For a while we’ve been thinking of ways to create a safe and creative space for our young music community. Many ideas were discussed before finally settling on our Youth Forum. In October 2021 we hosted our first event, and it was lovely for us to hear the thoughts and ideas of our young students as they all met online for the first time.

In our first forum we discussed what works, and what doesn’t for children learning music in schools here in Wales.  As we reflected on the comments of our students, it was clear that one of the most common problems was a lack of access to musical instruments in schools for children to play.  Our vision for 2022 is to offer every child the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument, so this was an ideal discussion for our first event.  At this point, we’re delighted to announce that as of next year, Guitar School will begin to donate a wide range of musical instruments to local schools for children to play in their break times.  This has been made possible from the kind support of our students' parents, Blackstar Amplification and Welsh multi-instrumentalist, Novo Amor, who have all donated generously to our campaign so far.      

As our youth forum grows we want our young students to be involved as much as possible. These events will always be free of charge, and our students, their families and friends will always be welcome.  We will hold creative monthly workshops to keep you all engaged and connected throughout the academic year.  

So onto our next event, our first creative workshop will be held on Monday November 22nd at 7:30pm and our topic will be ‘Collaboration’.  This will be a chance for our young students to develop their songwriting skills, as we work together to create some original songs in a series of creative online events.  In this workshop our students will learn - 

The basics of using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for your music production.

    How to install, set-up, and navigate your chosen DAW interface.

    How to record, add and import audio files into your DAW project.

    How to mix and export your files in your DAW.

    How to share your ideas with other members of our youth forum.

    How to collaborate with other musicians.

So if you’re a budding songwriter, or would love to learn how to begin creating your own music in the comfort of your own home, this is the place for you.  We look forward to welcoming you on Monday 22nd as we begin to work on our first project together.