Statements
Mission
The mission of Notes for Notes® (N4N) is to provide youth with free access to musical instruments, instruction, and recording studio environments so that music can become a profoundly positive influence in their lives. N4N is a national youth development organization that partners with Boys & Girls Clubs, after-school community centers, and public schools to provide youth ages 5 - 18 with access to full recording studios. The studios are packed with guitars, keyboards/ synths, drums, DJ gear, digital music workstations, and full recording facilities. Youth are invited to participate in daily lessons and unique workshops which provide them with opportunities to create and explore music while developing cross-curricular and social-emotional skills. Currently, N4N has 24 studios in 13 states nationwide.
N4N is committed to consistently developing new methods of reaching youth and providing music education that meets youth where they are in their individual musical journey. New programming options have been developed and are currently in the works as N4N forges into the future with optimism and adaptability. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, N4N developed a new arm of the org, N4N Digital which allows N4N Producers and youth to continue making music remotely regardless of their ability to reach an N4N Studio. N4N Digital has scaled to offer public education opportunities and currently teaches remotely "inside" a public charter school in Pittsburgh, PA with N4N Producers educating and producing a record with youth over the course of a semester. And this fall, N4N will open our first studio inside a public High School, Penn Griffin School for the Arts in High Point, NC (John Coltrane's alma mater).
Background
N4N was founded in Santa Barbara, California in 2006 as an answer to the lack of contemporary musical equipment and programs in public schools, providing music and production instruction that procures both social-emotional and creative growth in youth ages 5 to 18 from various racial, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. N4N was inspired by the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, and what began as a Big Brother taking his Little Brother to try out a drum kit for the very first time, sparked a big realization for N4N co-founder and CEO, Phil Gilley. There was an essential piece missing to the music education puzzle: access.
Today, N4N provides access to high quality, modern music making environments, but more importantly, access to positive and encouraging relationships to over 4,100 youth thus far in 2022 nationwide. In 24 studios across 13 states there are fully equipped, professional level, recording studios packed with guitars, keyboards/synths, drums, DJ gear, and digital music workstations where any youth can experience contemporary music for free, at their own pace, in their own learning style, under the direction of a talented program director. N4N programming provides a scaffolded approach to instruction and learning within the studios focused on the four core pillars of Confidence, Creativity, Compassion and Community. By providing customizable options, N4N is able to serve youth at all levels of ability and interest totally free of charge.
Learning to express oneself with control and authenticity is the cornerstone of emotional intelligence. By providing youth the freedom to explore themselves through music, N4N is offering the opportunity for members to hear that their ideas and opinions matter, often for the first time. In order for people to find their voice they have to believe it matters first. N4N sees the creator in us all and delicately guides each youth to embrace that nature, advocating equality through the arts by providing the space and tools for youth to flourish, helping them build confidence in themselves, compassion toward others, and fostering a sense of community through music.
Impact
Spring 2019 marked the rollout of N4N's first national curriculum titled A&R, created in response to its 2018 impact study which focused on frequency and effectiveness of programs offered. In the music industry the A&R department, which stands for Artist & Repertoire, is responsible for overseeing artistic development as musicians and songwriters create and develop their music. A&R Programming, which is N4N musical and social emotional curriculum, provides customizable and differentiated instruction to members of all ages. Through A&R Music Discovery, members get to know all that the Studio has to offer at their own pace, while A&R Recordings focuses on a members' growth as they reflect upon the professional quality songs they have recorded on their journey as members of the Nashville Studios. Participants of initial interviews shared that 89% believe their music communicates emotion regardless of how long they've been a member. As the program continues definable growth in each pillar will be demonstrated through members' self-reflective achievements.
N4N's model and its strengths have been explored and documented through a comprehensive qualitative study. Published in 2019 by the Journal of Community Psychology, the study focuses on the impact of N4N Programming on engaged alumni. When asked about future involvement with N4N, many alumni reflected on how they hope to "pay it forward" to future generations of youth through mentorship, and volunteering. For example, one alumni reflected: "I want to get involved with helping more people… I'm ready for it more now than ever because I finally grew into a young man, and I'm handling my stuff on my own and taking everything that [N4N] taught me, and it's getting me somewhere."
Locally, N4N successfully operates three Nashville studios in collaboration with the Boys & Girls Clubs (BGC) of Middle Tennessee at their Andrew Jackson, Preston Taylor, and Cleveland Park Clubhouses. Summer of 2020 marked N4N's fourth year of participation in Opportunity Now, presented by Mayor Briley's office. Youth from the Nashville community worked in complimentary teams of artists, producers, instrumentalists and songwriters as well as participated in a culminating EP and performance. Nashville is host to a Soundboard for N4N, providing insight and support from members and advocates from the local community. Our goal is to develop Soundboards nationwide in each of the cities in which studios operate. Local members participate in a Member Soundboard, which is a national initiative that brings organizational influencers together to work on projects and incite change.
In Fall 2020, N4N became the officially contracted distance learning music education program for the Guilford County School District in Greensboro, NC. N4N will be embarking on an in-school partnership model in 2021 in Greensboro, NC with two in-school studios for in-school, after school and summer music education in order to serve more youth and maximize the use of the studio spaces. In Nashville N4N is currently focusing on partnerships with local middle and high schools in order to increase participation in daily programming throughout the year as well as in special Summer programming. Whether it be building studios inside public schools or creating partnerships with schools local to our studios, we are aiming to build the crucial bridge in our communities between classroom teachers and our Program Directors. In each market we serve we will continue to forge bonds with other youth-serving organizations and communities local to each studio to better respond to our members' needs and interests.
Needs
A young person's positive and engaging experience in the N4N Studio is made possible by our highly qualified and trained staff. N4N's unique approach to music education allows each youth to take their own journey within the Studio as an artistically talented Program Director serves as their guide. To thrive, each must receive competitive salaries as well as continual education, teaching tools, and professional development opportunities.
Nashville is the city that established N4N as a national organization and continues to be the organization's model city for developing the programming and infrastructure which informs its initiatives and direction. Core to N4N's success is sustainability at $356,692 annually for Nashville Programming, Impact Study/ Curriculum Enhancement for deeper evaluation of behavioral impact, Volunteer recruitment to enhance participation numbers and deepen the quality of our member's experience, Music Industry awareness for artist and music professional engagement to strengthen our mission while raising funds and awareness, and Staff Recruitment and Retainment via increased salary and benefits to compete for top talent.
CEO Statement
Not every youth gravitates towards the traditional instruments offered in a school, if a school is even lucky enough to have a music program, nor does a school typically have a recording studio. The desire to create the music they are listening to is their #1 motivation for exploring the art form. It is crucial to identify what will ignite a young person's passion then provide them with the tools, support, and freedom to explore it deeper. Through the doors of a N4N Studio is everything and everyone a youth will need to become inspired about making music. They will discover their innate ability to be creative as well as an appreciation of many genres, artists and methods to making music that come from a curiosity to keep learning once you've been hooked. No youth should be denied the opportunity to explore their potential. The Studios are equipped with the best, empowering youth to be their best. Regardless of what they do or don't have, the Studio reminds youth they are worth every opportunity they pursue. The Studio brings together youth of different backgrounds who would otherwise never interact but do so because they share an affinity for music and a desire to create something new.
In the Studio, the resources and opportunities at their fingertips are more than a potential path but a catalyst to building Confidence, Creativity, Compassion and Community no matter what career they pursue. Not every young person learns the same way. There will always be those youth who struggle to follow the path set forth for them in school. They are the ones who need the support, resources, and freedom to pursue another way of accomplishing the goal. N4N staff are adept at identifying how and when to help a young person along their path of learning. Some days it isn't about what you learn as much as it is about having the ear of someone you trust to talk to about what's on your mind. N4N does not censor lyrics. While there are boundaries around what songs are released, when youth are on the microphone it is a safe space to work out the thoughts and feelings they struggle to communicate outside of song. It creates an opportunity for our team to educate youth on the power of their words and their identity musically and personally. Learning to express oneself with control and authenticity is the cornerstone of emotional intelligence. Giving youth the freedom to explore themselves through music may be the first time they've ever heard that their ideas and opinions matter. In order to find their voice they have to believe it matters first.
Board Chair Statement
As an organization led by the creativity and hard work of its Founders and excellent staff, N4N has grown with the support and experienced oversight of a strong Board of Directors drawing from diverse backgrounds across industry, finance, legal, media and the non-profit sector. Combined with an impressive Advisory Board full of music and entertainment industry veterans, high-profile recording artists and other luminaries, timely introductions and crucial strategic direction at key stages in N4N's development have contributed to a dynamic and rapidly growing nationwide organization. With N4N's scale, the board continues its outreach for potential new members who reflect the communities we serve, while simultaneously protecting the entrepreneurial culture of the organization.
N4N was founded by CEO, Philip Gilley, and Board Chair, Roderick Hare, who both share a background as Big Brothers along with a similar vision for music mentoring, but separated by about 20 years. As a college student on the east coast Rod volunteered for the Big Brother program and immediately began recognizing how his own experiences with music education as a teen might significantly enhanced his ability to connect with his little. His intuition was that "mentoring" and "advice" had limited effect when trying to create a bond with a youth, whereas music had the power to create a common language and remove barriers. Fast forward 20 years, Rod would stumble across Phil in a small studio in a local teen center in his hometown of Santa Barbara doing the very thing he'd imagined: mentoring through music. Phil, also a big brother at the time, had experienced the challenges of engaging as a mentor until he leveraged music as the tool to connect. However, he needed a place to make music and a music store was not sustainable, so Notes for Notes was born. From that day forward N4N and its Founders would begin the journey of taking N4N from a pilot program to 25 (and growing) studios nationwide serving over 8,500 youth annually. Rod and Phil still lead N4N today as Board Chair and CEO, friends and bandmates.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Youth Development - Youth Development Programs |
| Secondary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Music |
| Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
N4N operates three studios in the Nashville area located in Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee, specifically the Andrew Jackson, Preston Taylor, and Cleveland Park Clubs, serving youth from schools within the Pearl-Cohn and the Maplewood areas.
| TN - Davidson |
