Hear Your Song Has a Playlist of Special Music for All Ages to Enjoy

Sometimes, it's so hard to find good music. Critics and fans will say so much of today's mainstream music is overproduced and overplayed.

But music lovers of all ages can rejoice: There's an organization called Hear Your Song working hard—and having fun—creating original music by some very unique and talented artists. The songs are extremely catchy, very well produced, and delightful ear candy for anyone who loves and appreciates good music.

So, what's so unique about the artists behind Hear Your Song? All the songwriters are children who have serious medical conditions or disabilities—and love music. In a nutshell, Hear Your Song is a nonprofit founded by Dan Rubins and Rebecca Brudner that empowers these children to express themselves by writing songs and then bringing those lyrics to life. 

Hear Your Song artists range from children who've never touched a musical instrument to those who've been in music school for years. No matter their skill level, all the kids strive and succeed in writing and creating songs that are produced, recorded and edited by the organization's staff and many volunteers.

“It's a kid-driven process. Our goal is to give them as much power and choice as we can, especially since kids living with serious illnesses often have very little power and very little choice in their day-to-day lives,” Rubins explained.

So what this means is that kids can write songs about anything they want: Their illnesses, their pets, their favorite pasta, hobbies and more. Some kids choose to record the songs they've written using their own voice, while others prefer to hand the mike over to a volunteer to perform. Either way, their songs get recorded and heard. 

The Hear Your Song repertoire, which can be found on YouTube and streaming music services like Spotify and iTunes, gives listeners an extensive array of songs to choose from. Some are relaxing, some are upbeat, some you can switch on in traffic, and some you can even put on during your workout. There's something for everyone. 

Morgan, a 12-year-old blind girl from Riverdale, is an all-around versatile musician. She's trained in multiple instruments and is both the music and lyrics writer behind her hit song, Country Blind.

She's got a powerful, soul-filled voice (think Janis Joplin meets Stevie Nicks), and an energetic and fun stage presence that really gets the crowd going.

She's got perfect pitch, too.

“Morgan loves music,” Missy Adriazola, Morgan's mother, said. “She knows all genres. She's been an opera fanatic for so long. She's into rap music, she now loves country. My mother is bringing her back to the 50s. She's very musical.”

About Hear Your Song

Hear Your Song started as a student organization at Yale University in 2014, but expanded into a nonprofit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rubins, who was a teacher at the time, quit to make Hear Your Song his full-time gig, helping to bring music and joy to children in need. 

“We had always hoped to bring Hear Your Song to other communities and campuses, but really the catalyst for that was the pandemic. This was because of the need for kids with serious illnesses to be able to tell their stories and connect with other people and have community, especially immunocompromised kids,” Rubins said. “Increasingly, kids were experiencing more mental health needs throughout the pandemic.”

At a time when most music venues were shut down, musicians were not able to perform, teach or otherwise use their skills for a mass audience. It was a natural pairing to bring these two isolated groups together.