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