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.
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.
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.
I have always been reluctant to share the awesome!!! work of The ME – Project. I have been working with them over the past couple of years with their Artfully Adapting programme.
It is a targeted programme which practically highlights artistic activities to support specific areas of young people’s lives. I always commend the participants for just turning up. The difficult part of the work for us, is sharing with the public just how much fun it is, while respecting confidentiality of the attendees.
When parents say to their kids “hey go down and try it” it must fill them with dread as they don’t know what they are walking into. I think everyone who joins is pleasantly surprised. The facilities are awesome and I always look forward to returning for a chocolate cookie, they always get the really nice ones.
Kat, Paige and the team are like a family. I think what has made it work so well is that they do it like us, they carry the deep knowledge and experience, which they keep inside like a book on a shelf, while being more focused in the moment of having fun and engaging.
So far every participant has enjoyed it, we have had a lot of fun, and at one point last night we had a 5 minute laughing fit with tears rolling down cheeks as I looked back and shared one of my stories from my school days.
The latest 6 week programme to support 12 to 16 year olds may still have a place left as I write this, check below for details.
We have been supporting the young people of North Doncaster over the last few weeks.
We began our journey supporting young people nearly 10 years ago at Myplace, which sparked the idea of 90minutemusic. It has been an arduous journey from initial personal adversity, through curiosity about the watermark of potential for marginalised groups, to extensive research and expertise gained which was honoured in 2021 with the proud presentation of the UK Youth quality mark.
We will be offering FREE sessions on Wednesday evenings from 7pm, and a special workshop from 12pm on Friday the 28th of October at Bentley Myplace.
I’ve loved it today and I would really like to do this again. E. B. age 8
Over 150 session attendances over the past week. Great to be teaming up with Active Fusion again.
Creating partnerships is vital for the work we do in the community and it is a special feeling to be able to support our local area.
One of the children today stated that he didn’t like music before the session began, but went on to contribute well with the group and engaged well with technology.
We have encountered this a few times over the years and showing young people that they can do things that they don’t feel confident about is important to us.
We are not going to pass on 24 years of experience in a short period of time, but we can show them that there is a place for them in the world of music.
Returning to join up with Active Fusion has given us the opportunity to build on the foundations of our previous work on communication and respect. We moved on to exploring music from around the world to coincide with the commonwealth games. The young people benefitted from being allowed to experiment with instruments from far and wide which in many cases they are experiencing for the first time. We believe in giving opportunity by removing barriers of cost and geographic location.
We will be back supporting Active Fusion again soon, big thanks to the staff as always for making me feel part of the team and thanks to the young people for their effort and enthusiasm.
Working alongside Young People in Central Doncaster
Introduction
After Speaking with Fran Lightfoot of Astrea Academies, we became aware of a need to help young people in the most disadvantaged area of Doncaster, which is as it stands is the 2nd most disadvantaged area in the country. The School is host to 24 different nationalities and is very culturally diverse.
We worked with a group of 5 Young people age 8 years in the form of an after-school club. They were chosen specifically as they were identified as in need of additional support.
We joined them for six weeks for what they affectionately called “Music Club”
Foundation
On day one It was obvious that there were Children with ADHD or ADD or possibly mild ASD. There was a huge difficulty in focusing and little respect for the feelings of others, they all seemed to jostle and fight when they wanted something, rather than speaking and listening. The young people engaged well, but it was clear that they needed not only our support, but an awareness of the support they were able to offer each other.
Addressing challenges
One of the challenges when presented with a group containing individuals with a hyper focus is getting them to understand that the others in the group can add value to them.
We adopt an incredibly simple method of achieving this through simple counting beats and using our “speak to me session”
We used Acoustic instruments and actively explored the building blocks of music, including Tempo, Dynamics and Melody.
The teachers came in during the second session and took photographs and commented that good progress was being made.
What we did
After 6 weeks of working together, we played together as a band, used Synthesizers and Samplers. We explored world music from India, South America and Africa, taking the opportunity to play genuine instruments from those areas.
We created music from things we had found (Including a shopping trolley and a Tape measure) We used our voices creatively and sang. We used microphones, created DJ mash-ups, and free-styled versions of songs that the children knew. We also composed beats and simple melodies which we recorded.
Data Collection
Collecting data for these young people had to be empirical and qualitative in its nature. I conducted short video interviews which although weren’t in depth, they showed some of the character of the children. We found it useful to collect valuable feedback from the class teachers (below)
What the teachers said about 90 Minute Music.
Over the course of the music sessions, Simon has been fantastic. He has been understanding of the different needs and cultural issues that our school faces. He has also had brilliant communication with not only me but with the children and created a strong bond with them. Each child that has attended has progressed in themselves. (We have added in italic our own 90 Minute Music notes regarding each child)
What the teachers said about the Young Peoples development
GM –
He is a shy young boy who wants attention from all adults he comes into contact with. Over the music sessions he has become more resilient and understanding of other people’s thoughts and feelings. GM has also shown a love for music and asks every day ‘When is music club?’- GM has started to communicate with other people that he wouldn’t normally, and is using vocabulary that he has heard from adult interaction. GMs mum has also expressed how happy she is that GM has found a love and talent for something.
GM was initially shy, but quickly engaged and was very stimulated by the music equipment. He had a clear picture in his mind of how the music should sound and managed to convey it well. He had a strong will for doing things his way and his way only, which we had to work on. He was always happy to join us and after a couple of incidents of pushing and pulling, he showed increasing respect for other members of the group.
BG-
Before BG started music club he had difficulty with concentration and staying in his seat. Since music club has started, he has become more focused in class and will sit down for a longer period of time. This is a big improvement for him. BG has had an improved attitude and behaviour towards learning and school.
(BG) Has really made the most tangible progress, he has a passionate interest in using synthesizers to sculpt sounds and shows great communication skills and empathy. He has taken on a Zen like calmness and shows a lot more patience with others in the group
AR-
AR has poor attendance in school. Since the music club, AR has increased his attendance and has become excited to come to school for music club. AR also struggles with anger. Since the club, he has become calm and able to communicate how he is feeling and when he needs time to calm down.
(AR) Initially Seemed very competitive and reflected a negative attitude towards the only girl in the group. After dealing with a couple of small incidents he became more relaxed and apologised to the others. He showed a more compassionate side in the later sessions and was an enthusiastic member of the group.
DD-
DD has low self-esteem and confidence. The club and Simon have been able to build on this and have welcomed her with open arms. DD is now smiling a lot more and is willing to talk to a mixture of different people that she comes into contact with. This has also impacted her communication.
(DD) was timid and quiet at the beginning, she gave the impression that she needed an environment which was less chaotic and competitive than the one in which we started, we were able to offer that, she thrived, became more talkative and was always smiling.
TS-
TS has struggled with communication and interaction with other peers. Since going to the club he has started to communicate with peers in his class and some from other classes. He has also started to use stronger vocabulary when interacting with adults. We have seen an increase in his participation in conversations and class activities.
(TS) began quite introverted and felt uncomfortable engaging in the hustle and bustle of the first session. He went on to create his own space within the group and favoured the log-drum which is a type of marimba. Using the instruments allowed him to find a voice.
Quotes:
‘I love using the drums and making loud noises’ AR
‘The equipment is brilliant. I want to do more music with Simon.’ BG
‘Making new sounds is great. I like using all the buttons and microphone.’ GM
Impact
The impact after 6 weekly sessions has been truly life changing for these young people. They communicate better, are more resilient, they have a real love of music, and they flourished in an environment where they didn’t have to fight back or bunker down, giving them healthier routes to conflict resolution.
Although it wasn’t a typical teaching environment, for these children it was a catalyst for learning and development. The children were able to retain a lot of the things we did in previous weeks and were always repeating the one rule of 90 Minute Music “We don’t waste our time”
All the children wanted to do more 90 Minute Music and we have discussed with teachers the possibility of doing this as they would like to roll it out across the School.
Thanks to our funders.
The impact of this investment goes far beyond positively changing the lives of the young people. It transcends to a more positive family life and has led to integrating and celebration of cultural differences creating stronger more resilient communities.
As a company the funding has offered us an opportunity to be sustainable after coming through the Covid-19 Pandemic. Over the past year we have built capacity supporting over 1700 young people.
Thanks again to Isla Foundation and Well Doncaster.
Thanks to the Staff at Astrea Atlas Primary for inviting us into their School and for making us feel welcome.
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.
90minutemusic.co.uk 