My community music project is a series of songwriting workshops based in local secondary schools around Leeds, culminating in performance open to parents and the public.
Aims
The aims of this project will be to get young people more comfortable with expressing themselves through song and creativity. This will mean gaining independence making music on their own, and performing in front of others.
I feel a songwriting-based project like this is needed in schools because often music education focuses on classical and more “intellectual” music forms. While these are valuable, the truth is the majority of students explore music through more typical “songwriter” pathways like guitar and piano (Kratus, 2016). While most music curriculums do explore these instruments, it tends to be by covering other people’s songs. This is certainly helpful for students studying the harmony and lyrics of other people’s songs and what makes them good, but there is also an often unexplored value in encouraging students be to creative.
There is increasing evidence that songwriting can help students deal positively with and express emotions, which is essential in the worsening mental health we see amongst young people today. There is a cathartic element to putting feelings in a song, as well as feeling increasingly recognised and understood by those hearing songs (Digivate Team, 2025).
Often musical education doesn’t set students up well to make music on their own – the “classical” route tends to tie children into the stream of an instrument which they may not have access to at home, and often focuses on studying songs that they have no interest or personal connection to. This project aims to
Target group
The project is aimed at secondary-school (particularly 11-14) aged children around Leeds. In a large city like Leeds this is likely to involve children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and levels of musical experience. In south Leeds, for example, 45% of secondary schooled children are eligible for free school meals, indicating their families receive some from of benefits (Department for Education, 2024). Children from lower income backgrounds are less likely to have access to music because of the limiting costs of instruments and tuition, and as funding is reduced for music education within schools in favour of more “valuable” STEM subjects, secondary schools are much less likely to offer these kinds of musical pathways as part of their curriculum (Hallam et al., 2017).
Most young people are deeply connected to music. Youth Music found in 2024 that 71% of young people describe music as a big part of their identity and who they are, but also that fewer young people are describing themselves as musical, particularly those from the north of England. Under 17s particularly cited cost as a barrier to their music making, noting lessons and instrument costs were too much. This study also showed the rise of more traditional “songwriter” instruments such as the guitar and piano, and the decline of traditionally classical instruments. These figures show the deep need for a music project targeting songwriting in young people, particularly one that meets them where they’re at and is accessible to all.
Leeds already benefits from a variety of community music projects, notably Opera North’s In Harmony project which runs in schools across Leeds. However, this has a more instrumental focus aimed from a classical music perspective, which, while valuable, may not connect with all students in the same way as songwriting. There are a variety of projects run in the community, such as Cloth Cat’s workshops in Leeds Library this summer, but these require singing up and do not reach the same demographic as a project run in school.
The project would reach a wide range of students because it would be run as part of regular music/performing arts lessons in school. This would mean students who wouldn’t necessarily sign up for this would still be involved, helping them to potentially discover a love of songwriting and music that would have gone undiscovered otherwise (Riley, 2012).
Another aspect of targeting this demographic ties in with the aim of getting young people comfortable with expressing themselves. Ages 11-14 are very important developmentally and songwriting provides a great way of finding emotional release and stability.
The practice of songwriting also gives students a voice and helps them gain self-confidence. By the conclusion of the projects, students should be comfortable performing their own songs in front of their peers.
Outline
The project will take place over a period of 10 weeks in schools, in the place of students’ usual music lessons. The students would likely be 11-14, so this doesn’t interfere with their GCSE music lessons. I would work with different classes across several schools throughout the week, and alongside their current teacher. Sessions would take an hour each.
| Week | Teaching | Date (example) |
| 1 | Introduction to songwriting | 3/3/27 |
| 2 | Harmony | 10/3/27 |
| 3 | Structure | 17/3/27 |
| 4 | Lyrics | 24/3/27 |
| 5 | Melody | 31/3/27 |
| 6 | Arrangement | 7/4/27 |
| 7 | Feedback session #1 | 14/4/27 |
| 8 | Feedback session #2 | 21/4/27 |
| 9 | Performance tips | 28/4/27 |
| 10 | Performance | 5/5/27 |
Introduction to songwriting:
Start by playing pupils a classic, very well written song such as Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” to provoke discussion – ask them what they thought of it and what they noticed about the writing. Suggest points of discussion if none come up. Play another, more modern song such as Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” and ask what they notice and how they compare.
From here you can begin to discuss the various types of songwriting and how it can be important to express oneself and create something original.
Harmony:
Play the axis of awesome four chord song, begin to discuss chord names and numbers and start working practically in class on playing these four chords and writing around them. People will likely be familiar with the sound of the four chord song so this won’t be too hard. The challenge will be a range of musical abilities – for those who can’t play on a guitar/piano/ukulele introduce GarageBand on iPads and writing around simple loops and 16bar verse/chorus forms.
Structure:
Play several different songs with varying structures (verse-continuing, verse/chorus, pre-chorus, bridge) ask pupils what they noticed about how that affects the song and the narrative arc/emotional journey it takes the listener on. Work on writing choruses, emphasising the chorus as the highlight of the song and the bit that listeners will remember.
Lyrics:
Play songs with varying lyrical themes – a biographical country song, a love song and something more absurd. Discuss the different things that move people to write songs. Note different rhyme schemes and writing techniques such as metaphor, simile etc. Work on refining songs with students individually while their peers work, suggesting ways of integrating these techniques. Important to make sure students are writing songs and have an idea of lyrics/themes.
Melody:
Play songs with different melodic approaches, compare the melodies of Taylor Swift and Frank Ocean – these are likely to connect well with the target group. Discuss the different types of melodic shape and how they might tie in with words (eg. word painting), with examples. Spend the rest of the session working with students on their melody and lyrics and how they relate.
Arrangement:
Play a song and ask students to pay close attention to the parts they can hear and how they change over the course of the track. Discuss how this helps to retain interest and keeps listeners engaged, ask students what the effect on them personally was. For students working on GarageBand, note how adding extra parts to their song (such as bass, counter melodies, rhythm section) can maintain interest across the development of the track and can link with the journey of the song as expressed in the lyrics. For students working with chordal instruments, demonstrate how different techniques like arpeggiation, chordal rhythm, strumming pattern and even fingerpicking can vary the accompaniment of the track. Work with students at introducing this into their songs
Feedback sessions:
2 of these because it would take a while. By now songs should have several weeks of work on them, and using some of the techniques in all the areas taught before. Emphasise the workshops are a safe space to share songs and feelings, and that feedback should be something you’d be happy hearing about your song. If students are then comfortable sharing their songs with the class, they’ll show them to their peers, who will each say two things they liked relating to the points we introduced of harmony, melody, structure, etc. and one thing they might have done differently. This will keep the sessions positive and should keep the feedback helpful and specific. It’s so important to make sure that students feel they can share their songs, which might be a very vulnerable expression of themselves, without judgement or the possibility of being criticised. Some students may prefer to have others or myself perform their songs instead of them as they don’t feel comfortable enough in their own musical ability – make clear this is totally fine.
Performance tips:
This would be preparing students for the performance the next week – putting finishing touches to songs and discussing stage presence. Play examples of famous performances and how they serve the song, noting techniques like audience interaction and movement around the stage. Make sure all students are happy performing their songs the next week, if not offer to perform them for them. Encourage students to think about how they’ll introduce their songs and what the lyrical content of the tracks are to the audience.
Performance:
This would be in somewhere like the school hall; in a larger venue to add the impression of a true performance. The length of the performance would have to vary based on the length/number of songs students have to offer. If all 20 students have a 3 minute song to perform this will take significantly over the hour-long slot we allocate each week, and so we would look at doing a performance after school instead. The slot in school hours could then be used for more performance tips and preparation, putting finishing touches to songs. This would make it easier for parents to come along to see their children as well. However, realistically not all students will want to perform and songs will vary in length, so a performance in class to peers and parents who could come would also be an option.
Each student would introduce their own song, say a few words about why they wrote it what it’s about. They or myself would then perform it to the audience.
The format of studying a popular song, discussing what we see in it and introducing those as concepts will work well at engaging the target group of 11-14 year olds because they already listen to and enjoy music in daily life. The practical side of the workshops will ensure they feel able to write their songs independently but with me on hand to offer support and tips.
Business plan:
A key part of this project is the accessibility – I want all the children at the schools the project runs in to be able to make the most of this project. Particularly given that many children in Leeds are from low-income backgrounds, I’m aware that cost could be a preventative factor, and so want to be financially independent from schools. The project does assume, however, musical instruments being present in the school in some form and some level of capability on chordal instruments, which may limit it somewhat. However, schools likely to opt-in for this project would likely have a strong musical curriculum that they’d be willing to integrate this into.
I opted for applying to the Arts Council National Lottery project grant for a project under £30k because the project was eligible and their funding scheme is open year-round. The project has clear aims, dates and fills a need in the community for better songwriting education within schools. See appendix for the application budget.
Evaluation
I would evaluate the aims of this project using a form-based approach (see appendix) – this will be easy to pass along to the teacher who I would’ve been working with over the course of the project of them to do with their class. For a different perspective I would also ask them to complete a (different) form and see what change they’ve noticed in the way their students approach music and whether they’ve become more independent. This would be helpful in providing a perspective from someone who knows their students well and has some musical knowledge and can evaluate progress. Anonymous forms are great because they allow students to reflect objectively on the project without anyone knowing their specific opinion.
I suspect I’d get a wide range of response – some positive, some less so. The fact that students will have to attend as part of their usual schooling is always going to mean a range of engagement and the fact is some people are not interested in songwriting. What I’m really looking for are people who weren’t interested in music or songwriting at all who have become so because of the project, and as a result feel more comfortable expressing themselves, creating music independently and making music on their own. This would show the project had been successful in meeting its aims. The simple questions and 1-10 ranking system means it should be easy to get responses from students.
It’s important to check that the methods actually worked too – if no students performed or ended up using the iPads as a songwriting tool then that aspect would not be a success. I anticipate a good response to them though as they’re a great introduction to basic DAW skills and are generally a bit more exciting than “normal” instruments!
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Bibliography:
Department for Education (2024) Schools, pupils and their characteristics
Digivate Team (2025) The Benefits of Songwriting for Youth: Empowering Young Voices Through Music. Song Academy. 24 March. https://www.songacademy.co.uk/the-benefits-of-songwriting/ [Accessed 14 May 2026].
Hallam, S. & Burns, S. (2017) Progression in instrumental music making for learners from disadvantaged communities – a literature review, Opera North
Kratus, J. (2016) Songwriting: A New Direction for Secondary Music Education. Music Educators Journal. 102(3), 60–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/0027432115620660
Morrison, D.L. (2021) SONGWRITING: A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO MUSIC EDUCATION, Liberty University.
Music Teacher Rates of Pay | Music Teaching Pay & Hourly Rates (2026) Musicians’ Union. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/education-and-teaching/teaching-pay-and-employment/music-teaching-rates-of-pay [Accessed 14 May 2026].
Riley, P. (2012) Exploration of Student Development through Sonwriting. Visions of Research in Music Education. 22(1)
Youth Music (2023) A New Era of Music Therapy: Young People Rely on Lyrics to Aid Wellbeing | Youth Music. https://www.youthmusic.org.uk/news/new-era-music-therapy-young-people-rely-lyrics-aid-wellbeing [Accessed 14 May 2026].
Youth Music (2024) Sound of the Next Generation 2024, Youth Music
