Music, A Universal Language.

B Y K I E R R A G R A Y , Y M U I N S T R U C T O R

I recently got the opportunity to do a virtual Songwriting Workshop for The People's Forum, a nonprofit organization in New York. I spent four amazing hours teaching people from all over the US and the world; people from India, Africa, Chile, and various parts of America. It was honestly so refreshing. In your day-to-day life, you see a lot of the same people with the same customs, but when you get the opportunity to be a part of something virtual, you get to experience various cultures, ideals, and even beautiful accents. I also loved seeing the vast age range. Many people seem to think that creating music is for the young, but this class had people in their teens and 20s all the way up to their 40s. We talked about the art of songwriting, song structure, and we also dug into some music production. It was amazing to see all of these different people come together to write about something that they believed in. Out of all the languages that could have been spoken, we all understood and connected with one. Music.