Notes for Notes Studio

Collaboration with Nashville nonprofit exposes more kids to music

In 2016, Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland partnered with the Nashville, Tenn.-based national nonprofit organization Notes for Notes, which designs, equips and staffs after-school recording studios, to open a new Notes for Notes Studio at the Broadway Club. It is the only such studio in the state of Ohio and one of fewer than 20 in the United States.

Built with funds and resources secured by Turner Construction Company and the Hot Topic Foundation, which has worked with Notes for Notes for more than eight years, the studio provides one-of-a-kind opportunities to explore, create, and record music for free; expand the offerings in BGCC’s exemplary band program; and put young adults on a positive path.

The Notes for Notes Studio is packed with guitars, drums, keyboards and synthesizers, and DJ gear and features a stage with lighting, podcasting stations and full recording studio facilities. It features a specially dedicated Mix Room in honor Audio Technica.

Open to all Boys & Girls Club members, the studio is an epicenter for music exploration and creation. Hundreds of youth have been involved in the BGCC band program — and most of whom had never picked up an instrument before joining the Club. In the studio, more kids are getting exposed to a variety of instruments and private and group instruction. They can also track and mix their own music while learning about careers in the industry.

At-risk teens and adults working with BGCC’s Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance – an anti-crime initiative that uses mediation, gang interaction and conflict resolution to reduce street violence – also use the studio before Club hours.