T-Hop

TrueStory 1

“Without music, life would be a mistake.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

Young People’s Music Project: I moved into a small village in Buckinghamshire, in 2006. The village has, like many other villages around the country, it’s fair share of young people that face many challenges living in rural areas.

On many occasions, as I would drive into the village, I would notice a small group of young people congregating outside the local CO-OP. One day I decided to approach the group of 12 young people (ages ranging from 13yrs to 20yrs) not knowing fully what to expect. To my surprise they listened to what I had to say, and in return, they told me what they would like to do, but through their frustration, they found achieving their desires was not feasible within the village, as the nearest youth centre was in the town, which was a logistical challenge in itself.

So what was it that they wanted to do and where…???

Music, music, music…..

The village did not have a provision for the young people to ‘entertain’ them, so, they would meet outside the CO-OP, buy cigarettes and alcohol and move to the park and congregate there, pull out their phones and ‘spit’ to instrumentals.

This group expressed their frustrations through their lyrics, this negativity needed to be turned into positivity, reflecting their challenges and frustrations. I put this forward to them and explained that people would much more listen to them if they delivered their experiences positively.

This opportunity brought to light how much talent one young person had in particular, in terms of writing lyrics and delivering them, her name was Kerry. Along with this young lady, was another young lady who was very impressive, vocally, and this was Jade. I was so amazed at their wasted talent, I set them a challenge and suggested that they write their own interpretation of Shakespeare. This did not go down too well, as none of them had ever read any of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Kerry suddenly expressed an interest and went away. She returned to my home, two days later with a scrumpled up piece of paper with her penned version of a Shakespeare's sonnet, put on an instrumental and sung to me 'Romeo and Juliet'. Her attempt was very good, apart from a small adjustment that needed to be addressed, once guided, she was away. This exercise not only identified the need to to be heard and empowering young people, but also, how powerful music is to breaking down barriers, harnassing learning and education.

After identifying their needs, I decided to approach the Extended Services Officer to use a small budget out of the current project we were delivering. To my joy, permission was granted, which allowed me to bring in a professional songwriter and music producer, to set up a music studio in the village hall and my garage.

The Outcome

The project helped the young people develop many life skills through writing their music. Their committment and social skills were evident from the outset. Their outlook on life changed for the better. They started respecting themselves and in realisation, became more focussed on their lives, in terms of, finding and keeping in employment, learning new skills, attending school and finishing courses. They resided to the fact, now, that were heard and supported, and everything is possible, it just needs direction. This outcome has been as a rewarding experience for us as the young people, we wish them all the success for the future.

Please enjoy the outcome of the music production sessions, click here

Thank you for reading my True Story, we aim to be able to support many young people, that are in so much need of being heard and understood. Please help us help more young people change their lives for the better.

What happened next..??

Kerry inspired the other young people, they all looked up to her. Her passion for music and her dream to record her MC’s had been realised. She was very thankful for the opportunity, and wants to help other children and young people to follow the same path. Watch this –

See how the project progressed….

Picture Gallery

True Story 1_Young People's Music Project-Photos

True Story 1_Young People's Music Project-Videos