NOTES FOR NOTES® provides youth with FREE access to music instruments, instruction and recording studio environments so that music may become a profoundly positive influence in their lives.
PRODUCING TOMORROW’S MUSICIANS®
We believe in Freedom of Expression.
We believe every song begins and ends with a listener. As Producers we focus on bringing out the best in young artists. Artist development begins with listening and understanding that a song is an artist’s viewpoint at a given moment. We cultivate, advocate and protect freedom of expression in our studios to foster the discovery of young artist’s sound, identity and ownership of voice.
Defending this ethic is this dedicated advisory board of artists, industry and community members advocating for our young artists freedom of expression.
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Singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer
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“Growing up a misfit, I can confidently say I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for discovering myself through music that allowed me to break through cultural norms and society’s definition of what a young woman in the 80s should look and act like. Finding myself, and ultimately the freedom to express myself both creatively and musically saved me and so many of my friends.
Navigating trauma at any age is difficult, being able to find something that can help express your emotions, such as music was a fucking miracle. Music is and will always be my primary method of communication.
Music has already been erased from school curriculums as well as art, and in today’s political climate amidst a pandemic, we need to lean on what we have left… the freedom to express ourselves freely and openly without fear of judgment or persecution. It doesn’t cost anything to express yourself, it’s free and healing. I can’t imagine a world without that freedom. We have to fight for it and never take it for granted.” - Linda Perry
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Run the Jewels
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“Music is an art form that should serve as a safe space where we can express ourselves, it can be the most needed therapy to tap into our rawest feelings. For young artists bringing their truth to the mic we must advocate for their right to freedom of expression because it just may fuel a life changing experience as it did for me. I stand behind orgs like Notes for Notes who are fighting for young artists and their music.” - Michael “Miller Mike” Render
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Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, The Nightwatchman
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“It’s so important that young creators have the avenues, ability, means, and opportunity to grow and express themselves regardless of economic background or other challenges. It’s an honor to be a part of Notes For Notes to help these young folks forge the future.”- Tom Morello
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Run DMC/
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“From an early age, creativity has been my super power and when I discovered music I found the ultimate way to authentically express myself. It is so important that organizations like Notes for Notes are giving youth the opportunity to discover the potential inside themselves and doing so with a respect for what is in their hearts and minds. Freedom of expression is important in any art form at any age but especially for young musicians finding out who they are through their lyrics and music.”- Darryl McDaniels
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BIZ 3 Founder/ CEO
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Description text goes here
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Professor/ Author of Rap on Trial
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“As an educator, I see the transformative power of music first hand. For many students, it provides more than entertainment—it provides a voice with which they can express a wide range of thoughts and emotions, in the process helping them better understand themselves and the world around them. For that reason, I have devoted my career to helping protect the right of artists, particularly musicians, to express themselves without fear of censorship or punishment. Notes for Notes shares this vision and is doing important work on the ground, so it's an honor to serve on the Soundboard.”- Erik Nielson
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Monte Lipman, Founder/ CEO
Avery Lipman, Founder/ COO
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““Art can’t exist without freedom of expression. Without it, there’s no authentic message. It’s the lifeblood of every song and album that has changed the world. If we’re going to learn and grow as a society, we need to listen to what artists have to say.”-Monte Lipman & Avery Lipman
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Grammy-nominated songwriter, CEO and co-founder of Arthouse Publishing/Records and Briidge
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"Music is a universal language because it speaks to the human condition and provides a forum for people to relate with one another. Allowing artists to freely express their stories is what makes music so powerful and important for people. We need to encourage our young artists to be brave enough to speak their truths so as to touch those who haven’t found the wolds for theirs.I applaud notes for notes for being one of the organizations who understands this." -Kara DioGuardi
ABOUT
Notes for Notes® (N4N®) was founded in Santa Barbara, CA in 2006 as an answer to the lack of contemporary musical equipment and programs in public schools in order to provide youth with music and production instruction that produces both positive social-emotional and creative growth. Inspired by their time as Bigs in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program the Founders were focused on creating an environment with zero barriers to entry. Youth could have access to top of the line instruments, gear and Producers that would always be there to help them realize that talent inside themselves, all for FREE.
Today, N4N provides access to high quality, recording studio environments, but more importantly, access to positive and encouraging relationships to over 8,500 youth in 23 studios across 11 states/14 cities. Located inside Boys & Girls Clubs/ youth facilities (and soon public schools) N4N Studios are gateways to exploring music, careers in the industry and producing original music that empowers young musicians to realize their identity.
EXPLORE
N4N Studios provide youth with the space, encouragement and freedom to explore music and production by their own pace and path with dedicated N4N Producers guiding, inspiring, and teaching them with the tailored learning style that best suits them. There is NO wrong way to find music in our studios.
CREATE
Packed with guitars, drums, keys/synths, DJ gear, groove stations, podcasting and full digital recording facilities N4N Studios provide young musicians with the tools, freedom and support to create original music. Pickup an instrument for the first time or cut your first single, all paths to music can start at Notes for Notes.
RECORD
N4N believes music to be a creative outlet for young musicians to express themselves in ways they otherwise would not be able to. Inside N4N Studios our ethos is freedom of expression and we provide young musicians a safe-environment to express themselves through song. Inside the sanctity of the studio N4N does not censor lyrics as part of the process to helping young musicians discover their identity.
UPDATES
N4N INFO DECK
SCROLL THROUGH TO LEARN MORE ABOUT N4N, THE MISSION, STUDIOS, PROGRAMS, AND MORE!
ADVISORY BOARD
GAYLE
SEYMOUR DUNCAN
SLASH
ALAN PARSONS
Tina Guo
ROBERT RANDOLPH
KENNY LOGGINS
JOE BONAMASSA
BRENDON URIE
THOMAS MEYER
JIMMY VIVINO
SUSAN WOLF
NINA MILLER
REBECCA PIETRI
ROXANNE RICKS
TOM BLANKENSHIP
ROBIN TERRY
MIKE MOORE
JOANNA KERNS
HUNTER HAYES
DREW & ELLIE HOLCOMB
PETER FRAMPTON
FRANKIE BALLARD
CAROL BURNETT
GLEN PHILLIPS
PETER NOONE
JENNIFER TUFT
RICHIE SAMBORA
MARTIN GORE
JACK JOHNSON
Chris Kirkpatrick
P-NUT
Marty Schwartz
ZACH GILL
MITCH ALBOM
JEFF BRIDGES
LUKE EBBIN
CHRIS SHIFLETT
JOE GALANTE
MARKO DESANTIS
THE WAR & TREATY
SEBU SIMONIAN
ADAM ROSENBAUM
GREG "STRYKE" CHIN
DAVID CROSBY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Roderick Hare | Board Chair & Co-Founder
Evan Skopp | Treasurer
Matt Kettmann | Secretary
Jeff Cuellar | Director
Philip Gilley | Director / Co-Founder
Natalie Noone Pressly | Director / Co-Founder
Duncan Dashiff | Director
Ian Smith | Director
Amilcar (Pro) Welton | Director
Michael Marans | Director Emeritus
N4N TEAM
Philip Gilley | CEO/Co-Founder
Ross Tyler | Chief Creative Officer
Raymond Jacob | Chief Operations Officer
Erland Wanberg | Chief Development Officer
Kristie Davis VP of Operations & Support
Miranda Thornbury | Dir. of Organizational Support
Cameron Cassell | Sr. Producer & Pro Audio Specialist
Aman Kenner | Producer DC
John Karsten | Sr. Producer Twin Cities
Victoria Carey | Sr. Director of Education and Impact
Jen Hodges | Manager of Digital Programming
Ashley Kerns | Director of Crypto Giving & Web3 Partnerships
Kayla Currin | Development Support Specialist
Corey Gibb | Content Producer
Jordan Lee | Director of Youth & Producer Experience
Gerardo Escalante | Sr. Producer SF|Downtown
Tim Talavera | Area Director
Josh Gray | Producer Los Angeles|Mar Vista
Torrence Groce | Sr. Producer Los Angeles|WATTS
Ryan Venable | Producer Franklin, TN
Geraldo Marshall | Producer Brooklyn | Navy Yard
Madelyn Backes | Outreach & Support Specialist
Stephen Dashiff | Audio Professional Specialist
Robert Lacy | Sr. Producer Las Vegas
Charity Ward | Area Director
Ryan Easter | Area Manager
Ray Price | Area Director
Chloe Bari | Producer & Operational Support Specialist SF|Excelsior
TJ Carpenter | Sr. Producer Chicago
Reginald "Reggie" Tarver | Producer Bronx
Samario Hardy | Producer Bronx|Columbus
Caleb Alexander | Sr. Producer & Educator High Point, NC
Bret Fickes| Producer Santa Barbara | West
Angel “AD” Davison | Producer Santa Barbara | East
Tae Mckinney | Producer Nashville | East
Lolly Tolbert | Producer Detroit
Will Flores | Audio Pro
Kaylah Burris |Sr. Producer Nashville | South
David Henderson | Producer Brooklyn|Murphy
Davonte “Dae” Hill | Area Manager
Iram Reyes | Producer Austin
Dylan Tarazona | Producer Los Angeles|Santa Monica
Bradley Perich | Producer Milwaukee | MAS
Nicholas Grace | Studio & Education Assistant Milwaukee | HFCA HS
Derrick Holt | Senior Producer & Educator Milwaukee | HFCA HS
Darrell Jones | Producer Memphis
MUSIC
Check out the latest records being cut out of N4N Studios and Digital Studios across the country as well as compilation albums featuring the next generation of incredibly talented artists.
STUDIOS
AUSTIN | BRONX | BROOKLYN | CHICAGO | CLEVELAND | DETROIT | FRANKLIN | HARLEM | HIGH POINT | LAS VEGAS | LOS ANGELES | MEMPHIS | MILWAUKEE | NASHVILLE | SAN FRANCISCO | SANTA BARBARA | SANTA MONICA | TWIN CITIES | WASHINGTON DC |
CLICK THE STUDIOS BELOW TO FIND OUT WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING LOCALLY!
AUSTIN
HIGH POINT
LAS VEGAS
BROOKLYN | FLATBUSH
BROOKLYN | NAVY YARD
CHICAGO
CLEVELAND | EAST TECH
DETROIT
HARLEM
SAN FRANCISCO | DOWNTOWN
MILWAUKEE
BRONX | COLUMBUS
LOS ANGELES- WATTS
NASHVILLE | NORTH
NASHVILLE | SOUTH
SANTA BARBARA | EAST
NASHVILLE | EAST
SANTA BARBARA | WEST
TWIN CITIES
SAN FRANCISCO | EXCELSIOR
LOS ANGELES
LOS ANGELES- SANTA MONICA
WASHINGTON DC
MEMPHIS
LOS ANGELES- SANTA MONICA
BRONX | SMILOW
FRANKLIN, TN
What started as the answer to continue reaching young musicians during the pandemic when our studios paused, N4N Digital has become the newest arm of N4N allowing us to provide youth anywhere with our core experience, producing original music!
N4N Producers work directly with young musicians remotely songwriting, instructing and producing their music despite the lack of access to an N4N Studio. In addition, N4N’s network of artists and industry professionals have made themselves available to directly connect with young musicians to collaborate, educate and inspire artistic, professional and personal development.
Check out some of the tracks below emerging from Notes for Notes Digital Studio.
N4N Digital programming is also available as a resource for educational and youth serving institutions. Should you be interested in partnering with Notes for Notes to bring our digital program to your community please contact us at hello@notesfornotes.org.
SUPPORT
NOTES FOR NOTES ASKS FOR YOUR HELP IN PRODUCING TOMORROW’S MUSICIANS®
PARTNER/SPONSOR
HELP LAUNCH OR SUPPORT:
New N4N in school or after-school Studios
The 1st N4N Mobile Studio
Expansion of N4N Digital WORLDWIDE!
DONATE
Your financial contribution makes it possible for N4N to provide youth with the opportunity to explore, create and record music for FREE!
AMPLIFY
Leverage your voice, platforms, and network to advocate and connect N4N to more youth, artists, and supporters!
GO LIVE
YOUR NOTES = THEIR NOTES!
Play an N4N Benefit Concert
Add $ per ticket on your tour
Gift stage played instruments for the N4N Reverb store
Custom merch supporting N4N
GIVE GEAR
UPGRADING THE STUDIO & GETTING RID OF GENTLY USED GEAR/INSTRUMENTS?
Give them a 2nd take at N4N in the hands of tomorrow’s musicians!
GET YOUR OWN GEAR
Show your support with authentic N4N merch. All profits benefits Notes for Notes®
VOLUNTEER
GIVE A LESSON ON GUITAR OR MIXING!
Drop knowledge on the music industry and careers around it!
Inspire and empower creativity!
Guest produce a young artist!
Help raise funds to support N4N!
CONTACT US
