Our Youth Workshops
We work with young people across London, providing both a musical foundation for young aspiring musicians from any background, and relevant & contemporary style of music education outside the classroom.
Our pop up studios facilitate music creation and help young people to express themselves through music. We coach participants through the process of making an original song from scratch including beat making, lyric writing, rap & vocals, basic sound engineering and recording.
Our services slot into youth club/after school schedules and enhance the confidence of the young people participating. With the creation of their own original songs, young people gain a sense of achievement.
Beats Lab sessions simultaneously give them more tools for expression & more ideas for dreaming big when considering future careers.
Several of our graduates have been inspired to create their own music following our workshops.
“When I first started attending Beats Lab sessions I was anxious & unsure of what to expect. The environment was cheerful & supportive and that really helped with my work. I now know more about how to use Logic and writing my own songs. I've also gained the opportunity to record in a studio which I never have before.”
Young person & Beats Lab participant
““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.””
Young person & Beats Lab participant
Case Study: B’s Story
B arrived at his first Beats Lab session in the summer of 2020, withdrawn and timid since isolating during the height of the pandemic. He was interested in songwriting and beat making but hadn’t had many opportunities to try creating himself and recording. He collaborated with other young people to create a beautiful and meaningful song as a response to George Floyd’s murder and the 2020 BLM protests. B’s contributions were poetic and well thought out yet considerate and collaborative with the other participants on the project.
At the beginning of the project, B was nervous to share ideas, interact with the group, and to record vocals using Logic Pro. By the end of the week long project he was chatty, relaxed and confident sharing, recording and even helping others!
B became such a key participant of our sessions across our youth group partner locations. He assisted us for work experience as he became older and grew more confident in music creation, helping other young people to realise their musical abilities.
B began encouraging his younger brother to come to Beats Lab sessions and they also started creating and releasing their own beats and songs as a result! They’ve helped to encourage other young people at their local youth club to get involved in sessions and contribute to collaborative songs by being so enthusiastic and supportive. We are so proud of their progress and that they continue to create incredible original music now too!
“BLACK & GORGEOUS”
An uplifting and thoughtful original song by Woodpecker Youth Club Summer 2020
Young people benefit by:
gaining tools for self expression through music – we inspire them to create music they love
writing their own authentic lyrics that reflect their life experience, covering topics which schools don’t explore sufficiently
releasing potential musical talents – many feel let down by school music which is not relevant to them. We take a fun based practical approach and explore genres they love (Drill, Trap, R&B, Hip Hop, Afrobeats, Dancehall and more). We don’t have to follow a syllabus!
gaining the opportunity to play instruments and be in a collaborative musical environment
gaining skills outside music, like confidence & self worth, team work & collaboration, perseverance & determination, a sense of achievement and that their contributions and voices are valued
having free access to sessions
having a safe space in their youth environment to create something meaningful for them