2016 : cultivating ways for working with music and growing our ideas...

On the other side of New Year we have two events coming up that will help us to cultivate our musical ideas and grow the way we work .... we should emerge inspired, informed and ready to bloom.

On January 30th our team of music leaders - Alex, Jane and Russ, are leading a music inclusion training day for our trainees, associates and other professionals. We're calling this 'Joining In' ... exactly what 'inclusion' means to us.

The following weekend, we have an 'in house' training day with music leader extraordinaire Hugh Nankivell.

What a luxury!
If you know anyone that would like to come to 'Joining In' please email for details.

Heart Beats Music on the Sound Connections website

We were pleased to hear from Sound Connections after they read our words about inclusion on the Youth Music blog.
We gave them some information on how we work towards youth participation, and now we're listed on the 'Rewired' section of their website.
Being off in the sticks here in muddy Somerset, it's always good to know you're moving in the right direction, and can have a voice in the national debates and research into inclusion and music.
We feel we work hard to get it right, and part of that is knowing and understanding what other people are doing right across the country, in rural and urban settings. We learn from other people and it's good to have platforms like the Youth Music Network to share our ideas.

Listening Lounge tonight ... feeling seasonal

Tonight we'll be thinking about sharing... it's a seasonal thing.....

Playing music with other people gives us the opportunity to empathise, communicate, and share ideas.
By making space in group music we can welcome people in, inviting them to interact. We can affirm through our responses and participate in joint decisions - all without a word.
A circle of gifts. Magic!

Training opportunity with the AllStars team, January 30th

Joining in : exploring good practice for inclusive music

A CPD day for professionals with Count Me In.

This training day is for professionals who are looking for new ideas and ways to use music inclusively .

Join us for a creative and hands-on day in this inspiring setting to explore some different approaches to learning through music. This CPD opportunity is a day of practical exercises, playing, reflecting and discussion, led by the music leaders of the AllStars project, Alex Lupo, Jane Harwood and Russ Stanley.

We will investigate methods and techniques to fully include all children and young people with additional needs.

This training is for educators (mainstream and SEN), SENCOs, teaching assistants, musicians, music leaders and practitioners working in non formal settings.

Topics to be covered:

- enabling musicianship in mixed groups
- inclusion and communication through music
- incorporating interpersonal and therapeutic approaches

The training has a unique, experiential element. Attendees will be offered the opportunity to attend one of our ‘Heart Beats’ live music sessions, to co-lead a workshop with an integrated, inclusive group of young musicians.

Places are strictly limited.

Do bring your own instruments, though some will be provided.

Please bring some lunch to share. Drinks and snacks are provided.

DATE : Saturday January 30^th 2016

Location : The Lecture Hall, Wells and Mendip Museum, 8 Cathedral Green, Wells BA5 2UE

Time : 10.00-3.30                                                                                      

Cost : £40.00  (concs. available, please enquire) 

To book : info@heartbeats.org.uk     01373 813558

Another thought provoking blogpost!

Co-incidentally (or not - perhaps it so 'now' it's actually no coincidence at all) Siggy Patchitt has posted a blog on the YM network about inclusion, and what we're calling integration.
After many years of doing this kind of work, it's great to see it on the agenda.

Recommended reading, anyway.

What we are aiming for is simple. It’s a world where these two things happen:

1. A project is set up so that anyone, no matter what their needs are, can access it.
2. A Music Leader walks into a room and is able to work with any individual, no matter what their needs.

- See more at: http://network.youthmusic.org.uk/learning/blogs/siggy-patchitt/dropping-pennies%E2%80%A6or-jigsaw-pieces#sthash.LSJYcWEX.

What we are aiming for is simple. It’s a world where these two things happen:

1. A project is set up so that anyone, no matter what their needs are, can access it.
2. A Music Leader walks into a room and is able to work with any individual, no matter what their needs.

- See more at: http://network.youthmusic.org.uk/learning/blogs/siggy-patchitt/dropping-pennies%E2%80%A6or-jigsaw-pieces#sthash.LSJYcWEX.dpuf

New post on the Youth music network

Count Me In have just put up a new blogpost on the Youth music network.

It's some thoughts about 'participation' and how tricky that can be to get right sometimes... and how everyone comes to music for a different reason, and just maybe leaves with a different benefit too.

This piece was inspired by a paper by Francois Matarasso, you can read that here.
He says some great things about impact and involvement.

Thanks to Waitrose

The AllStars / Heart Beats team are sending out a big Thank You to Waitrose in Wells.... thanks to their Community Matters scheme we've been donated the grand sum of £276 pounds to spend on new instruments for our music sessions. Yay!

The AllStars Listening Lounge

AllStars is a cluster of projects running across Somerset for two years.

All of these projects explore different aspects of integrated musical inclusion - based on our key principle of improvisation and 'music education by encounter.'

Alex and Jane are running the Listening Lounge. This is a small closed group that meets monthly. The group is equal :  a mixture of mainstream and SEN young musicians who have varied experiences of formal / non formal music education - and most possibly have very different expectations of the role of music in their future lives.

Within these sessions, Alex and Jane are exploring new approaches to the questions 'what is music for?' and 'what does music do for us?'
The Listening Lounge is a combination of community music practices and music mentoring, informed by therapeutic methodologies, in regular closed sessions with a dedicated group.


The group play, talk, listen and explore personal relationships with music.
The process will be informed by the group's narrative as it forms its identity.

We're waiting to see what measurable outcomes will look like. We think that being part of this group will be useful for the leaders and the group - that we can build on our sense of self worth, interpersonal skills, and tools for self expression.

Yesterday evening we gathered together to talk, laugh, reflect, improvise two pieces of music, listen to favourite tracks, and do some quiet, focused drawing to music.
Outside it was dark, windy and wintry, but inside the session it felt warm, relaxed, and safe.
Here are the drawings ...the music has just melted away, into the November night.

Gathering ideas for our training day

On Saturday January 30th 2016, the AllStars Music team will be hosting an open-access CPD session for educators who use music and musicians who work in care and education.
The training will focus on developing a person-centered approach to music: unlocking creativity and confidence.
As a team, we have a wide range of SEN/D expertise, so the training will be useful for people who work in SEN/D, or the wider aspects of musical inclusion.

We'll be sharing some of the thinking and practice that informs our work, both in  our inclusive Heart Beats sessions, and also our wider work with schools, mentoring, and using music as a tool for therapy and communication.

As part of the package, we'll be offering linked opportunities for experiential learning through placements at the Heart Beats music group.

At the moment we're gathering ideas for the day, especially thinking about what 'musical inclusion' means and how to create a 'playful' environment.

There will be plenty of playing on the day, so if you want to come, bring an instrument.


Watch this blog for more details. The venue will be in Wells and the day will run from 10.00 - 3.30. Tickets will be available soon.

spreading the word... an opportunity for young disabled musicians

Our Youth Music funded colleagues Open Up Music are recruiting for the SW Open Youth Orchestra. For anyone that is interested, there's more details on Spaeda's website, here