Songs written on the Young Songwriter Course, Kilve, Somerset

Written by young people on our ' Young Songwriter' course at Kilve Court, Somerset.

Their first song is themed on Kilve Court and what it means to them, the activities you can take part in, describing the surroundings, including beautiful Kilve beach. Some very good singing/lyrics and a rap about the tutors!
All lyrics and music played in/recorded by the participants. We had live guitar parts and each person contributed to a part of the song.

Their second song was influenced by a story told to them by a long standing staff member at Kilve...
It is rumoured that a young lady of 18 had a baby at Kilve Court in the early 1600's, unfortunately a few months after the birth, the baby died. The mother was so distraught she wouldn't believe he was no longer with her, so refused to bury him. She wrapped him in swaddling bands and sat cradling him in a rocking chair.

There is a door on the first floor of Kilve with no handle, no way to get in. It is said her and the baby are in the room behind the door.
She can be heard late at night singing haunting lullabies to her baby, willing him to wake up...
The students had lots of fun coming up with their song based on this story, a chilling lullaby, tick tock of the clock and some eerie spoken word. Finished with a door slam.

Scroll down to listen to the song and a few photos of them in action...

ActuallyAmy Songwriting has KalliKids Accreditation!

We are now accredited on Kallikids!

Kallikids is a service that provides activities for children, recommended by parents.

Their aim is to:
- Get children engaging in a range of enjoyable activities to help them develop core life skills
- Provide reassurance to parents by only accrediting trusted and approved activity providers
- Help support local and small businesses within your local community

Parents can click through to our profile page here: http://www.kallikids.com/en/provider-detail.cfm/page/actuallyamy-songwriting
Book onto upcoming workshops and see updates of what we're doing in the coming months!

Watch out for the Kallikids tick of approval around the website:

Young Songwriter Residential Course at KIlve Court, Somerset.

ActuallyAmy Songwriting is running the 'Young Songwriter' Enrichment course at Kilve Court, Somerset, 14th-16th November.


Kilve Court is a Georgian Country House with modern extensions, situated in 40 acres of wooded grounds and gardens, at the foot of the Quantock Hills and one mile from the sea.
Purchased by Somerset County Council in 1962 as a Youth Centre, Kilve has been developed over the years as a Residential Education Centre.
Kilve Court’s position between the hills and the coast provides excellent opportunities for a vast range of outdoor and academic activities.
Bedroom areas are fitted with electronic keypads to provide restricted access.
Accommodation for up to 90 in rooms comprising 2, 3, 4, 6, or 7 beds. Showers and toilets are organised for each group of bedrooms.
Three main meals per day cooked onsite by our fabulous cooks.

Whether a first night away from home as a seasoned Kilvite, each visit to any one of our Centres will challenge and embrace your uniqueness.

The cost of the course is £144 per child which includes accommodation, meals, tuition, materials and equipment, and covers the period from 5.30pm Friday until Sunday afternoon. The course is structured to give a demanding and intensive period of study and is designed for children who have an enquiring mind, thrive on learning, enjoy creativity, welcome an academic challenge and wish to widen their horizons beyond that of the National Curriculum.

About the Young Songwriter Course....

Write and record a song in a weekend! 

Participants will decide on a theme to write about, write and record lyrics in groups, compose melody lines and make choices on the backing music for their song. As a group they decide with how they would like their song to sound, what kind of instruments to have and whether they would like to record themselves singing, rapping or speaking their lyrics. There may be time to record more that one song over the course of the weekend.
Children will be able to design CD artwork, a poster and tickets for their performance to parents on Sunday afternoon. Song(s) will also be available to download for free from iTunes or the Soundcloud website!
For young people aged 11 12 and 13, this course is a great way to meet new friends, participate in a fun, educational activity and create something unique to you...

To book, please fill in the application form on the website http://www.kilvecourt.co.uk/course/young-songwriter/

Look forward to seeing you there!

Towcester Holiday Club 2014 end product

The young people from Towcester Holiday Club wrote their song on the story of Joseph from the Bible. In their lyrics they describe how God gave Joseph the gift of interpreting dreams, the accusations on Joseph, him being thrown into jail, and how the brothers met Joseph in Egypt years after they sold him as a slave.

Acapella recordings

My lovely friend Victoria recently recorded some well known songs completely a cappella. They were for her nan who has Cochlear 'ear kiss' syndrome, a rare occurrence that means she has problems hearing musical backing to songs, and often causes pain. 
Here are links to two of the seven we recorded, the first 'Can't Help Falling in Love' originally by the great Elvis Presley and the second ' You are my Sunshine' written by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell.

https://soundcloud.com/actuallyamy/cant-help-falling-in-love-victoria-leonard

https://soundcloud.com/actuallyamy/you-are-my-sunshine-victoria-leonard

Singing, Songwriting and Stage - the end result.

Supported by the South Northants Council SPLAT programme, the young people that came along to our Singing, Songwriting and Stage course worked really hard writing two songs to consolidate our theme of a 'healthy planet'. All music and lyrics are written by the young people.
Lucie Diedhiou and I worked closely with the participants, Lucie coaching vocals to ensure they got the best out of their voices.
Lucie also worked on singing technique, we used Michael Jackson's Earth Song which they sang live in the performance to parents.

Michelle from Across the Boards Theatre helped the young people to come up with a drama piece exploring issues around saving water. She then taught them how to make their own puppets from recyclable materials. They compiled a drama on pollution using these.

The first song was written on 'saving water':



The second song was looking into 'pollution':

The Chronicle and Echo has covered our Brownie Birthday Song!!

Woohoo!! Check out the article in the Chron and Echo covering our Brownie Birthday Song!

Here's the link to hear it: http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/community/members-of-1st-greens-norton-brownies-join-in-100th-anniversary-celebrations-1-6202040

Girls at 1st Greens Norton Brownies have been joining in the celebrations for the national organisation’s 100th anniversary.

The Brownies took part in a range of different activities including recording their own song.

Across the Country, Brownies everywhere have been taking part in many different activities to mark the occasion. The Big Brownie Birthday celebrations have given exciting opportunities and events to nearly a quarter of a million Brownies in the UK.

1st Greens Norton Brownies, have taken part in a Starquest Event at Silverstone circuit, which took the girls on a journey through past, present and future zones. A party at Towcester Racecourse, where over 1200 Brownies from across the County joined together to take part in many varied activities including bouncy castles, spinning teacups, samba, rollercoasters and drumming. Followed by a sleepover at Towcester Leisure Centre. A big thank you must be said to the leaders and organisers who have helped give the Brownies all over Northamptonshire an unforgettable year.

To mark this milestone celebration, the girls from 1st Greens Norton Brownies were lucky enough to work with ActuallyAmy Songwriting, which is run by Amy Clayton.

Amy is a talented local young singer/songwriter who came along to help the girls put together their very own birthday song helping them form the verses and chorus, along with the musical arrangement for the backing track. They had a fantastic time recording and all sang beautifully.

Amy said: “Greens Norton Brownies were full of energy and enthusiasm in writing their song, coming up with some great lyrics and melody lines. Such a pleasure to work with!”.

Cheri O’Dell, who runs Greens Norton Brownies added: “All of the girls had a wonderful time – and what talent they have! They made us very proud when they sang their song to the rest of the District at the Towcester Racecourse event. It has been a great end to our 100th year celebrations and a brilliant experience for the girls.”

You can download the track from https://soundcloud.com/actuallyamy/100th-brownie-birthday-greens-norton-brownies

For more information regarding Brownies, visit www.girlguiding.org.uk/brownies

Relocating to London

It's official.. I'm moving to London for September! I've had an incredible journey over the last few years, met some amazing people that I will continue to stay in touch with and had the chance to grow my business to where I want it to be. 

I have a new job as a freelance workshop leader with Nathan Timothy Foundation - 'The Songwriting Charity' headed up by Nathan who is my mentor for the songwriting work I have been doing under Actually Amy.

ActuallyAmy Songwriting and Tuition will be coming with me so I will build that up as I go, getting into the after school market with songwriting workshops.

Having been to uni near London I have always had a lot of love for the city, but now I feel it's the right time to go for it and see what the Big Smoke has to offer...
It's time for change... The bright lights are calling!!

"Singing, Songwriting and Stage" Performing Arts Course for 8-14 year olds

In association with South Northants Council, we have our 'Singing, Songwriting and Stage' course this August at Roade Village Hall. Running for 5 days from the 4th-8th, ActuallyAmy Songwriting will be there each day to coach and guide the young people through the songwriting process. Alongside vocal expertise from Lucie Diedhiou and drama with Michelle from Across the Boards Theatre. 

It's a highly creative, fun week for your 8-14 year olds!The aim of the week is to promote individual development in young people, inspiring and encouraging each other to bring out creativity as a group.

Lucie will be working on voice projection, tone and blending, using fun warm up songs and a variety of different song styles to help each small group work together in a team.
Lucie and Amy will then work alongside each other, Amy will record groups that have already worked with Lucie to finish and complete their original songs. The key ethos of ActuallyAmy Songwriting is to promote well being and ensure every young person feels good about themselves. With some cool vocal effects and funky sounds, Amy will help the young people create their own songs from scratch.

Across the Boards Theatre’s Michelle Henry-Moore will be leading the drama strand where the children will partake in energetic teambuilding games, storytelling, role-play, improvisation and puppetry making.
This is not your typical holiday course where children are being trained to become outstanding performers, but instead is a programme which encourages creative thinking and utilises the group’s ideas and opinions, shaping these to become our finished product.

Contact Sue by phone: 01327 322334 or email: sue.carverhill@southnorthants.gov.uk to book your child's place!

100th Brownie Birthday - Greens Norton Brownies Song!

Greens Norton Brownies wrote their song to commemorate the 100th anniversary this year. Milestone!



And check out their CD artwork to go with it....

'No Matter What' - Song written at our Roade workshop

The young people in our workshop wrote their song on the topic of friendship, encouraging people, being kind and the some powerful lyrics on mental health issues. 
Guitar and Cajon parts played in by the participants.

Half term songwriting workshop - May 27th-28th Roade Village Hall

We're running a songwriting worksop at Roade Village Hall - 27^th and 28^th May 9.30am - 3.30pm. Young people aged 8-16 – come along and unleash your creative side!

    

Write and record your own song

     

     Learn about different instruments

     

     Express yourself through music

     We will have a keyboard, guitar, bass guitar and electric drum kit to demonstrate, there

     will be lots of opportunities for the participants to have a go on each instrument.

     Songs are available to download from iTunes and the Soundcloud website for free, to share with friends and family.

     The cost is £40 for for the two day course, bring a packed lunch! Contact Amy on

     07919525893 or info@actuallyamy.co.uk to book!

      

       ActuallyAmy Songwriting – ‘Motivating empowering and inspiring through song’

How does music help children with special educational needs?

Music is universal and should be made accessible to every child, regardless of disability. Children with special needs find it hard to communicate and relate to others, so learning an instrument or being encouraged to sing gives them an alternative way to connect with others. For instance, ‘improvising’ or making up tunes with another person on a piano is similar to the back and forth nature of social interaction.

Singing promotes learning in children. It improves their sense of rhythm, motivates and empowers them and provides comfort. Repetition and familiarity are strong latches for children, and especially for children with learning disabilities because they find it harder to undertake every day tasks.   

For instance, an autistic child will find it hard to communicate or relate to other people on a day-to-day basis. Learning an instrument can give them a focus, a creative outlet and a way to express themselves.  It may also give them something in common with someone that they are finding it difficult to relate to.

Getting to know nursery rhymes and lullabies from a very early age are important. It gives children with special needs a sense of belonging and well being. This can help them participate in a class with other children and can prevent them from feeling alienated.

Each time a child finishes a creative project; it gives a strong sense of achievement, taking pride in their new skill by playing or singing to family and friends. For a child with special needs, the therapeutic benefits are much more prominent. Music therapy is a popular way of breaking down boundaries and overcoming difficulties for children with special needs; it helps to improve speech, cognitive development and communication. For example, it develops the creative right side of the brain, which can contribute to a child’s ability to develop creatively in other areas of their life.

As seen above, there are many benefits to learning through music. Ultimately, music is a positive influence for children; it encourages a sense of fun and can be an enjoyable way to for a child to develop personally and socially.

'Big Brownie Birthday' Songwriting workshop with Greens Norton Brownies

Did you know it's the 100th anniversary of the Brownies this year?
We have booked in a songwriting workshop with Greens Norton Brownies to take place in June.
The 'Big Brownie Birthday' started in January this year, with lots of activities to celebrate the massive milestone including a Challenge badge, a 'Euro Hop' to France or an extra special Brownie Camp.

The 'Big Brownie Birthday' gives their young people a great theme to write a song about!
To go with their song, they will be designing their own Big Brownie Birthday artwork to go in their CD case.
Looking forward to working with their young people. Song and pictures to follow!

"Light" by April Creative

The second day of our April Creative workshop today and we moved smoothly into the theme of 'light'.

Lovely work with some vocal harmony and some great rapping.

'Colours' by April Creative

The young people in our April Creative workshop wrote their song on the theme of colour. Exploring textures, where colours are found, and the three primary colours.

Download and listen on iTunes and Soundcloud. Here's how...

How to download your song:

If you have iTunes installed	If you use another system
·      Go to apple.com/itunes and click 'download itunes'. ·      Click iTunes store ·      Type in ''Actually Amy Songwriting” to the search bar ·      Your track will then come up, find your song and click the 'free' button on the right ·      Now you are able to put your track on your ipod/mp3 player	·      you can download your song from Soundcloud: ·      Go to soundcloud.com/actuallyamy ·      Find your song and click the download button

Don't forget to tell friends and family about your track for them to download and share!

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