot, I do most of my music things on breaks, so I have to be pretty efficient to get a lot of content done in those short times. But, you know, I manage, and it’s fine.

Check out Woodlynn’s videos on YouTube and follow her on Facebook.