MUSIC 4 SLOUGH Youth Music Action Zone

Transcription

1 MUSIC 4 SLOUGH Youth Music Action Zone m4sbrochure.indd 1 16/3/07 12:16:33

2 OOSH (Out Of School Hours) OOSH (Out Of School Hours) OOSH (Out Of School Hours) venissi. percussion, and developed their ability to sing simple harmony parts using rounds and songs from different cultures. They learned 2 whole songs from contemporary artists that they new of and sang unaccompanied harmonised arrangements of them as part of a concert It builds confidence. I used to be really shy at singing Participant on Langley Grammar Year 7 Singing project James Elliman - World Percussion Percussionist Paul Midgley worked with Key Stage 1 students at James Elliman Primary School running an after school world percussion club. The group meet after school for one hour a week playing Middle Eastern Darabuka drums and African Djembe drums. The young people learnt about how to play together as a percussive group through responding to signals, adapting to new dynamics (enjoying playing quietly as well as loudly), developing a maintaining a steady beat, starting and stopping together, and understanding when to play more or less. The group also created their own rhythms with accessible rhythm phonetics, which evolved into turn taking sessions where drummers accompanied singers within the group. The project culminated in the young people recording a CD of the drumming. The School are learning all about the ways that drumming can bring a community together - by nurturing listening skills and teamwork Paul Midgley, Music Leader Marish Primary - Music Club Music 4 Slough has worked with 16 schools in Slough both primary and secondary. The OOSH projects have used many varied ways of making music, ranging from DJing and Music Technology to Junk Percussion and Traditional Instrument music clubs. The projects have typically run in blocks of half a term either at lunch time or after school, in many cases the schools use the clubs as part of their extended schools provision. As part of the partnership M4S has recruited and provided appropriate artists, whilst the school provided space and staff-time to support the project, and helped to identify and recruit young people. Music 4 Slough is funded of work outside of school hours and cannot replicate work of music services, such as traditional peripatetic instrument teaching. So many of the projects have involved delivering workshops in different genres or styles not normally available in school time, and will often involve a more holistic and informal approach to music making. Langley Grammar Year 7 Singing Project Music leaders Anna Tabbush and Odis Palmer ran a lunchtime singing club for year 7 pupils. Anna is an experienced workshop leader and performer with roots in the folk tradition and culturally diverse music projects, while Odis is an experienced performer in contemporary popular styles including soul and R n B. By deliberately bringing these two different music leaders together the project could offer a range of styles and songs that would compliment traditional choir approaches, get younger pupils (particularly boys) interested in singing by presenting both positive male and female role models. The young people learned how to warm up their voices and prepare for singing, played musical games using voice and body Marish Primary School have been working with musician & composer Rob Harris to run a general music making club at lunchtimes for years 3 &4. The club provides a variety musical experiences and, by doing so, helps the young people develop an understanding of how music is composed, played and performed. They do this by using a variety of techniques involving; singing, playing musical games, improvisation, exploring and creating rhythms, melodies and bass lines, and learning about chords and chord structure. The sessions also involve some informal instrument tuition in guitar, keyboards and simple percussion. Typically the group learn their musical skills whilst composing a piece of music. Castleview Primary - Penny Whistle & Percussion This project has given year 3 pupils an introduction to the basic playing and listening skills that are required as a basis for key stage 2 music education. The young people are all being switched on to the possibility of becoming musicians and learning that playing can be easy and fun. Luke Daniels, Music Leader The sessions are split into two, with the group spending half of their time playing penny whistle, and the other half playing the darabuka drum. The work is designed to get participants playing quickly as part of a group and to understand the most common time signatures, melodies and rhythms behind most popular music. The young people are all being switched on to the possibility of becoming musicians and learning that playing can be easy and fun Luke Daniels, Music Leader Music 4 Slough has worked with the following schools: Arbour Vale Special School Castleview Primary Cippenham Junior Godolphin Infant Godolphin Junior Herschel Grammar James Elliman Langley Grammar Langleywood Littledown m4sbrochure.indd /3/07 12:16:38

3 Music Technology Music Technology Music Technology The use of music technology has been employed through many Music 4 Slough projects, ranging from after school music clubs, to week long music residencies, to work with young people at risk and in special need settings. Music technology and DJing are ways of making Urban Music with strong appeal to young people. Music 4 Slough has given young people the chance to have their very first go producing music using computers or turntables, through to residencies with industry professionals for more experienced producers and DJs. Music 4 Slough has also made use of music technology to open up other music making opportunities including; recording outputs of other projects, facilitating songwriting, allowing young people to record and distribute their music, and use of technologies such as Soundbeam to open up new music making opportunities for young people with special needs. Urban Flavas During the summer ten young people from various musical backgrounds, ranging from no musical experience through to MCs, singers and even a rock drummer, took residence in the Haymill Centre recording studio where they were given the chance to have a go at many different aspects of Urban Music production. The young people got to take on different roles in the studio as, producer, performer, arranger and song writer. They worked with music software including Reason, Recycle and Logic Pro to create beats from scratch and to sample loops. After the young people had created their beats they started to work in small groups as songwriters, where they wrote their own issue based tracks, around themes such as crime and homelessness. Once the songs were written and the beats programmed the young people took on the role of performer, rapping and singing on their tracks. Arbour Vale Special School Soundbeam and DJ projects Arbour Vale school is attended by a large number of pupils with special needs from across Slough. The school caters for ages three through to post-16 and pupils have a wide range of special needs, profound and multiple disabilities and autistic spectrum. By working with the school M4S was able to effectively reach a large proportion of these young people from Slough. In order to deliver the projects took place in a combination of school and afterschool time, so that the music making experiences could be delivered when staff and other learning support was available and to fit in with other transport and care needs. The school had an effective music program geared to the needs of its pupils but had not made any major use newer forms of music making such as DJing, or of new technology such as Soundbeam. The M4S Soundbeam project was a major partnership with the school in which M4S supported a Soundbeam artist residency and the school invested a significant part of its ITC equipment budget in Soundbeam equipment. M4S supported Soundbeam artist John Brockhouse to work at the school one day per week for three terms. The work included sessions with a variety of classes and groups, including an afterschool club, with groups getting between six and twelve sessions. An important part of the project was to build the confidence and capacity in the school to continue to use Soundbeam at the end of the project and to have a wider impact on the school beyond just the music provision. Within 3 weeks of the project starting the Soundbeam had its first public outing as part of the schools annual community performance. Our M4S supported Soundbeam project has had an enormously postive impact on pupils music making in school. Pupils with severe learning disabilities have been able to access a huge range of sounds, control their own performances and improvise music in a way that would not otherwise be possible. Parents and staff were struck by the independence and musicality of the pupils performance, and the pupils themselves were thrilled with their own results Mary Roche, Music Teacher, Arbour Vale School The DJ project gave older pupils the opportunity to have their first experience of DJing and lead to performances in and out of the school including a major mainstream event. DJ Spencer Lowe worked with two groups in lunchtime sessions to develop skills and repertoire. As well as skills in cueing, counting and matching beats the project also lead to improvements in fine motor skills and attitude to learning. As with the Soundbeam project the school invested in the project by purchasing the DJ equipment and M4S supported a professional DJ to lead the sessions. To begin with I think they were pretty blown away by the DJ experience and simply watching me mix. As the weeks progressed I was able to gain more focus from the students. It was great when I finally got them to understand how to spin back the vinyl, cue, and count the beats DJ Spencer Lowe, Music Leader Haymill Studio Sessions for Young People At Risk M4S support enabled the Haymill to offer a series of regular studio sessions offering music technology, recording, production and DJing. The sessions included local center users and in particular were targeted at Young People at Risk. Music Leader Kevin Davis worked at the centre as a sessional youth worker and had built up the studio and its activity through a series of ad hoc projects, but had reached the limit of what could be achieved without additional financial and other support. M4S supported 4 new sessions a week targeted at at risk young people from the local area and also young people at risk referred from other agencies such as Pupil Referral Unit and Youth Offending Team. The sessions included 2 music tech sessions for drop in and referrals for year olds, a junior music tech session for 8-12 year olds and a DJ course. M4S also supported a trainee scheme at the centre with trainees delivering an outreach program of music tech and DJ workshops to 2 other Youth Centres. The M4S work at Haymill had several successful outcomes including Work with over 150 at risk young people Development of young peoples interest into other forms of music learning including guitar, keyboards Additional investment from Haymill in equipment both music tech and band instruments Young people producing a CD to help raise funds for soundproofing the studio Older participants re-engaging with education and seeking to go to college to pursue further learning in Music Technology. Young people designing part of the program for the summer activities to include music workshops. These workshops were then funded from other sources than M4S. Young People at another youth centre choosing to spend other non M4S local funding on music studio development and workshops. Musical and lyrical development of participants due to consistent approach on challenging lyrical content of Grime MCs. The work of one at risk young person used as soundtrack for an educational video, to raise awareness of issues around about self harm and aimed at schools and youth centres. Music leader recruited to develop new accredited music technology courses for the PRU. Young people performing their songs at other events This kind of opportunity would not have been possible without these M4S supported workshops, and has helped and developed the confidence of many young people, as well as providing them with new music technology skills Kevin Davis, Music Leader, Haymill Studio Moving 4wd beats, bars and knowledge Some of the hottest producers and DJs in the country were brought together for three days in Slough to make music and give industry advice to young people. Moving 4WD Beats, Bars & Knowledge was a Creative Academy project being managed by DJ Spencer Lowe and Music 4 Slough. This short course gave young people the opportunity to work on tracks with some of the most innovative DJs and producers in the UK from diverse musical and cultural backgrounds, from grime to bhangra to dubstep to turntablism, the course opened up young peoples ears to new music. As well as insider hints and tips on how to get on in the music business. This was a really big deal for Slough and anyone with a keen interest in music production. Catching all of these artists in one place at one time made this a completely unique opportunity. For the young people that attended the course this really was a once in a lifetime opportunity. DJ Spencer Lowe Guest Artists Included: Logan Sama (Kiss 100 Grime DJ) Plastician (Radio 1 Grime/ Dubstep Producer/DJ) DJ Tigerstyle (3 x World Champion Turntablist) Tony Nwachukwu (Attica Blues/ CDR Producer/DJ) Sumeet Chopra (Alaap, Dhol Foundation, Bhangra Producer) I ve seen the bigger picture and now know what goes on behind the scenes and the hard work. Participants on Moving 4WD m4sbrochure.indd /3/07 12:16:41

4 Holiday Activities Holiday Activities Holiday Activities live drumming and percussive parts before finally adding in lead and backing vocals. Throughout the process they young people all came up with their own individual ideas, which they shared with each other as a production group in order to decide which parts made the final mix. Just ing you to tell you that course was brilliant it gives the youth somewhere to let out their talent, meet other people and learn new things. I learnt a lot in my few days. Participant on Bhangra Beats Junk Percussion Residency Music 4 Slough have been keen to engage young people in voluntary music making during their own time, as such each holiday and half term has involved a large number of different inclusive music making activities that are open to all young people in Slough. In order to make these opportunities as accessible as possible many of the projects provided entry level and first time music making experiences, ranging from instrument and singing taster sessions through to short courses. M4S has also been able to build on the work of other partners by providing something more developmental for young people who are already actively involved in music making. Typically these sessions involved not only making music, but advice form industry professionals on how they can move their music making forwards. As one of Youth Music s priorities elements of singing have featured heavily in the development of projects, for example getting young people to write songs that they will then go on to sing. Ownership of a song is powerful motivation to get young people over boundaries such as lack of confidence and to start them singing. Some examples of Music 4 Slough holiday projects include: Bhangra Beats Bhangra beats was course that was open to teenagers in Slough with an interest in Bhangra, Asian Beats or World Music. The project attracted young people from a host of different musical backgrounds, from dhol player to rock guitarist to experienced producer to those who d never made music before. The young people spent three days in residence in a local music studio where they worked alongside musicians/producers Sumeet Chopra (Alaap & Dhol Foundation) and Alan Sampson (Jay Sean) where they created a two track CD of a very high standard that explored the relationship between live instruments and digital beats. The process started off with the young people using computer software to layer loops and beats, before adding in melody lines played in on keyboards and guitars. Next they recorded in their own With Stomp Workshops Two artists from Stomp Workshops lead a group of 15 young people aged 9-13 in a series of workshops. The workshops explored making music in the famous stomp style, using body percussion and junk with a lot of movement and visual elements. The participants developed their rhythmic playing and performance skills over a week and devised 4 different routines. As residency progressed the workshop leaders introduced musical concepts such as beats, bars, pulse, time signatures, dynamics, on and off beats, triplets and syncopation, and showed how all these elements are used to structure and build up a Stomp routine. Other skills of teamwork, listening, focus and concentration were also emphasised. At the end of the week the group had the opportunity to present their work in a professional venue to an invited audience of family and friends. From the artists point of view the workshops were a real success as they provided a rare opportunity for them to work with one group for more than just a taster session allowing the participants to develop more routines than the artists had expected. Many of the participants said that their music making and performing confidence had improved during the project I learned about dynamics, rhythm and tempo It was really cool! Participants on Junk Percussion Residency Calypso Slough Library During the October half term Music 4 Slough ran a series of workshops celebrating Black History Month, these included Calypso Songwriting, Caribbean Singing and African Drumming and Dance. The Calypso Songwriting workshop took place at Slough Library where young people got to spend the day working with Calypso musician Alexander D Great from Music for Change. The Figures 35 Holiday Projects 144 Music Making Sessions 320 Different Young People 11 Venues 47 Music Leaders 6 Music Leader Trainees 30 Newspaper Articles 10 Public Performances The young people got to take a journey through Calypso musical tradition and history with song, story and rhythm. The session included elements of singing, story telling, percussion and songwriting. The young people composed a piece of Calypso music about the history of R n B, they performed and recorded this track with accompaniment at the end of the day. Mix Tape: Volume 1 Mixtape: Volume 1 was a three day course for young MCs who wanted to have the opportunity to record their own CD with a professional DJ cutting and mixing beats for them. Over the course of the three days the young people spent the time in the studio working alongside a professional DJ and MC. The project was about more than just recording their raps, the young people had their lyrical content challenged, as well as getting sessions on how they can improve their flow and delivery. They also had plenty of opportunities to freestyle with one another. I ve learnt how to flow more efficiently, how to ride the beat and I know understand the elements of a standard hip hop beat Participant on Mix Tape: Volume 1 m4sbrochure.indd /3/07 12:16:52

5 Informal Tuition & Band Work Informal Tuition & Band Work Informal Tuition & Band Work introduced to the project and also gave existing bands a showcase opportunity. Gig in a weekend worked in a similar fashion to the week long intensive project with a higher profile performance at the end. In the past there has been a lack of opportunity for Slough s young people to learn how to play musical instruments. Uptake of those opportunities that did exist were well below the national average. Music 4 Slough wanted to identify where there were gaps and offer some new music activities that would help plug them and that M4S was uniquely placed to deliver. M4S took an approach where it didn t want to duplicate traditional approaches to instrument learning, instead choosing to concentrate on holistic informal instrument learning, band work and song writing as tools through which instrument learning could take place. Band Workout The Band Workout is a year long project for young bands and musicians. The aim is to support young bands by providing them with rehearsal space, recording facilities, showcase and gig opportunities, whilst also giving them practical help and advice from experienced band musicians. The project started of with a week of intensive workshops in song writing, sound checking, some informal instrument tuition and music industry tips. The week culminated in a performance to friends and family. After the initial week the project moved into a regular weekly session, with each band being invited back on a regular basis to rehearse and write new material with the support of the music leaders. Halfway though the Band Workout program there was Band Workout: Gig in a weekend. This allowed new bands and young people to be In the final stages of Band Workout the bands were encouraged to take part in a Rock Recording project where they would meet once a week for six weeks rehearsing specifically for a recording, the bands that took part were then taken to a professional recording studio to cut a CD. The finale of Band Workout was a final Gig in a weekend open to friends, family and members of the public. After I left the band workout, I started finishing up all the songs on my guitar now I ve got 10 songs and been practicing them like crazy!! Band Workout participant, 17 Folk Academy Folk Academy offers young people the chance to learn acoustic instruments used in folk and traditional music, drawing on traditional English and Celtic music styles and drawing on traditional by ear ways of teaching. The project is lead by Luke Daniels, an acclaimed traditional performer, composer, educationalist and artistic director of Gael Music. Folk academy built on previous work Luke had developed in Slough, including work supported by Youth Music and other Music 4 Slough projects, in particular using pennywhistles as an accessible and cost effective way into making music. Folk Academy was partly set up to help those who had tried pennywhistles and wanted to take their musical learning further onto other traditional instruments, as well as providing an alternative to formal school based instrument lessons, and for those who had given up playing for other reasons. The project also aims to reach the transition years and so the workshops are aimed at children aged 8 to 13. For six months a weekly workshop delivered sessions in whistle, guitar and fiddle to beginners and those with some music making experience. Twenty four young people each had a weekly small group or one to one session of 40 minutes to an hour. A special performance was given after three months for family and friends and featured special guests - young traditional musicians from other parts of the country who were very accomplished players. This gave the concert an added value and was designed to inspire the workshop participants. Rock Styles The Rock Styles workshops are a series of one day workshops that take place each holiday and half term. These workshops are aimed at bassists, drummers, guitarists, keyboard players and vocalists who can already play a little but are looking to perform with others and to learn new musical styles and techniques. Each workshop looks at a different genre of music, the styles covered have included; heavy rock, funk, alt-rock, grunge and nu-rock. In the morning of each workshop the participants start they day in small groups for informal instrument tuition, where they learn a song from that days genre on their chosen instrument before going on to analyse and work on some of the techniques used in that style of music. In the afternoon the participants form into bands where they get to go through a guided rehearsal of the song they have been working on and also get some hints and tips on performance and sound checking. Each workshop finishes with a performance to friends and family. I ve learned to use my voice, which is really cool. I hope it works! Band Styles Participant, 16 m4sbrochure.indd /3/07 12:17:07

6 Early Years and Family Learning Early Years and Family Learning Early Years and Family Learning Early years (0-5 years) music is a key priority for Youth Music and Music 4 Slough developed a number of projects in this area. Work by Youth Music (see Turning their ears on, 2006 )and others has demonstrated a range of benefits to children of taking part in regular, structured, active and creative music-making led by an expert musician with skills in working with this age group. These benefits include development in musical, communication, language, mathematical skills, positive impacts on children s emotional, social, physical and cultural development. M4S delivered a number of projects with the aim of demonstrating to the early years sector in Slough the value of this work, providing opportunities for early years workers, parents and children to work with musicians and early years music specialists. Slough Museum Music 4 Slough have worked closely with Slough Museum and their family learning programme. Each holiday and half term M4S have run a session for young people and their parents/carers that relates to the exhibition/ theme at the museum. The sessions were: African Music Workshop Caribbean Singing, Celebrating Black History Month Festival Singing Junk Instruments, Make and Play Song Writing Inspired by the museums collection Working alongside song writer Anna Tabbush the young people on the song writing workshop found a mammoth s tusk in the museum s collection, which inspired them to write and record Woolly the Mammoth. At the Caribbean singing session young people and their parents/ carers worked alongside musician Sunnie De Pass to sing Caribbean folk songs, exploring the history behind them. The young people learnt simple melodies and harmonies, did some call and response singing, and learnt the actions that accompany the words to some of these traditional Caribbean songs. I ve been constantly impressed with the creativity of Slough kids, and the number of opportunities they have to develop that creativity. They really are a joy to work with! Anna Tabbush, Music Leader World of Song World of Song was a series of sessions for pre-school children and carers at Slough library, drawing on songs and musical games from different cultures. This project was in partnership with the library and Lifelong Learning and supported their family learning goals. The project aimed to build confidence in parents and carers to sing songs with children, to build confidence and repertoire of library staff to use music activities and to reflect Sloughs diverse communities. Families were encouraged to bring songs from their own backgrounds to share. A very diverse group of participants regularly attended the course, and songs were sung in six different community languages. Parents reported the success of the course included their children singing the songs at home, that they had been encouraged to by instruments for their children and make music with them at home, and that confidence and language skills had improved as a result of the sessions. Since taking part in the music sessions we bought a shaker for my daughter and now we do the shake and stop song at home. Parent Nursery Music Sessions M4S worked with six nursery settings across Slough to develop music making activities. As well as provide enjoyable music making the sessions aimed to develop foundation musical skills and give early years workers the chance to work alongside a visiting early years music specialist Sarah Robins. The sessions were designed to increase confidence in early years workers to lead musical activities, using songs, instruments, musical games and other activities. Each nursery received a training session for staff, a series of music making sessions and at the end of the project were given a box of instruments and other resources to help them to continue music making. The children have really enjoyed the music making. They have played instruments and learned new songs, seen new instruments from around the world, and with such a wide range of children from different backgrounds this project has really helped with language skills. Nursery School Manager m4sbrochure.indd /3/07 12:17:23