Across the first part of this year, we’ve been back at SoundSkool in East London for the third year running. SoundSkool is a full-time, fully-funded music industry college for 16–19-year-olds interested in pursuing a career in the modern music industry. They specialise in music performance, production and business, with industry experience and visiting professionals, preparing young people for university, the creative sector, or freelance careers.
Our role has been to introduce students on music production courses to the world of live instrumentation, which they can incorporate into their digital toolkits. Digital music-making is becoming an increasingly important part of the music education landscape. Youth Music found in 2020 that one in five young men say they make music on a computer, but many young composers never get the chance to explore the possibilities of working with live musicians. Learning to take your ideas and translate them into a format that can then be interpreted by experienced players opens up a whole new world of creative opportunities. We are there to help empower budding SoundSkool producers to look to a wider pool of collaborators as they move along their musical lives and careers.
The project started with a launch performance and workshop with a band of NYJO Emerging Professionals featuring Eliana Veinberga on vocals, Joel Knee on trombone, Sophie Speed on saxophone, Julien Durand on guitar, Amelia Wilding on bass, and Nadav Schneerson on drums. Then NYJO Educator Sam Eastmond delivered a series of regular sessions with producers-in-training to work on their music and its horizons.
Sam focused on several aspects in his sessions. One was technological: producers told us they were most looking forward to “micing up instruments and recording the sounds” and “converting a MIDI beat into live instrumentals.” But producers also told us they were “looking forward to working with instrumentalists in the studio” and “learning about the relationship between the producer and the artist, how to communicate with the instrumentalist with the clarity to make sure the studio sessions go smoothly.” Empowering producers to expand their musical horizons involved working on a connected set of technical and interpersonal skills, building confidence in collaboration to further unlock their creativity.
The climax of the project came when three more NYJO Emerging Professionals visited with their instruments to act as ‘session musicians’ for four young producers. Harrison Perkins on saxophone, Cat Eden on trombone, and Toby Young on trumpet, all spent time in the SoundSkool studios being recorded on their instruments and mixed into the producers’ tunes. Here is some of what they came up with:
SoundSkool are one of several organisations that we are proud to partner with in our shared pursuit of accessible, inclusive, and forward-thinking music education. Get in touch with us at [email protected] if you want to discuss setting up another partnership!