SiFly #SEND, DJing, health and education, music production

Phab Doncaster

We were blown away by the effort when we were joined by young people in Warmsworth.

Our initial inspiration for developing 90 minute music came from working with young people with additional needs.

We had a lot of fun and the adults were as enthusiastic as the young people.

We used Ableton Live to take part in DJ jams and we used hand drums and melodic drums to create an eclectic mix of positivity.

Thank you so much to Laura for inviting us, we had intended on working with Laura just before the COVID pandemic hit and it has took us five years to get round  to working together, we look forward to working with you again soon.

To find out more visit our You Tube page for more Music and Health nuggets. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBJEjhcPa4vIDWBNWBN2klQ

SiFly #SEND, DJing, health and education, music production

Woodlands Community Library

A few years ago I gave up the best job I had to go full time with 90minutemusic.

That is where I met this fella. Ryan is 25 now and has had more challenges than most of us in his young life. He always has a smile on his face and I’ve heard he makes a legendary cuppa.

When I saw him working in the Library I asked  Liz if I could provide a free session. Although we have no funding currently it felt like the right thing to do.

I also got the chance to talk with ladies from the councils mental health support team who had a jam.

SiFly DJing, health and education, music production

Future Pathways Alternative Provision

Good to be back with young people in a local School for young people who have experienced issues with mainstream education.

We had open discussions on places they would like to visit and what the attraction of those places were.

Amsterdam and California were some of the areas mentioned, so we discussed how much they were looking forward to the Tulips and Cali sunshine. We used this as an inspiration to create.

We had lots of laughs as we did the Speed Boat Ride excercise, which brings us out of our comfort zone and focuses us on being creative with what we have, whether our resources are limited or not.

There were a couple of young people who showed a real feel for the DJ elements of 90minutemusic and I look forward to to our paths crossing again in the future.

I was really pleased that the young people were open about challenges they faced with reading, writing and ADHD. It gave me an opportunity to share some of my personal experience and knowledge on the subject.

Thanks to Lauren for inviting us to a great facility in a good central location in Doncaster. Thanks again to Well Doncaster for their continued support.

SiFly health and education, music production

Brownies, Guides and Rainbows

Over the past couple of weeks we have been supporting one of the local groups.

My parents encouraged me to join the cubs as a young lad and it proved a good way to mix with other kids and learn about the outdoors.

Working in St Michael’s church in Skellow was a pure joy as we explored songwriting and beatmaking along with some electro acoustic Jams.

Thanks so much to Gemma and Fiona for inviting us. We met at a local Community gala organised by Well Doncasters’ Lauren Beaumont.

We met some young people who we had worked with previously and it meant a lot to us to witness them flourishing.

When parents get their children to participate in out of School activities they are giving them an opportunity to widen their social circle snd boost opportunities to develop support networks. This is increasingly valuable from a mental health perspective.

So a big thanks to all the parents out there who are putting the effort in, you will be rewarded with healthier more resilient young people.

SiFly health and education, music production

Activ8 Summer Camps 2023

Over the 6 weeks holiday we were asked to support Activ8 Coaching who provide sports activities to schools.

We had 100% engagement from the young people and we also had particular interest from the support staff.

We heard how some had no access to creating music using the 90minutemusic way, and didn’t fit into classical music training and had to opt to take another choice at secondary education level.

This was my personal route, not believing there would be a place for me in a very competitive environment.

Nearly 25 years later I’m now in a position to mentor young people into finding their way.

We were proud to give our long time volunteer Denis some valuable experience and he had a good rapport with the young people as he took a lead role in delivery.

Thanks to Owen for inviting us to support and thanks to all his staff for making us welcome especially Will who made a great cup of tea.

Looking forward to working with you again soon.

SiFly #SEND, DJing, football, music production, sport

Rotherham United Community Trust

Wonderful to be back with Rotherham United Community Trust.

Always good to work with familiar faces who we have been with over the past couple of years, but a few new one’s too.

We also branched out to a new venue at Parkgate Astro. We gave an opportunity to our volunteer Denis to take the lead and demonstrate the skills he has been building up over the last 6 months of training.

Once again thanks to Jonny for inviting us to support and all the young people from the Trust who deserve credit for their role in delivering the much needed HAF programme in Rotherham.

SiFly health and education, music production

Doncaster Royal Infirmary Children’s Ward

Big respect to all the staff who joined us
Instruments from South America and Germany

A real pleasure to be asked to to join young people on the Children’s Ward. Our studies over the last 10 years have been focused on how music and music technology can positively affect health

We were supported by staff on the ward and their experience shone through as they engaged in the session.

Time passes slowly for young people in hospital so a one off session like this breaks up the boredom and also provides an activity which can be shared with parents and staff.

The technology we use provides an opportunity to engage on a level playing field regardless of age or ability.

We had very young people exploring the musical instruments from around the world and it was a highlight to see them engaging with the technology.

“absolutely fantastic”

After the session the staff told me that they thought the session was “absolutely fantastic” which was great to hear.

Thanks to Jill for inviting us, we look forward to working with you again soon.

SiFly DJing, health and education, music production

Adwick Primary School

“When we started I was quiet and didn’t want to talk much, but now if our teacher asks a question I will answer, I used to be scared to do things but now I find it easier to get involved, I enjoyed the beat pad most.” L.M aged 9

We asked if they felt anything had changed since we started 6 weeks ago.

It was our final session of 6 on Tuesday and I asked the children if they felt anything was different from when we met 6 weeks ago. 6 out of the 9 pupils recognised that they were more confident socially.

For us building strong social bonds and supercharging confidence are among our primary aims, but to hear them mirror back their understanding of it really made my day.

Over the past 6 weeks we have covered communication and discipline. Learning and development. Music from around the world. Songwriting and Music Production, DJing and the connections between Maths, Science, Art and Music.

We have Jammed, laughed, learnt about each other and explored the building blocks of Music.

Thanks to Miss Jenkins for taking part as well as supporting us through the sessions and thanks to all the School staff who made us feel welcome.

SiFly DJing, health and education, music production

Woodlands Library & Askern Shakers

Plenty of new faces joining us this afternoon and evening. At the Library we had a good mix of ages with parents joining in too to help inspire creation. Thanks to our newcomers and Jackie and Elizabeth for providing the venue.

At Shakers we were briefly joined by one of the religious leaders who support the centre. We discussed different aspects of faith, it is not a common subject among teenagers, so we had a brief break to explore.

We created two original pieces of music and wrote out the words for both. We also managed to find time to do some singing.

It was a pleasant night so we setup outside with the tech, which gave a different vibe.

Thanks for joining us everyone.

Adwick Primary tommorow, then Bullcroft Memorial Hall from 4.45pm

SiFly health and education, music production

Adwick Primary After School Club

Back at Adwick Primary today and a proud moment for us as Volunteer Matt finally got his chance to shine.

Loads of creative conversation about swimming with pigs and visiting far off lands as we discussed what the future might hold.

We have learnt a lot about each other and also focused on the importance of discipline and communication, we are all looking forward to getting stuck in with the technical equipment next week.

Thanks again to Miss Jenkins for leaving us a fantastic review on our Facebook page and for posing for the pic above.