Our surveys showed overall progression in our young people from the beginning to the end of the funded project.  The young people’s confidence had increased on average, they rated their musical skills higher too on average and a larger percentage agreed at the end that they could write their own song.

Beginning:

Over 50% had low confidence in playing keyboard.

Over 50% felt they were unable to write a song on their own.

Over 70% said they were unable to use basic software functions.

Over 55% felt unable to record vocals in a studio.

Over 80% said they had no access to a music studio

End:

80% gained confidence in playing keyboard.

80% agreed they were able to write a song on their own.

Over 80% agreed they could now use basic software functions.

Over 90% agreed they can express themselves in music.

90% agreed they had made at least 1 friend since attending.

How you have met the outcomes that you expected as stated in your application

We have been able to create a consistent safe space for local young people over the time the grant sustained our project from September to December. Local young people came every week to the studio and have created a folder full of 16 beats and songs in this time! We have engaged a total of 23 young people throughout which we are very proud of.

We were able to encourage young people to express themselves through music. Some young people specifically took to beat making and playing keyboard while others showed real strength in being creative with words via songwriting to tell a story through rapping and/or singing. A number of young people really developed in this area or were able to open up about personal and vulnerable subjects which showed they were using the opportunity to express themselves and felt safe in the space (see case studies below).

We have successfully created and developed an accessible offer for the young people in the area so anyone of any ability can be a part of the sessions. There are a number of young people who attend our studio sessions who have special educational needs. These young people have specifically shown strengths in developing beats and computer work, learning Logic Pro shortcuts and recording other people's vocals, along with trying out guitar and piano. When discussing the end survey with us they revealed their confidence was higher than before and they felt very confident in their new musical skills gained. Other areas of importance around us creating accessible workshops are moments where young people have commented on the fact they don’t get to have a computer at home, would love to play piano but they can’t have lessons and that they are really keen to try out the studio equipment which many of them have never used before. When asked in our surveys if the young people had access to recording/studio equipment elsewhere 88% said they did not. 

We have provided a space for talented local young people to enhance and develop their skills further by helping them learn new skills and discussing future plans with them. Some of the participants over the 3 months have become experienced in writing songs. We were able to support them by encouraging them to write using a theme and by recording their songs, supplying them with the recordings for use in online portfolios and outside accredited qualifications.

We have certainly nurtured more connection and positivity in our community through the music the young people have created together. When asked about new friends in the end survey 90% of young people said they’d made at least one friend from attending the workshops. We have also observed the club numbers growing over these 3 months and seen friendships and connections form. 

The Grove Park Youth Club staff have made positive comments on the progression of some of the young people and their overall communication and temperament improving. “S is so much more confident when he comes out the studio”. “I saw K’s mum the other day after she saw a video he’d made in the sessions and she said she was so please because he has a lot of energy so she’s glad he can channel it into making music at the youth club”

We were able to discuss topics including the intersection of race and gender in the experiences of black women during Black History Month and explore personal experiences of young black women. We were also able to discuss and theme concepts around sleep and dreaming and celebrating one's personal achievements. Here we were able to have insightful and interesting conversations where young people learnt from each other’s experiences and were able to have guided conversations then, using writing techniques, put their perspectives into music and lyrics.

Case Studies

B openly admitted to us that he suffered from anxiety when we first met him in his first session with us. He was visibly uncomfortable speaking with anyone other than his brother and friend. He really wanted to be in the studio and start writing music as he said it’s a dream of his to be a rapper but was overwhelmed by the presence of others and his anxiety. 

The next time we saw him, facilitators asked if he could have his own private slot with just one trusted friend, would this help. He agreed so we tried it. He became a little more settled this week. He was able to attempt writing a verse of his own rap about his life experiences and directed the facilitator as to how he’d like the beat to sound different. 

The following week he attended and was quick to sign himself up and brought along a friend with him. He seemed really keen and excited to hear how the beat had been developed following his feedback. He was really excited when he heard the improved beat then told us he’d been inspired to write something. After keeping his head down to write for 10 minutes he'd made an amazing start and decided to try recording what he’d written so far before the end of his session, something he’d struggled with in the past few sessions. Him and his friend left the session extremely excited saying they couldn’t wait to try more next week and agreeing to share and develop the lyrics with facilitators’ support. The following week B was able to almost finish his first full length rap recording.

This has made him visibly more confident in the space and in his own abilities and achievements. He’s witnessed his own progression and has warmed up to the environment. His confidence in himself and lyric skills have grown in just these few weeks giving him more confidence to attend sessions in the New Year and believe in himself.

S has a number of special educational needs and when he first began coming to sessions in 2021 to now he has been generally non verbal. Facilitators realised his strengths in visual learning on the computer by following instructions. It seemed S wasn’t generally that open to more creative tasks as he had very little confidence in his speech and reading level when we previously tried writing tasks with him.

Since we opened the smaller purpose built studio and implemented slots for solo sessions or small groups S has come out of his comfort zone and naturally progressed so much from September to December. It seems that having too many other people in the space may have been daunting for him to make himself vulnerable but exploring areas he was less confident in. He’s now opened up to explore lyric writing with support of facilitators and even recording his own vocals. This has been made possible with the creative use of ipads by creating a workflow which doesn’t rely so much on his ability to read his own lyrics but to repeat lyrics after a facilitator. This process has enabled S to create a song which he’s created fully from scratch - the beat, instrumentation and rap or vocal performance by himself on top.

He is clearly so proud of his achievements and seems to be very confident now in the studio environment. Others now refer to S as the youth club producer and he’s really made a name for himself out of his dedication. Since this huge leap he’s now so giggly and has become part of a friendship group at the youth club. He’s now very outgoing and confident and all of a sudden one of the biggest personalities at the youth club! He recently has shown he has the confidence to record his songs in front of others and share his work and doesn’t seem as concerned about his differences or other’s opinions.

Feedback from the young people involved

D, age 12 made the following comments in evaluation:

“I have written lyrics with a friend and created an entire song and beat myself. I’ve also got to play guitar and keyboard more than I do in school. After coming to the youth club a lot I feel I get on really well with Beats Lab staff. I feel proud of myself thinking about what I’ve achieved. I see progression from when I first started. I’ve learnt more guitar chords and practised vocals. I was also shy and now I feel more confident and would talk to staff about anything if I needed. They teach you things you don’t learn in school like songwriting and you can write about different topics.”

D, age 15 made the following comments in evaluation:

“I have learned more about music, making beats and programming drums on the computer and writing my own songs. I think the sessions have been pretty easy to get involved in. I’ve achieved creating my own beats and I've learnt about elements in a song like chords and a bassline. I now know how to create a beat myself which I didn’t before. I was also nervous to start coming but now I feel better and more confident when I come to sessions. Beats Lab sessions have inspired me to write more poetry in my own time on my phone and helped me learn about rhythm which is helping me in Cadets as I have just started playing snare drum there.”