Music in the Community

Unit 21
Know the context and purpose of community music-making including
practitioners and organisations

S
 Define…

 What is Community Music?

Community Music Wales believe ..

Music provides the soundtrack to people's lives. It

can be educational, informative and empowering,
but it should always be enjoyed. Creative music
making is central to Community Music Wales and its
objectives.
Making Music With People

Music has the ability to communicate, inspire, excite,

motivate and to express a wide range of feelings and
experiences
 ‘Soundsense’

 Community music involves musicians working with

people to enable them to actively enjoy and
participate in music. This can happen anywhere
and with anyone, because a ‘community’ doesn't
have to be a geographical one. It can be a group
of people who share common interests,
experiences or backgrounds
 Pete Moser

http://www.moremusic.org.uk/on-the-beat
 Community Music in
Britain

 Historical examples of participatory music-making in Britain:

 Factory / mine-centered and Salvation Army Brass bands

 Folk Clubs

 Hand or church bell ringing

 Choirs

 Steel bands

 Festivals
From the 60’s… Freedom!

 Significant developments arose from the European

improvised music scene

 Free Jazz

 Asian and African sounds

 Improvisation – John Stevens 1960’s was the

leading organiser of free music in London
 Changes

 Community music became to be used for ‘non

professionals’ and was not just confined to just
‘Education’

 In the 1970’s community arts relied mainly on local and

national government or arts organisations and charities
for funding

 In the 1980’s a national scheme called Community

Programme was a government initiative aimed at
reducing unemployment across the community.
 Changes

 In 1997 the Labour government established

dialogue with artists, educators and social
scientists in addressing ‘social exclusion’. This
could never have been implemented without the
funding opportunities made available by the
National Lottery
 Opened up new doors

 Major developments recently across the country

 More available funding

 More support from the government

 Investment and expansion

 Practical Task

 Building relationships

 Warm-ups

 Logistics

 Positive learning

 How groups work

 Planning
SOUNDBEAM
 Building relationships

 Circles – everyone is equal and it’s a great starting

point for a number of games.

 Trust – find the right way to engage with people

 Clarity – use clear hand signals or gestures,

practice counting in and giving pitch. Be
consistent
 Warm ups

 Can help to relax the body or brain

 Build up a repertoire of warm up activities

 Drumming on chairs – find a warm up that give

everyone an equal place, that don’t show up
anyone.
 Logistics

 The room – choose the right space

 Chairs, cushions. Get the atmosphere right

 Move furniture and maximize natural light

 Preparation – lesson planning, tune your guitar, arrive

early and get your equipment set up
 Positive Learning

 What creates a positive learning environment?

 Mindmap your ideas.

 Local Practitioners

 Did you make a list (last week) of local music

practitioners / community music groups?
 When Planning

 Who is the workshop for?

 What is the activity?

 What is the purpose

 What are the needs of the participants

 What is the time scale?

 Who are the hosts, what do they want?