ORPL Kids · Ages 9–12
First release
From a first verse to a home show of your own.
StartWhat is inside
- How does a young teenager work out their artist identity? An artist identity at 9–12 is three decisions: a stage name, a type (do you sing to yourself or to the room) and one sentence that explains your music to a stranger. More than that is not needed at this stage, and less leaves you without an answer to the question you get asked most — what do you do.
- How do you work out your own music genre? Take the five tracks you play most and find what repeats across all five: tempo, beat, live instruments, mood, the kind of lyrics, the language. Whatever matches in at least three of the five is your genre for now. This works better than picking from a list, because a list describes someone else's music and your playlist describes yours.
- How does a young teenager write a first song? A first verse is not about love or war but about one specific day that actually happened: four lines, where the first names the place, the second what happened, the third what you felt, and the fourth repeats the first line. Rhyme is optional. A concrete detail works better than a beautiful word.
- What should a first release cover look like? The cover must be square, at least 3000×3000 pixels, and readable at thumbnail size — that is how people actually see it in the app. Your own drawing on paper, photographed from above in daylight, works completely. Images taken from the internet cannot be used: the platform will pull the release and an adult will have to prove the rights.
- How do you record a song at home without a studio? A home recording comes out fine under four conditions: nothing in the room hums, a blanket or an open wardrobe sits behind you, the phone is about 30 cm away and slightly off to the side of your mouth, and you record three takes in a row without stopping to discuss them. A microphone improves the result but will not rescue it without those four things.
- How do you tell whether your song is any good? "Did you like it" tells you nothing — everyone says yes. Play it to three people and ask a different question: what do you remember a minute after hearing it. If all three name the same line, the song works; if nobody remembers anything, rewrite the lyrics rather than re-record the audio.
- What goes on a concert poster? A poster needs four things and nothing beyond them: the artist's name, the date, the time and the place. Everything else — slogans, stars, a song list — makes it worse, because people read those instead of the date. Put it up three days ahead: the waiting is what turns singing at home into an event.
- How do you stop being nervous before a first performance? You do not remove the nerves, you move them into preparation. The sequence that works: say your name out loud before you begin, know the first line well enough not to think about it, look at one familiar person in the room, and bow at the end without fail. The bow closes the performance for the audience and for the performer.
- What should you do after a child's first performance? The next day, not straight after the show, ask three questions: what went best, what would you change, and what do we do next time. One answer each is enough. A review immediately after the stage does not work, because the child is still in the emotion and hears any remark as a grade.
- What does a child get after the First release course? After the course a child gets an artist card with their stage name, genre, song title, their own drawing as the cover and the date of their first show. The card can be printed or sent to relatives. From there two paths: run the cycle again with a new song, or, if the child is close to thirteen, move on to the adult ORPL Academy.