mo4y’s very first success story has been to secure funding for this exciting and innovating project in the North West area of North Tyneside.
In this blog post, the project leaders Ashleigh Lowes and Andi Anderson bring us up to date with how the project is progressing so far…
Sounding Out is a music project created by, and for, young people from the North West Area of North Tyneside.
The sessions currently run Wednesdays 4-6pm (term time) with the focus to create musical opportunities for young people aged between 13-18.
The aims of the project are to:
- Create a variety of musical opportunities for young people who may not always get the opportunities to do so.
- Reduce social isolation & build friendships in the area.
- Create opportunities to build friendships and community connections. Including a sense of belonging and pride in their local community.
- Support emotional well-being by providing an outlet for creative expression.
- Increase aspiration and confidence.
- Support the development of other transferable skills (project management, teamwork and problem solving, IT/technology skills)
The majority of sessions over the Summer 2024 term were based at North Gosforth Academy. The Young People involved with the project helped to create the content of these sessions alongside Project Producer and Community Musician Ashleigh Lowes and Music Leader and Music Producer Andi Anderson.
Block 1 – Songwriting and Band Practice
The first block of sessions for ‘Sounding Out!’ included working with the group in a band set up and delivering Songwriting activities to help support them write their first original song.
From doing this we were able to identify individuals’ interests, instrumental skills and where some young people would like to progress and learn.
One particular young person picked up the Bass guitar for the first time and showed great interest in wanting to learn further, something that we are now looking into providing either 1-1 or small group lessons on in school.
Holiday activity – Studio Day @ Traxx recording studios
Our studio session at Traxx created an environment for the young people to peer behind the curtain of the music production world and engage in a real-time engineering and recording process, a first-time experience for most that attended. The song the group recorded was the one written within the Sounding Out project sessions prior to the studio visit, a group effort, led by the session leaders.
We involved the young people in each step of the studio process, from the basics of setting up a microphone and achieving adequate input levels, to the mixing and mastering process.
We managed to successfully track drums, percussion, synth, bass, and vocals.
We felt that the engagement from the young people involved on the day was excellent overall and the staff at Traxx made everybody feel comfortable to share their ideas towards a collaborative outcome.
Block 2 – Deejaying with Ken Masters
The DJ sessions throughout the spring term really seemed to spike the interest of the young people on the project.
Ken worked through the basics of DJ techniques and the practical side of using decks, as well as looking at some of the history of DJ’ing and the ethos towards the art itself.
Summer Activity – 2 Day Songwriting Camp @ The Cluny
The Songwriting workshop at The Cluny was a very positive, relaxed and creative experience for those in attendance.
Led by Marty Longstaff, the two-day event provided a safe-space approach to expressing ideas, which allowed the young people with a range of interests in Songwriting to feel involved and to flourish.
From practical writing exercises which encouraged the young people to share their thoughts and interests with one another, to small group writing sessions (working collaboratively with the support of the staff involved), there was a clear development in confidence from the young people over the two-day period. The event was capped off perfectly with DJ sets and solo and group performances to parents and guardians, which was very well attended.
A couple of the young people from the project had the opportunity to work with Videographer David Pethick at the Songwriting Camp too. Learning a few basic skills in the moment of capturing some footage of the rehearsals and performances. We will be working with David again over the next term and look forward to seeing what skills and knowledge are built, as well as seeing the footage captured over the coming months of the project.
Block 3 – Planning an event
Over this next term we plan to integrate the project more into the heart of the Community.
With the aim for young people to plan and put on an event nearer the end of the year. Inviting performers, families, people of the community, performing themselves and hosting a real community feel event. Watch this space!
For more information about Sounding Out please contact Ashleigh by email at ashleigh.lowes@youngsounds.org.uk
A PDF version of this blog post is available on our google drive.