Songwriting Programs for Young Artists | Real Story from Amplify

Hi,

I want to tell you about Jazara, a student who started in one of our songwriting programs for young artists without ever picking up a guitar.

When she was 10 years old, Jazara came into our daily after-school program. Like so many other kids, she had never played (or even picked up) a guitar and never written a song. She was just a kid who showed up. Then, Jazara went through Amplify’s summer camp. After that, she was part of a Syryn Records internship, where every Monday night, women from the music industry come in and mentor girls interested in music. That cohort included CHVRCHES Lauren Mayberry and Garbage’s Shirley Manson. After that was the Elle King show at the Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara. Jazara was part of a group of teens who opened and sang original songs. I still think about it and smile.

Today, Jazara is in her early twenties. She is now music through and through. Songwriter, producer, and working with many other artists. Oh, and check out Spotify where she has over 300,000 monthly listeners, with one of those songs sitting at more than a million plays. And just as another reminder, she started here not knowing how to play guitar.

** Most people don’t know this part ————————————————————

When people think about Amplify, they think about our summer camp. That’s the two weeks, bands, performances, a great experience. All true. That is what happens here, and it’s wonderful. But there’s a whole world beyond camp that most families never hear about. Syryn Records is our record label and internship program. It’s for high school and college-aged girls. About 70 go through it each year. It’s funded by the CMA Foundation. Real industry professionals mentor these kids every week. They’re doing real work with people who do this for a living.

Beyond Syryn, we run year-round programming. A spring retreat. Informal internships with the nonprofit itself. And this June, we’re launching something new: 20 girls in a professional recording studio in LA, writing original songs with pro female songwriters and producers, recording an EP, and filming a documentary of the whole process. It’s free for the kids who get in.

** Why I’m telling you this ————————————————————

Not every kid who comes to Amplify is going to become a professional musician. That’s not in any way the point. The point is that when a girl walks through our doors for the first time, there’s more ahead of her than she knows. Camp might be the beginning. But the music doesn’t end when the couple of weeks are over. There are many other places to take this. Most camps max out at “you can come back as a counselor someday,” and that’s a totally fine thing. But we can say something most places can’t: if you stick with this, there are real opportunities waiting for you. Not hypothetical ones. Just ask Jazara.

Warmthness, Jen Baron

She/Hers

Executive Director Amplify Arts Project (Formerly Girls Rock)

(805) 699-5247

PS – Want to talk about what it would mean for your child to join a band? I love talking about camp. Grab a time that works for you here: Book a call (https://tidycal.com/m8n2zw8/personalized-family-call)