THE PROGRAM In the fall of 2020 Notes for Notes® partnered with Guilford County Schools to provide an innovative, digital music education program. 6th, 7th & 8th graders from all over the county participated in twice weekly modern music sessions with N4N Producers, who met the students where they were, both musically and socio-emotionally, which meant adapting to their needs and allowing them to create off camera if that supported their digital learning experience. The students explored genres from pop and rock to hip hop , country and everywhere in between. The program was the first of its kind for N4N and GCS. Students who had never recorded before collaborated and created original music with their peers and the help of their digital producers which resulted not only in a stellar album, but a belief that music communicates emotion.
70% FIRST TIME MUSIC CREATORS
BELIEVE MUSIC COMMUNICATES EMOTION
80% BELIEVE THEY ARE INNOVATIVE & CREATIVE
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82%
THE TOMS
DOM, TJ, OLIVIA & MORGAN
“I learned that behind the music there is a message… and how to use Soundtrap. It’s the most fun thing I can do in a class! I love it!”
WAKE UP
Olivia 6th Grade “(Olivia & Morgan) quickly named our class their favorite of all their online courses. As they learned about and discovered different music genres, our students discovered a lot about themselves, creating not one but THREE original songs!”
TJ Producer
KAIJU
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OVERRULE
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6th Grade
THE SOUNDS
TIM, RUSSELL, NIVED, JACOB, AJANAE & TYANNIAH
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Nived
NEVER TURNING BACK
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“Even with a more reserved group, I was blown away by our final session of the semester and all of the poignant takeaways of our youth. We spent a lot of time forming a solid background around genre and song arrangement. This made it so that, come creation time, the youth had a very clear vision of their sonic palette and how/when to use different instrument sounds. I would have liked to have gotten into the creation stage a little earlier, with more “lab” type lessons integrated into the initial theory but I think we were able to find a good balance. “ Producer
“I learned how to make a song, about back beats and artlists like Led Zeppelin. “ Ajanae 7th Grade
THE BEATS
ALEX, SIERRA & LAURA
REFLECTION
Laura 7th Grade
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“I learned about song structure, piano, chords, melodies and that the chorus of a song is the story which is what people usually hang onto!”
“Not only was Laura engaging regularly within sessions, but we would get notifications of new project invitations on Soundtrap. She began teaching herself the melodies to some of her favorite songs.”
Sierra
Producer
THE GROOVES
DAVID, GERARDO, KYA & SHAILEN
Shailen 7th Grade
KYA & SHAILENS SONG
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“I have learned that you can make anything and make it sound like the best thing you have ever heard, all you have to do is work hard to achieve your goal.”
“Kya and Shailen have been great students this semester. Shailen is interested in dance in production, while Kya is an athlete. (Kya) successfully immerses herself in the engineering process.”
David Producer
THE HARMONIES JEN, JORDAN & KALEI
Kalei 8th Grade
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“I learned how to make beats and that I could make music from anywhere.”
BETWEEN US
“Kalei shows creativity by troubleshooting background noise and adjusting the EQ. This experience is helping her grow communication skills.”
Jen Producer
THE MELODIES JEN, JORDAN, JAYEL, ELIJAH, & LILY
GODS COUNTRY
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“Lily went from singing the exact prewritten melody to improvising on her own in key which shows confidence and creativity. I like this because you can tell she’s happy about the praise when she exhales on camera. This tells me she took a risk which has been reinforced as acceptable. I’ve learned she is not a natural risk taker, so it’s neat to see her step out of her comfort zone.”
Jen Producer “I learned that behind the music there is a message… and how to use Soundtrap. It’s the most fun thing I can do in a class! I love it!”
Olivia 6th Grade
THE RHYMES
MAX, RAY, LANDON, MARCUS, ARIANNA, NAHEEM, NAOMI & CARLY
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Max
MY NUGGETS
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“They quickly realized that the understanding of music was in them the whole tim, and more and more they were able to pick out keys from guitars and bridges from pre-choruses.” Producer
“I have learned how to show certain emotions and feelings through my music.”
Naomi 7th Grade
THE EQUALIZERS RYAN, KRIS, TA’SHON, NYKEEM & GABRIEL
Kris
EQUALIZER BEAT
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“Once we started creating in Soundtrap, our style became clearer. We probably created 3 or 4 different beats, and the last one we created ended up being the perfect vibe. Our students helped come up with an instrumental beat and a whole theme to go off of when the songwriting starts. We’ve made amazing progress!” Producer
In a group chat session: “Me and my mom say Happy Holidays! We’re going to miss you both.”
Nykeem 7th Grade
THE BASSES
MICHAEL, JASME, AMARIAH, ALEXIS, SONJA, JAHKAYLAIH & LEELA
Amariah 7th Grade
I DONT KNOW
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“There is more than just sounds and words (to music), there really are meanings behind songs… music is usually written when you’re feeling a type of way.”
“There is nothing more satisfying than having a youth be genuinely excited about music! My favorite is the moment they realize how music Is one big puzzle that somehow fits together.”
Michael Producer
THE KEYS & THE SNARES
CAM, PETE, MIMI, WILL, RACHEL, RILEY, EMILY & ARIANNA
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Cam Producer
ENDLESSLY
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“The youth did well under the pressure of creating a song from scratch. This was the first song any of these youth have ever created, and I believe they did their best.”
“I learned that if you really want something you should go for it.”
Emily 6th Grade
THE TONES
SAMARIO, JARRAD & DESTINY
CLOSURE
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“Jarrad and I initially told Destiny that since she was the only youth, we didn’t want her to feel pressured into the spotlight; but she rose to the occasion. She told us that she was a church singer herself so she was nev-er shy when it came to performances.”
Samario Producer
“I learned how to write lyrics, make it rhyme and make sense and match the lyrics to the beat.”
Destiny 8th Grade