Therapeutic Hang Drum.

The Hang drum

The Hang Drum is just one of our brand new range of Acoustic Instruments. We have been supported by North Doncaster Development Trust to add to our state of the art Music Technology equipment to provide a framework for building confidence and learning new skills.

Due to the odd way of working in the non profit sector, we have equipment, we have insurance, we have all the qualifications and experience, we also have many disadvantaged groups in need of working with us, all we need is funding to get on with the work.

Watch this space for developments as we are confident of positive news very soon.

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

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.

Cura-Care Music Sensory group

“I love bringing him here, it gives him time away from me (mum) and gives him space to be himself.”

So nice to hear one of the mums appreciating the work of Paige and Rachel who share in our passion for supporting young people.

It was encouraging to hear from the ladies that there have been some positive leaps forward today.

Massive thanks to Well Doncaster for supporting us over the last few months and allowing us to work with so many different groups.

The highlight of my day today was just after the photo above, this young fella began to get creative and when he started to do some thing above and beyond, he turned to me and said “high five”

I gave him some skin and we carried on.

Thanks to everyone who who joined us today.

Upcoming sessions this week are.

Woodlands Library from 2.45 Monday, mixed age Askern Shakers from 7.00pm 11 to 16 Monday, Adwick Primary After School Club closed session, Tuesday Bullcroft Memorial Hall from 4.45pm Tuesday 7 to 11 Highfields Boxing Club from 4.45pm on Wednesday mixed age.

Free to join us. See you then

Adwick Primary, Askern Shakers, Woodlands Library.

Supercharging development in young people who don’t always engage is an important part of what we do.

At Askern Shakers youth club we worked on communication and respect. The mixed age group worked well. We talked about our connections to music and examined how music can support brain development. Our first visit to Shakers and what an asset for Askern, thanks to Mitchell for inviting us and thanks to Isiasha from Heal Me Happy for passing on our details.

At Woodlands Library we were joined by a group of 10 who had come from the Outwood Academy next door. They wanted to produce a Darkzy style tune, We identified the sounds and techniques and began emulating it using the technology. I explained to them that there would be a challenging journey ahead, but we use state of the art music production equipment, so coupled with our 25 years experience, we are able to get them there fast.

Week 4 of 6 and the Adwick Primary group are coming along as we expected, the initial shyness has become a burgeoning confidence and their coordination physically and socially is an achievement we are proud to play our part in.

The Charity Hub

We have also found time to update our level 3 safeguarding and visited The Charity Hub this week where we met with some local and national organisations and got to share our experiences while learning from theirs. Thanks to Vicki Beevers from The Sleep Charity and Nathan Kennedy from D. I. C. E. for guest speaking. And Brett Riley-Tomlinson and Clynton Johnson for inviting us.

And finally awesome to see our volunteers developing fast and getting a real insight into the research and skills which back up what we do, so big thanks to Dennis and Matt.

Upcoming workshops 👀

Me Project from 2.15 on Sunday Woodlands Library from 2.45 Monday, Askern Shakers from 7.00pm Monday, Adwick Primary School from 2.55 Tuesday, Bullcroft Memorial Hall 4.45pm Tuesday, Highfields Boxing Club 4.45pm Wednesday

S.T.E.M……..THE FLOW.

Instant engagement is the key to delivering any kind of work with young people. Over the past 3 years our partner organisations have shared the benefits of our work such as reducing anxiety and building social confidence.

It’s fulfilling to hear the positive feedback we have received and we are blessed to have found partners who share our passion.

When you work with tools everyday they can almost become invisible to you, I think we sometimes take for granted our privilege of being able to use state of the art equipment and we often ignore the obvious elements of Science and Technology in our work.

  • This week we have given an opportunity for young blind people to closely communicate using the technology as a tool. We were Invited by the Ridge Employability College who are focused on giving young people employment opportunities in the community.
  • We have also spent time at Highfields Boxing Club where we opened up the conversation about how young people used technology and we all had different views of what a mobile phone is for.
  • We embraced sound design at Bentley Myplace this week and came up with a classic house groove. We sculpted sound using a synthesiser and made collaborative choices on what we were aiming for.
  • The STEM acronym is used a lot nowadays and there can be a fear factor surrounding maths and science, our focus is on the fun, so we feel the flow rather than the…….. Errrrrrrr no.

We have places available at Highfields Boxing Club on Wednesday night from 4.45pm

Also Bentley Myplace from 7.00pm on Wednesday.

Highfields Boxing Club & Bentley Myplace

Awesome to welcome the birth of a new group in Highfields this evening. At this time of year its important to offer safe activities for young people, so thanks again to the Well Doncaster team at DMBC for their continued support.

We are proud to welcome our latest volunteer, Emily from Doncaster University Health and Social care. Providing opportunities for young people to develop through leadership is an important part of our ethos.

It’s not always easy to make the connection between health and music. The health benefits of social development around music can be life changing. We add the value of being experienced industry professionals with a strong awareness of current healthcare practices, which we are proud to pass on to the next generation.

We have also been back at Bentley Myplace where we have been finding out about young people’s aspirations and sharing our thoughts on how using music technology equipment could support essential skills for their future.

We will be back on Wednesday Highfields from 4.45pm and Bentley from 7pm

Join us this week

Edlington Eco – Bullcroft Memorial Hall – Myplace Bentley

Another busy week with focus on collaboration and inclusion.

After a chance meeting with Sam Siddall MBE, who was awarded her honour for community work, we were Invited to Edlington and were given a warm welcome by Lynn and the team.

We enjoyed an energetic jamming session with a wide age range as mum’s enthusiastically supported their children. It is a always a pleasure to work with children who have additional needs, especially in mixed groups as it adds value to all who attend on a social development level. Great to see lots of smiles and we look forward to seeing you all again.

Myplace Bentley was a little different this week as we decided to write a song based on the positive messages which are artistically written all over the youth hub walls. This presented a couple of challenges which were overcome with some creative collaboration. As always the timing of introducing challenges is crucial to build confidence and develop essential skills. Once again it was the girls who took the lead and proved that music technology is not a male only environment.

Carcroft this week was all about communication and Jamming. We had an increase in numbers due to a bit of canvassing outside the local school. We also welcomed attendees from across town who whole heartedly contributed.

Thanks again to Well Doncaster and Director of Public Health, Rupert Suckling who we met with this week. We look forward to sharing some more detail of our recent success stories.

Bentley Myplace from 6.00pm Wednesdays

Carcroft Bullcroft Memorial Hall from 4.00pm Thursdays.

Machines: Better or Worse?

For us technology has enabled us to do what we love every day. Supporting young people with their development while working creatively with music.

But has the development of technology made things worse? Do we have shorter attention spans? Are we becoming more anxious? Is anybody truly bored anymore?

Our philosophy in 90 Minute Music comes from researching how humans utilise technology and exploring how we can add value in terms of sociability and building resilience.

There is often a perceived conflict between us and technology especially when it goes wrong.

When technology fails

In our experience some young people are more likely to be enthusiastic about engaging with technology than each other.

We use this to our advantage by using the technology to focus on the things that technology has begun to erode. We share our knowledge of music, production and the world of DJing to identify how we can synergise groups of individuals by learning about their primary needs.

We have supported thousands of young people with their development by identifying areas of support and quickly putting that support in place through our training and expertise.

Although our aims are to support health and development, the nature of our work is having fun and sharing each others qualities.

I didn’t like 90 Minute Music, I loved it.

C. B. Age 10 Doncaster

We will be at Myplace Bentley from 6.00pm on Wednesday 8th of June.

Norbreck Communal Hall Askern from 5.00pm on Thursday 9th of June.

Bullcroft Memorial Hall from 7.15pm on Thursday the 9th of June.

Follow us on Facebook to find out when and where you can access free sessions for young people.

Bentley Myplace, Askern Norbreck, Bullcroft Mem. And Eco Power Stadium.

Proud to support Eve’s Trust

Great to spend an afternoon with my own kids. We took some drums down to the Eve’s Trust legends charity game between Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday. Rovers were schooled by the ex pro’s from the Wednesday team with tidy performances from Chris Brunt and Paolo Di Canio. An honourable mention goes out to our own James Coppinger and Colin Douglas who kindly gave my son an autograph. I spoke to Duggie after the game and he said that he may be aching in the morning but as everyone who gave their time he was happy to support such a positive cause.

Myplace Bentley

We bring everything to create Electroacoustic Music to your venue

Another busy week of delivery as we began our return to Bentley. As we had discussed with senior youth leaders and identified a need for our provision, it was good to get going. We were proud to have our new volunteers supporting, both did a great job of engaging and I’m sure will go on to do great things. Our vision is to nurture, build confidence and resilience and ultimately give young people the tools to be both cooperative and assertive. We began this work through volunteering 9 years ago, so we recognise the value to not only the community but the volunteer and their family.

Norbreck Communal Hall Askern

Week two at the Norbreck, a great vibe as our growing group shared humour and we learned of the growing number of events for local people. It is always rewarding to hear the young people reminding me of what we did the previous week. The simplicity of our approach gives a great framework for fast progress and cohesive group work. We got hands on with the digital equipment and created beats using the step sequencer, we also had the adults on hand to write a rap, which was excellently delivered.

Bullcroft Memorial Hall Carcroft

This venue is beginning to gain momentum and is a fantastic resource for the community. We had primary aged children, who engaged really well with the Digital gear. Big respect goes out to the parents who got involved whole heartedly. Massive thanks to my new colleague Tina for bringing her boys and spreading the word in the local area. We are in the early days at Bullcroft but already seeing a positive attitude and learning of essential skills.

We still have places available at all venues next week, but they are limited so get in touch.

  • Myplace Bentley 5.30pm Wednesday
  • Norbreck Communal Hall 5.00pm Thursday
  • Bullcroft Memorial Hall 7.15pm Thursday