Southampton Music Hub has four exciting — free — music opportunities to share with you as part of our Digital Native Artists (DNA) Programme!

1. Girls Make Music: Production Collective — a new, ten week, opportunity for girls aged 11–16 to explore music production, songwriting and live events

2. Music Production Collective — monthly music production group sessions providing space for collaboration between beatmakers, producers and songwriters aged 11-16

3. FLOW — Saturday rap group sessions for 11-16 year olds

4. Share and Shout About New Music — a chance for 13-25 year olds interested in music, social media, music journalism, blogging and live events to be part of a new team who will share new music and music opportunities with other young people

Girls Make Music is a new club for girls and young women to explore music production, recording, songwriting and organising live events: a safe space to share ideas and interests whilst building skills, confidence, and collaborating with other young creatives!

This opportunity will be running for ten weeks and those taking part will be able to help design the opportunities that come next.

Sessions are free and all abilities are welcome. Girls can try out a session or come along regularly!

Age group: 11-16 years.

Wednesdays at 4.30 - 6.00pm

Mast Mayflower Studios

For all young people aged 11-16 interested in music production, there is also a monthly music production collective, open to all.

On Saturday 2 October, children and their families got to take part in iPad music-making workshops with Southampton Music Hub as part of the Mayflower Studios’ ‘Festival of Loveliness’.

In the workshops, participants used Garageband to create electronic soundscapes inspired by movies and video games. Listen to some of the recordings below:

In 2021, Southampton Music Hub is launching the Digital Native Artists Programme: an exciting approach, which sees young people empowered to take control of shaping, and leading, the music-making they want to be part of.

The programme is being run by two new, Digital Music Engagement Workers — Sheldon and Gurmaan — young digital artists themselves, who have been recruited thanks to new funding from Arts Council England. They’re being supported by the hub’s wider team, including music service tutors and hub partner organisations, to inspire young people to explore new genres of music, and empower them to create their own musical futures.

The programme has kicked off this month with two new opportunities:

1. Online Production and Songwriting: giving young people access to online tools to create new music alongside mentoring support to develop their songwriting and production skills.

Places are limited for now — and invites to take part have already been sent out by virtual school, social workers and more, making sure the young people who often miss out, get the first shot — but anyone interested in taking part can register their interest right now.

Listen to “Why So Lonely” by one of our young songwriters:

2. TikTok Tutorials: quick and easy videos to get young people inspired and skilled up.

These videos are quick to watch, but share tips, tricks and inside secrets on the world of songwriting, music production and more. You can subscribe, or watch online, and leave suggestions for videos you’d like to see in the comments.

We Need You

We’re not stoping there. Coming soon are masterclasses, workshops and more. But, we want to hear from the young and aspiring producers, songwriters and artists out there, so that they can shape, and even lead, the music-making opportunities the project offers.

Find Out More About The DNA Programme

Today, Southampton Music Hub launches “Black Lives Matter: Songwriter Sessions” — a new ebook resource featuring performances and interviews with Sheldon Hamilton McKenzie and Sal Resco Chitulu.

Through their music, and in conversation, these two talented local artists share their music and their stories: helping us to better understand where their music comes from.

In a blog post titled “Developing self-efficacy and collaboration in iPad Bands: a reflection on the first twelve weeks of the Synthesis Project“ on the Youth Music Network, Matt Brombley, Synthesis Project Manager, writes:

In September 2018, Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Hubs launched the Synthesis Project: a Youth Music funded project to help young electronic musicians overcome the challenges they face in life by making music together in iPad clubs, bands and orchestras. In the first twelve weeks of the project, 20 participants have taken part in over 50 hours of electronic music-making.

The band sessions have seen a number of emerging themes — many of which have challenged the whole team to reconsider their preconceptions of what a music-making session can be —  but there are two key pairings of musical and personal development which have had a profound effect on both participants, and session leaders:

1. Self-expression and self-efficacy

2. Composition and collaboration

September and October saw the launch of two new iPad bands, kick starting the first stage of the Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Hub’s Synthesis Project.

Taking place at Vermont School and Oasis Academy Mayfield, the two new bands are made up of young electronic musicians, invited by their schools to be part of this exciting new opportunity.

The two iPad bands are part of three year project, which has been funded by a £100,000 grant from Youth Music, and match funded with £10,000 from Southampton City Council. Starting in October, new iPad bands will be starting on the Isle of Wight, and, over the next three years, they will be joined by new iPad clubs and orchestras across the region.

Matt Brombley, Projects and Partnerships Manager for Southampton and IOW Music Hubs, says:
”It’s only been a few weeks, but already the Synthesis bands are creating some incredible sounds. Chosen for their interest and passion for electronic music, the young musicians involved are already starting to learn new music-making skills, and pull together in to tight-knit teams. The whole team can’t wait to see, and share, what they create over the coming months.”

Hear a recording of one of the band jam sessions from week three of the project:

Participants in a music technology workshop collaborating on a piece of music together

Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Hubs are launching an exciting three-year project to help young electronic musicians to compose and perform music. Following a £100,000 grant from Youth Music, match funded by £10,000 from Southampton City Council, the Synthesis project launches in September 2018 with electronic music clubs, bands and orchestras across Southampton and the Isle of Wight.

Working with schools and partnership organisations from across both music hubs, the project will help children and young people, particularly those facing challenging circumstances in their lives, to make music using iPads and other music technology. By developing their musical talents, the young musicians taking part will also develop the vital confidence and teamwork skills that will help them face and overcome the challenges they may face in their lives.

The project will be supported by professional musicians, from across a wide range of genres and backgrounds, who will help create video and digital resources that explain and demystify the songwriting process: exploring how to make music that blends musical genres, mixes musical cultures and brings together diverse communities.

Matt Brombley, Project Manager at Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Hubs, says:
“Technology is all around us: even the smartphone in your pocket can open up exciting new worlds for making-music. It is easy to think of this technology as being anti-social — we’re all familiar with the image of people hunched over their smartphones, ignoring the world around them — but what makes this project so exciting, is that it will give young electronic musicians the chance to collaborate  in new clubs, bands and orchestras across the region, looking up and out from their screens, and to make and share music together. Inspired by world-class musicians, and supported by an amazing team of music leaders and teacher, these young musicians will not only learn new musical skills, but they will also develop the life-changing skills needed to work, and succeed, as part of a team.”

On Friday 6 October, year six pupils at Shirley Warren Primary School debuted the city's first ever iPad Concerto. Following a workshop in September with Southampton Music Hub, Són Orchestra and Ricky Tart, pupils spent their music lessons creating new musical ideas with iPads, instruments and their voices. In a final workshop ahead of their performance to 120 pupils and teachers at Shirley Warren Learning Campus, pupils worked with professional musicians to arrange their ideas in a final piece of music.

Asked what they thought about the project, year six told us:
"The best thing about taking part was hearing the different types of music, trying new sounds on the iPad and showing what we did to our school"
"It was hard because you could hear other people and they were playing different parts, but we worked as a team and got to hear how good it sounded all together. Playing with other people is much better than playing alone!"

Year six pupils taking part in a workshop ahead of the iPad Concerto debut performance

On Friday 8 September, year 6 pupils at Shirley Warren took part in their first iPad concerto workshop, where they were joined by members of the Són orchestra, spoken word artist and musician Ricky Tart, and Southampton Music Hub's Music Technology Leader, Matt Brombley. The afternoon started with all sixty pupils making music together, creating music with their instruments and voices. Then in group workshops, pupils made new musical ideas using their voices, iPads, and instruments. Over the next three weeks, Shirley Warren's Head of Music, Helen Mead, will help pupils develop and refine their ideas, which have been inspired by their class topic of World War Two, ready to bring everything together into a brand new piece of music in October. 

Matt Brombley, Music Technology Leader for Southampton Music Hub says:
"This is an exciting and ambitious new project, which is giving Shirley Warren pupils the chance to create music alongside incredible musicians, including Robin Browning, musical director of Són, and Ricky Tart. Thanks to the expertise of Helen Mead, we're able to pair inspirational workshops with work in the classroom, which we hope will boost pupils' ambitions and support deeper learning."

As the new school year starts, Southampton Music Hub is working in schools and across the community to deliver its ambitious programme of life-changing music for the year ahead. Through first access, instrumental and vocal tuition and city ensembles, every child has the opportunity to perform and progress. Through the Stadium Tour, every child will have access to inspiring and inclusive music experiences, with world class musicians touring around the city's schools. Everybody Sing will help everyone to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of singing . The Family Music Programme — including Family Singing and a new Family Rock Jam, along with the return of the Family Orchestra — will help all families share the life-changing power of making music together.