Chords Up
Music education for youth as means of supporting them in their journey of harnessing their potential, and to introduce them to the joys of creativity and the value of discipline.
Leader
Simran Singh
Location
Queensbridge Queens, NYC, NY 11101
About the project
Music has the power to build communities and transform lives. It can be a power tool of personal expression, a source of joy, can spark creativity and change in life, and teach the value of discipline. Our mission is to provide music as a companion to support the journey of individuals as they navigate their circumstances & realize their potential. Lessons are provided by partnering music studios and instructors. Those interested in experiencing the joys of music may want to learn an instrument, while those looking to make a career may want to dive into music engineering or music composition.
Our working process is as follows. ChordsUp and TransformAmerica (insta@transformamerica_), based in Queensbridge, NYC, are partnering on this project, with Shrikant Sreenivasan (ChordsUps co-founder) serving as the advisor for all things related to music. We aim to sponsor instruments and lessons, ideally starting September 2022 (or sooner if we have sufficient funds), for youth in Queensbridge Public Housing Project, Queens, NYC. The community has many artistically gifted youth who can benefit from sponsored training. We plan to put out a call for interested students in August 2022, have a brief conversation with respondents to confirm interest, and then provide instruments and scholarships to as many as we can support. Based on the financial situation, the scholarship for lessons would be either full or partial. The scholarship would be time-bound, for a duration of three months, renewable for multiple years based on the students interest and availability of funds.
The Steps
1. Put out a call for interested students.
2. Converse with respondents and select as per their interest and availability of funds.
3. Order instruments online, to be delivered at the students home.
4. Provide scholarship for music lessons, with a local music teacher.
5. Meet with students regularly to check in on things and adapt as needed.
6. Every three months, decide whether to renew scholarships.
Why we‘re doing it
We are passionate about harnessing the power of music to empower individuals and build communities. The original idea was sparked during CoVID, when Shrikant was providing online guitar lessons to Simran, who was in NYC. Inspired by the spirit of mutual aid running through the city during the pandemic, they thought that such music lessons should be made available to the broader community.