Resource Hub

Musical Development Matters in the Early Years.

Explore a handy guide to musical instruments commonly used in early years settings, complete with names and descriptions.

Discover how to effectively integrate music into early years planning to support children's learning and development across all areas.

Explore the importance of children’s music in early years settings. Find tips on enabling creative play, recognizing patterns in children’s music, and fostering a rich musical environment.

Discover how movement and music come together to inspire creativity and development in early years. Explore the connection between rhythm, instruments, and physical expression in young children.

Learn why vocal play and creative singing matter in early childhood, nurturing individual expression and musical growth.

Explore how hearing influences musical growth from the womb onwards, with insights and tips to nurture infants' listening skills and creativity.

If you can spend time working with or observing individual children, it can be easier to identify their potential. But how do you do it in a group environment? Working with Hugh Nankievill and others, Awards for Young Musicians developed a set of group music-making activities, alongside filming and observation, that can be used to identify individual musical potential.

If you’ve ever caught an episode of The Defiant Ones, Netflix’s docu-series about the rise of legendary music producers Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine, you’d be forgiven for thinking that sleepless hard graft mixed with a controversial personality is the essential recipe for making it in the industry.

While the first component (in moderation) is undoubtedly a factor in achieving success – in any line of work – are we to believe that obsessiveness and a win-at-all-costs ruthlessness towards collaborators and rivals alike are also required?

According to those we spoke to across the UK music production spectrum it’s preparation, collaboration and creativity that actually counts.

Social media has become increasingly important for musicians over the last decade, both as a tool for building an audience and as a way to prove you're worth investing in. But once you've got an audience eager for your content, how can you turn that into continuous investment? Previously, the true value of a fanbase lay in local communities and networks which could then be expanded worldwide into chart-topping albums and sell-out tours; now, musicians are finding ways to monetise sprawling online communities. From crowdfunding to streaming, here are just some of the ways musicians are turning the internet into an income.

A collection of some recommended training and resources on the topic of youth voice.

Explore this list of youth voice in research and evaluation.

Supporting young people to feel safe and included is central to grassroots music projects’ work. Yet safeguarding can often seem to be more about compliance, with generic policies and box ticking measures. Something that’s far removed from the day-to-day practices of providing a welcoming space, listening and learning from young people, and promoting everyone’s wellbeing. Here, Gawain Hewitt reflects on how he’s come to understand safeguarding as part of his day-to-day creative work and provides some top tips to close the gap between safeguarding policy and practice.

A 2006 Youth Music survey reveals how young people engaged with music, highlighting their preference for making music independently or with friends over school settings. Download the report.

Learn how to craft a compelling press release to spotlight your Youth Music-funded project and showcase its impact.

Learn how to meet Youth Music’s safeguarding minimum standards and strengthen your policies for funding applications.

Ready to grow your fanbase on Mixcloud? From tagging your shows to engaging with listeners via livestreams, these 5 tips will help you build a loyal community and stand out as a creator.

We've partnered with young creators working in the music industries right now to bring you useful resources to help you build a career in music. Check them out below.