The Power Of A Guitar, Thomas Amoriello

The Power Of A Guitar

Thomas Amoriello Fleminton Raritan School District tamoriel@frsd.k12.nj.us

We often read interviews in which the featured musical artist mentions how music saved them in many ways, often citing the trials of adolescence, criminal activity, or simply not having any direction in life. Today we will spotlight an organization that exists to make a difference using the power of the guitar. The Guitar Over Guns Organization (GOGO) is not about students mastering musical skills such as note reading, scale virtuosity, or developing an encyclopedic knowledge of chord harmony; it is so much more than that! Founding mentor and site director Andrew DeMuro has provided us with some valuable insight regarding GOGO.

Please Tell Us About The Origins Of The Organization “Guitar Over Guns.”

Guitars Over Guns Organization (GOGO) is an arts-based youth development program focused on providing healthy after-school music & mentorship programming to students in challenging environments. Through the transformative power of music & the arts, it is our mission to facilitate the leadership & holistic development of young people, while providing a stable and safe environment with a caring adult that may be lacking at home or in school.

The idea for Guitars Over Guns was borne out of a trip to a juvenile detention facility where musicians were able to use their craft to connect with young people who had otherwise been dismissed from public schools and written off by society. The organization began in one classroom with a single guitar mentor at a middle school in North Miami in 2008, fueled by a strong desire to connect with students before getting to the point of interaction with the criminal justice system. This year, GOGO is partnered with over a dozen schools and community centers between Miami and Chicago, building a team of nearly 50 dedicated mentors, and reaching over 600 deserving students annually through guitars, keyboards, drums, bass, vocals, rap, poetry, music production & more. In the past year alone, GOGO has been recognized for its work by the Steve Harvey Show, Eyewitness News, People Magazine, and several regional and local news outlets.

What Are Some Success Stories That You Know About From The Various Communities?

As a young organization in Chicago, we are only beginning to see the fruits of our labor; however, in order to paint a picture of what success can look like in our program, I’ll take you back to December of 2015, when the entire student body at Evergreen Academy Middle School packed into the gym to listen to the dozen students in our afterschool program during their first-ever public performance. Our young and inexperienced band labored through assorted Christmas and pop songs until it reached the finale: ‘Feliz Navidad’. Then, 7th grader Andrea was playing guitar and singing lead vocals, a goal she had been working toward since October.

Andrea launched into the melody of the first chorus when, suddenly, all I could hear was the band backing her up. This was particularly strange to me, since Andrea’s mouth was still moving. I could see her eyes start to widen as she realized her microphone had just decided to stop working - her vocals almost completely drowned out in the ambient gym. Slowly, student spectators began to turn to one another and chatter, and the band took notice. From the back of the gym, I watched as Andrea’s gears turned. The window of opportunity to win the audience back was small, but open. She never once stopped singing. She did, however, stop playing briefly to raise her hand in the air, to invite the crowd to join in. Before the end of the second chorus, an entire gymnasium full of students was singing, loudly and proudly, ‘I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas!’

It couldn’t have gone over more seamlessly if we had planned it. Within seconds, our students showed their collective strength and capacity to problem-solve. Most importantly, they showed an unparalleled belief in each other; an experience which can be monumental for group culture. We were sure to celebrate the effort and lightning-fast thinking of the band in our next rehearsal.

I bring up this anecdote because of the impact I know it had on our students’ self-concept as musicians. Since that moment on stage in December 2015, students in our program have performed upwards of a dozen times in and out of school, and been spotlighted for their work on multiple Chicago news platforms. They’ve visited and laid tracks in a professional recording studio, and created a music video documenting the experience. They’ve taken a private tour of Chicago’s House of Blues, and marveled at the names of renowned entertainers etched onto its storied green room walls.

In class, we created our own practice protocols and a set of values we want to live by; we challenged ourselves to try new things, take risks, and learn new songs in record-time; we identified section leaders and engaged in peer-to-peer practice; we tackled the songwriting process, performed and taught one another original music; we set goals, shattered some with ease, came up short and learned from others; we emphasized the habits that make better musicians and better people, and it showed, as 88% of our students cited that time spent playing music in a community had helped them become more self-aware and stronger decision-makers. According to one student: “Being part of the Guitars Over Guns program has helped me realize how talented my friends are, and it’s helped me appreciate my own talents. I always look forward to coming after school.”

More than anything else, we became vulnerable and willing to grow. I’m convinced that experience in the Evergreen Academy gym was a catalyst for that.

What Type Of Lessons/Instruction Is Given?

Our approach to instruction offers a unique balance between National Arts & Social-Emotional Learning standards that we believe is critical to positive youth development. We apply skill-based instruction across many settings depending on the needs our unique partner sites. In Chicago alone, we’ve built large after-school ensembles at two public schools; we serve as the primary music instructors at an alternative school; and we operate a faith-based community center and recording studio open to all youth. While the set-up at each site may look different, the desired outcome is the same: to create a generation of young people who use music as a weapon for self-determination, leadership and empathy.

Because exposure is a great teacher, we also offer our students a variety of music-related experiences to broaden their horizons; for example, each school site engages in an annual music video project focused on an issue that matters to them, a live session day in a professional recording studio, tours of famous venues, and multiple live performance opportunities. No matter the setting, a common thread in the fabric of our approach involves teaching how music affects our environment: from self-concept, to interpersonal and community relations. This empowers students to translate musical skills learned in our classrooms to the other stages of their lives.

What Is The Typical Background Of The Instructors?

Our mentors typically identify as musicians first; many of them play professionally in their resident cities and have accumulated notable opportunities to appear on television; tour with some of the biggest names in music; and publicly release their own artistic material. We also have a group of mentors who identify as educators first, coming from careers in teaching, counseling, and social services, who have a desire to use music as an avenue for reaching young people. We’ve seen incredibly positive results when these two camps of people work together in service of our students.

Given my experience as a classroom teacher and a musician, I’m fortunate enough to be on a mentor team with another member of my own band here in Chicago, The Shades. Over the past year and a half, we’ve shared unique experiences and offered an additional layer of chemistry to our students that in turn, makes US better musicians and bandmates. With our debut EP due to release in the Spring of 2017, we’re excited to share in the moment with our kids, and hope to put together a music video project in the coming months that features them.

What Is Your Position Within GOGO And Background As A Musician?

I’ve long balanced a ‘double life’ between careers in music and education. I earned a degree in Secondary Education from the University of Miami, which placed me in different field experiences working with local students and teachers, particularly in Miami’s low-income schools and communities. No matter the constraints of my school schedule, music always had a way of finding me. I was the first ever freshman nonmajor to be selected for UM’s top Jazz Vocal Ensemble, where I sang for three years. During my senior year, I was honored to sing live on stage with Billy Joel during a Q&A session he hosted on our campus.

After graduation, I moved to Chicago to join Teach For America, and was employed at an all-boys charter high school on the city’s west side. While teaching special education, I founded and directed our charter network’s first sustained extracurricular choir, UPliftment, which twice earned superior ratings at the Illinois ‘Trills & Thrills’ Music Festival at “Six Flags: Great America.”

In an effort to better combine my two passions, I joined the Guitars Over Guns Organization in the fall of 2015 as a founding mentor and site director at Evergreen Academy on Chicago’s Southside. During this time, I wrote and played music extensively with my acoustic trio, The Shades (@WeTheShades), and was honored with an opportunity to represent ‘Team Adam’ on Season 11 of NBC’s The Voice.

Following my time on The Voice, I returned to Chicago to take on the role of founding regional director for the Chicago branch of Guitars Over Guns. In this role, I am responsible for managing the experiences of nearly 350 students, a dozen mentors, and four local school partners. Through my work with GOGO, I hope to continue striking the balance between my two passions.

Do You Have A Personal Philosophy Or Mission Statement On Music Education?

Whether it’s meant putting myself in position to seize opportunities, or following the direction of adults and peers who have believed in me, keeping music at the forefront of my life has always been about finding a way.

In elementary school, my music teacher, Mrs. Whitcomb, nearly had to bribe me to join the choir she was starting for 4th and 5th graders. She found a way.

In college, I didn’t let my decision to pursue a degree in education prevent me from being active in my school’s music program. I surrounded myself with the best musicians and sang in multiple top-tier vocal ensembles. I found a way.

As an educator, I used music as a tool to connect with my students by founding and directing an after-school choir, and found time for music in my own life by helping to form The Shades, who as of this spring will be professional recording artists on all digital platforms. I found a way.

After leaving the classroom, I took advantage of an opportunity to appear on The Voice, and continue to use the platform given to me as an amplifier for the good word work of Guitars Over Guns. When it comes to the molding of young musicians and citizens, I have a responsibility to help young people build an identity to which music is so critical, that there is no other option but to find a way.

Here Is Your Chance To Invite Musicians To Be Involved With Guitar Over Guns:

There are so many ways to invest in the work that we do, but in my opinion, no way is more valuable than making a genuine, face-to-face impact on our young people. To anyone who is considering becoming a mentor for Guitars Over Guns, please understand: we need you; you are valued and supported in doing this incredibly important work, and it will change your life. Please contact Andrew at andrew@guitarsoverguns.org to learn more about our programs and how to get involved.

Thank you to Andrew DeMuro for providing insight to this music education journal.