Amy’s Yard; supporting young people to become self sustaining music artists.
A young persons perspective…
Amy’s Yard aims to develop the skills of talented young people who have a keen interest in music but don’t have many opportunities due to varied disadvantages.
Having taken part in the programme myself I can happily say that it has and continues to be a huge help to young people. It has given me the necessary knowledge to develop as a musician whilst also helping me to grow as a person through an incredibly enjoyable and life changing experience.
When first starting out on the course I was filled with excitement and although this was masked by my nervousness and fear of not fitting in, it soon subsided as the atmosphere amongst the group was extremely relaxed and I was quickly able to be myself and engage with other members of the group who also had their own worries. This certainly helped build my confidence and my ability to get involved in the interesting discussions and activities offered.
Attending the individual studio sessions gave us the chance to create music in a safe comfortable environment and for me it was a great way to develop my songwriting and improve on my vocals with the help of constructive feedback.
The master classes were also extremely beneficial as each one was led by experienced professionals who gave us information on aspects of the music industry giving us a deeper insight and with some sessions focusing on performance, which supported us to improve our work.
A session that I found particularly helpful was vocal coaching with Klara Kjellen. On this day we each chose a song to rehearse in order to look at vocal techniques and improve on our voices with feedback from the whole group. At first I found the idea daunting but with the support of others I continued to take part and felt a great sense of achievement afterwards.
Overall the experience has been wonderful and has enabled each of us to achieve many significant things such as performing for the first time and overcoming social and personal difficulties.
Looking back from the start of the course to now I feel as though I have come extremely far and feel very proud of what I have achieved, as do the other members of the group. This would have not been possible without the foundation and the positive impact that it has had on our lives is clear!
I will definitely continue to use the skills I have learned and I will remain grateful for the day that I was accepted onto the course.
Shakira Alleyne
