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.
The core of our work is about improving health using music. We were asked to return to the children’s ward to support young people and their families who are in difficult and challenging situations.
As a parent who has had to deal with having a couple of children in hospital over the years I have an understanding of how distressing it can be.
Music can help with reducing anxiety when operations and procedures are on the horizon.
Music making can play a key part in building friendships and can help cure the boredom of being stuck in hospital.
Music can in some cases aid in pain reduction by up to 40%, although a degree of knowledge and experience is needed to be successful.
The video above is of staff members experiencing a taste of what the kids had done, it is so fulfilling to see smiles on faces.
Thanks to Jill Edwards for inviting us back and we are looking forward to seeing you again on the 6th of December.
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.
“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.
“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.
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.
Last year we attended the Evestrust Legends game and had a really awesome family day out. This year thanks to the support of my family and friends I dusted off my boots and played alongside other fundraisers and club legends from Doncaster Rovers and Liverpool.
We won the game 8 – 6 and I was proud to raise around a thousand pound for Evestrust, a cancer support charity in Doncaster. Big respect to all the ex pro’s who attended including Akinfenwa, according to FIFA, the strongest footballer in the world pictured below.
He was living his dream of playing in a Liverpool shirt and managed to get a powerful header into the roof of the net.
For me getting involved in a couple of our goals and sharing it with my family was a truly wonderful experience, there are too many people to thank, so I thank you all
It was a nice touch to meet Razor Ruddock, all the ex pro’s were fantastic, signing autographs and giving time to the young people watching. But the real hero’s of the day were the fundraisers below.
The event raised thousands for the charity and winning the game was the icing on the cake.
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 đź‘€
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
We were back at New York Stadium in Rotherham today. We delivered in the RUFCST Museum, aside of learning of the first ever penalty to be scored in a match against Darlington and various facts of play off victories and football memorabilia our focus was on health and development.
We got really useful feedback from one of the participants today. I was told that the workshop was really easy to understand and that our core work, which we always begin with when working with new people, was a clear path to songwriting and composition.
After 10 years of honing and development this wasn’t a surprise, but hearing it from a young person was special.
Thanks to Jonathan Allen for looking after us again and good luck for tomorrows 24 hour #walkforrio which is a fundraiser for the son of Tommy Spurr, who used to play for Doncaster Rovers.
Once again Councillor Smizz comes through for people in the Adwick /Woodlands area.
We had great engagement from all ages with babies and toddlers to 17 and 18 year olds taking part.
We met Damian Allen and his team from DMBC. It felt good to share some of our success stories, while Damian spoke with our latest volunteer Matt about how our vision for showcasing culture aligned with what they had both witnessed in Germany.
We took a quick (and dodgy looking) selfie and made some good connections in the community along the way.
Big thanks to Elizabeth and Jackie for inviting us, look out for FREE 90minutemusic sessions in the Library next term.
90minutemusic.co.uk 