A brighter future with Brighter Sound
Sing City young musician Adam blogs about his singing and songwriting experience with Brighter Sound, how he has developed as an artist and what it’s like to be part of Manchester’s next generation of talented musicians.
Can I be an artist despite not being able to play an instrument? What is it like singing on stage and in a studio? Will any of my lyrics ever become fully developed songs? Is it worth bothering to try to become a singer? These were the sorts of questions running through my mind a few years ago. Since then, I’ve grown to understand myself as an artist and what I’m capable of.
My name is Adam, I’m 16 and a resident in North Manchester. Alongside going to college, I take part in many creative projects in my free time. This includes attending Brighter Sound’s Sing City – a weekly singing and songwriting session aimed at young people and coached by industry professionals. I first came across Brighter Sound two years ago on a Facebook post. Unlike typical adverts, it was actually promoting something I found interesting. I began by attending a half term songwriting residency in February 2014. At this point I was new to group work so I was very shy, but by the end of the project, not only had my songwriting skills grown on a huge scale, I had met lots of new people. I felt I could collaborate further with other young people if I continued to come along to Sing City every week, and that was most definitely the case. I’ve been influenced and inspired and now I can’t imagine a career without music and youth work.
My singing voice and songwriting skills have come a long way with the coaching and training from Sing City’s mentors – not to mention my sense of independence, maturity and responsibility as we work with industry professionals. When the mentors such as Yvonne, Liam and Sara compliment my material it is a massive confidence booster. They are especially good at giving us constructive criticism, and I find it drives me to make more progress.
Brighter Sound is a promising source of opportunity from a young person’s perspective because it provides a platform for us to branch out, share and learn. In my case, the trips facilitated by Brighter Sound included visits to Liverpool’s Parr Street Studios, London Roundhouse, RNCM, All FM Manchester, Bridgewater Hall and so many others. I especially loved the studio because I worked with a music studio producer who taught me a lot, and I got to work in the same space previously used by successful artists like Drake, Rihanna and Coldplay.
What could be better than being taught to play instruments, sing, write songs and perform… for free? I respect Brighter Sound’s commitment to their youth projects – I feel they efficiently put the funding money to good use. Undoubtedly, what makes me come back every week is Brighter Sound’s persistent high standards. I believe they’ve shaped and formed the next generation of Manchester’s talented musicians. I am proud to know our sound appeals to a variety of people, and this is most likely owing to both the diversity of the group, and our ability to connect and collaborate together.