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Session Submission Summary

Producing Young Creatives: Recording Studios for Youth Development, Well-Being, and Professional Pathways

Thu, April 21, 5:00 to 6:30pm CDT (5:00 to 6:30pm CDT), Hyatt Regency - Minneapolis, Floor: 2, Greenway I

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

The fluorescence of sound recording studio programs for young people internationally has been enabled by a number of factors, such as the widespread availability of relatively inexpensive digital sound recording equipment, the rising popularity of independent music production, and recognition of the powerful therapeutic, educational, and social benefits of arts-based community programs for young people. Although these studio programs are widespread, and often attend to socially marginalized youth underserved by more traditional education and arts programs, very little research has been conducted on the processes and effects of their musical and social practice. In response, this panel brings together researchers, educators, and youth with experience of youth recording studio programs, in both school and community settings, to build knowledge about their impacts on individual and social development and change.
In the limited literature on studio recording programs for youth, these have been shown to potentially offer youth deep emotional support, validation and forms of catharsis (Levy, Emdin, & Adjapong, 2017). This is confirmed by the work on recording studios more broadly, which shows them to be important nodes in community building, collaboration, and knowledge exchange (Firth & Zagorski-Thomas 2012; Meintjes 2003; Nelson 2015). Studies of electronic music production, as in Hip Hop beat-making and other digital music, have reported positive effects on mental well-being (Glenister 2018), reduced stress and increased focus in adolescents (Gann, 2010), and reduced depression and anxiety levels (Travis, Gann, Crooke & Jenkins, 2019).
This panel brings together researchers and practitioners from the informal and formal educational sectors. The first paper shares findings from a study of teaching artists and youth in Montreal involved in “community music” studio recording programs. Community music designates music education programs which are not for academic credit, generally run by musicians; these tend to be participatory, democratic, and seek to build strong relationships and a sense of belonging among participants (Hallam, Creech, Varvarigou, and McQueen (2012). Such programs often have a social justice mission, with the goal to “provide opportunities to construct personal and communal expressions of artistic, social, political, and cultural concerns'' (IME, 2014). They are shaped by the general principles of accessibility, decentralisation, equality, and active music-making (McKay & Higham, 2011; Olseng, 1990; Söderman & Westvall, 2017). Community music programs can be important informal education spaces for youth, fostering personal and community development through collaborative music-making (Koopman, 2007; Silverman, 2009). They aim to be relevant to youth culture, which is why many of them draw upon Hip Hop Based Music Education (HHME) (Väkevä, 2010; Kruse, 2016b; Lind & McCoy, 2016) due to the continued relevance of Hip Hop culture to racialized and socially marginalized young people (Emdin, 2016).

Hip Hop Based Music Education stems from Hip Hop culture, which emerged as a non-violent and creative response to economic dispossession from disenfranchised African-American and Latino communities in post-1960's New York (Chang, 2005; Rosen, 2006). Central to HHME are rap lyric writing, deejaying and beat-making, which are all gaining traction in wellness-focused settings for their abilities to engage young people in the process of actively working through life challenges (Elligan, 2000). For instance, rap lyrics can be used for narrative exploration and re-framing and for self-expression (Armstrong & Ricard, 2016; Olson-McBride & Page, 2010); electronic music production, in turn, has been shown to reduce stress and increase focus in adolescents (Gann, 2010). Further, studies of Hip Hop Based Education demonstrate that it can play a significant role in fostering youth self and political awareness as well as agency (Hill, 2009; Low, 2012).
The second and third papers feature research and testimonials from schools directors, teachers, and youth from the High School for Recording Arts (HSRA), with campuses in St Paul, Minnesota and Los Angeles, California. HSRA is a drop-out recovery school that serves students between the ages of 15-21, the majority of whom have been pushed and kicked out of more traditional school settings. Almost 98% identify as Black or Brown. Central to HSRA is a state of the art recording studio as well as Another Level Records, HSRA’s student-run record label and the longest-running one of its kind in the world. HSRA identifies its students as opportunity youth. Opportunity youth re-engagement differs from traditional education for a number of reasons. Students who fall into the category of 16-24 years of age who are both out of work and out of school in the US are majority low-income and racialized (Belfield, Levin & Rosen, 2012, p. 8). Opportunity youth also battle issues of houselessness at increased rates, have children at younger ages and often have to earn money in order to contribute to their households (Belfield, Levin & Rosen, 2012). Schools serving opportunity youth often develop wraparound service offerings that include support with housing, childcare, food, clothes, toiletries, official documents (e.g. identification cards and birth certificates), mental health services and paid work (Moore, 2016). The recording studio is integral to this student-centered learning ecosystem.
As a whole, this panel explores the impacts that youth studio recording programs across contexts can have on young people, including their well-being, learning, leadership, and entrepreneurship. Youth voices will feature prominently, as well as those of the teaching artists who facilitate this work. Analysis will be complemented by audio-visual examples. Paper 1 is empirical research, papers 2 and 3 are applied research.

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