Music Development at work in Cardiff December 2007

The Music Development fund is an amount allocated by Cardiff Council to address the issues of inclusion and diversity in the provision of musical activities in Cardiff Schools The fund is managed by the Music Development Officer from within the Music Service, and tuition is provided by the Music Development Team . The chief aim is to complement and enhance what the Music Service delivers, and in doing so, produce the widest possible range of musical opportunities to meet the requirements of an equally wide variety of pupils.

On one level, the issue of diversity appears to be simple enough – Steel Pans, Samba, Rock School and Indian Drumming tuition are all supported, with equipment and tuition provided by the authority at no charge to pupils, and one could state that, as these are all group activates and everyone can ‘have a go’ we are also achieving inclusion, but what we would not be achieving is equality of opportunity. It’s a bit like saying ‘you can have any flavour you like as long as it’s strawberry’. It is the idea of informed choice that is the ultimate aim, and to make those choices, pupils and schools need to have a better idea of what is possible. It is in demonstrating the possibilities and giving schools and pupils the tools and the confidence to move forward, that the most exciting work of the Music Development Team begins.

Global Music Maker – awakening the musician inside


Global Music Maker is a ten-week programme, devised by the team, to develop musical skills in a whole-class setting taking inspiration from many cultures. The programme runs for a hour a week with two tutors, in four schools, culminating in a mini World Music Festival at a major venue in the City. We have used both St David’s Hall and the Wales Millennium Centre, where we have found invaluable support and encouragement.

The course involves songs, movement and simple instrumental work, which may also include any child already playing an instrument at school. Each class prepares a group of pieces from a different culture or genre . To date, we have put together resources for Celtic, Caribbean, Native American, Latin American, African and Indian strands, and are currently working on a Polish model. We have avoided the use of very expensive equipment and make sure that what we present is within the grasp of the non-specialist teacher. Pupils might play a simple tin whistle part in a ceilidh band, or perhaps an ostinato on a mini steel pan. We try to incorporate languages so we have had ‘La Bamba’ in Spanish and songs in Gujurati and even ‘Elvish’ (‘Lord of the Rings’, rather than Memphis!).



The focus is very much on the many ways in which music is put together, so that pupils learn to listen and understand rather than to just follow instructions. Sessions include development of skills, creative exploration of musical ideas, and listening to the tutors play. The aim is not to produce a perfect performance, but to give the participants an understanding of what it feels like to be a musician.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive to date – some schools have found that their staff have become more confident about teaching music as a result of working with the team over a number of weeks, others have been surprised at the level of achievement possible in such a short time. It has been most rewarding to watch confidence levels grow and to see children perform in front of their peers and their parents at such great venues. As one child put on his evaluation form ‘I would definitely recommend it to other children as it could change your life!’

Global Music Maker is also very popular with the tutors as they work in teams and can play to their strengths as performers and teachers. I have found it a very useful way to train in new staff, as they can see the how the programme works and gradually increase their role as they gain in confidence. It is also gratifying for the more recent graduates to discover that all that performance training is not going to waste, as engaging a large group of children for a hour demands exactly the same skills set – sound judgment, intuition and awareness of the mood of the room.



After the 10 weeks, we advise the school on further steps they might like to take – sometimes this may be identifying children that excelled, so that they can be selected for instrumental tuition, or perhaps the school will‘buy in’ further programmes having had one term for free. We are currently working with one school where take up of instrumental lessons had been low, on a model similar to that used for Wider Opportunities and plan to design a template that can be rolled out to other similar schools in the City.

School Rocks!
‘School Rocks!’ is a new initiative targeting year 6 pupils, which is being developed at Llanederyn Primary School. The idea is to teach musical skills taking inspiration from Rock and Pop music. We have found that, although pupils listen to popular music on a pretty regular basis, few of them had ever heard a live band, or spent much time thinking about how it is all put together. To this end, we put together a band from the Team and chose some safe repertoire – you really do have to read all the lyrics carefully. We then performed a selection of songs from ‘Shrek’ at a school assembly. The following week we began working with the year 6 pupils in a whole class setting, on the development of musical skills. The template is similar to Global Music Maker, except that the warm-ups are accompanied by live drum kit and distorted guitar riffs. So far, we have spent several weeks developing an awareness of rhythm, improving vocal skills, and have given demonstrations on drums, guitars and keyboard. One of the most useful tools that we use has been the Loop Pedal, which allows you to record a simple loop and then layer ideas on top of this to create a whole piece. The sound source can be just vocal – a word or sound, or any instrument through a microphone. The pupils are thrilled to hear how their own voices can layer up and produce something pretty complex instantly. Some use beat box techniques, others words, names and melodies, the good thing is that everyone can participate, and as they are all listening so intently behaviour is excellent. Next term we will be breaking in to smaller groups to teach keyboard, guitar drums and vocals, and hope to produce some bands in time for our Summer Rock celebration.

Work-in-progress
In addition to regular project work, we seek to identify groups that may have a specific need that could be met by our Service, and create multi-agency partnerships to address this need. We have worked with Adult Day Services on a course for adults with physical disabilities, and have been inspired to examine the wider issue of cultural provision in this sector. We have also been working with DPIA – an organisation that empowers Refugees and Asylum Seekers, and are planning to set up a choir in consultation with them and EMAS (Ethnic Minority Achievement Service) designed to help children improve their English and increase their confidence. We have developed taster versions of all our multi-cultural programmes, and offer these for schools to purchase for their Creative Arts weeks. We have held our first conference for teachers – Grŵp Dynamic, and have become an accredited provider for Cardiff ArtsMark.





We make our broadcasting debut on CBeebies this year, having supported Roath Park Primary School with their performance of ‘Dreamchase’ for the ‘Take a Bow’ series. Unfortunately, we were all too old to appear on camera, but can be heard on the backing track.

It continues to be a challenge to work within the realms of fiscal possibilities, but we have found, as I’m sure many of our colleagues across the country will agree, that money is not the main issue, and that if you find something that really works, and engages pupils like never before, schools endeavour to keep the momentum going and seek funding to make it happen.


Emma Coulthard is Music Development Officer for Cardiff County and the Vale of Glamorgan Music Service. She is active as a performer, teacher, and consultant, and is the author of ‘Recorder Wizard’ and the ‘Best Duet Book Ever’! Series, published by Chester Music.