Learning Outcome 4

On completion of this unit a learner should:

-Know how to monitor and evaluate a community music-making project. 

Monitoring and evaluation: reasons for evaluation eg reporting to funders, observing, evaluating against objectives (at workshop and project level), using evaluations in future planning; evaluation techniques eg questionnaires, interviews, external evaluation teams, feeding back, report writing, action for future

Evaluation for my Workshop at Harpsden village hall

I'm going to evaluate my workshop for my workshop that I held with Daisy at Harpsden village hall. I'm going to talk about how I think it went, what I didn't think so well and what I'd change if I were to do it again. I'm going to include things like interviews that I had with the people that run the mother and toddlers group and also a video which Daisy and I have taken to give a spoken evaluation on how we feel it went and what factors we also didn't feel went so well. 

What went well:

• They all definitely had fun and enjoyed singing the songs. 
• Everyone got involved and no children caused a fuss and refused to join in. 
• We let them get involved by choosing songs that they enjoy to sing. 
• We introduced ourselves at the beginning of the workshop and everyone was really understanding to us and one lady in particular was incredibly helpful by keeping an eye out of the children just in case they did play up as we were knew to this. 

What didn't go so well:

• It was very difficult for me (and Daisy) to introduce a song that they didn't know as they were very young they most definitely didn't want to learn anything else. 
• We couldn't really stick to our original plan, this was because when we were actually up there it was much different to how it actually looked, it was much more difficult. 
• It wasn't very clear that Daisy and I were taking charge of separate things, this was due to the fact they were quite difficult to handle as it isn't something we are used to, so we had to really both take charge and do it all more in a pair then do things by ourselves. I think it was the age range that made it hard for us, perhaps if they were a bit older it would have been easier and more clear on the video that we both took charge for different things. 

What I'd do differently next time: 

• Try and control them better perhaps, although it was incredibly difficult and I don't think the parents helped that they were just sat about chatting and not really doing anything, although some of them did get involved. 
• Stick more to my original plan, but obviously things don't always go to plan and it was definitely a shock to us when we started to teach us. 
• When Daisy and I went the first week to see how everything was and what to expect and to see what went on it wasn't the same as when we held the workshop. This may have been because they didn't know us so they felt they could play up a bit, so I think we should have thought of a plan to do if things didn't go quite to plan. 
• Be more confident and enthusiastic.
• Do the workshop to slightly older children due to the fact it being very hard to work with them, they all fight for attention off you as you're older than them and the 'teacher' in their eyes so it can be very hard to try and take them all into account to try and please them all by singing the songs they want to sing.
• Do it completely by myself as it was difficult to let each other be in charge so we both just did it at the same time.

How I think it went overall:
On a whole it went fairly well, the main thing that I wanted to get out of it was experience on allowing children to have fun by singing songs that they enjoy and even introducing some them that they are't familiar with. I don't feel as if I did as well as I could have done, I was quite thrown back by the amount of children there was there (the week before there wasn't as many as there was the week we held the workshop), I also don't feel as if I was as enthusiastic as I could have been. I'm not used to being around children this young so I wasn't entirely sure how to act towards them, it was also very nerve wrecking having the parents just sit there and watch us. So if I was to do it again I definitely would choose a slightly older age range. 

My objectives for my project and how well I achieved them:

• Research- I personally think that I did my research well although I think that I could have pushed this a little further. 
• My research into nursery rhymes- I think I did this well because I looked at websites which had information about nursery rhymes, I already had some knowledge of them and we also went to the mother and toddlers group (Harpsden Hoppers) where we help the workshop the week before just to have a look at how they did it and what kinds of songs they're into and what they know.

What I could have done to have achieved my project objectives to a higher level:

• Research- Research wise I think I could have visited other workshops around my area (although I did go to Harpsden Hoppers the previous week to see how it was) and see how they work or I could have even watched YouTube videos and seen some footage of how other people hold workshops for people with the age range that I worked with. I could have also gone onto YouTube again and looked at other workshops and see what songs they sing their just to widen my variety.
• My research into nursery rhymes- I could have handed out a survey and sent it around to people that I know with young children and to other nurseries around my area, doing this would have given me more of an idea of what kinds of songs children enjoy because it will be different to when I was a toddler.

My objectives for my workshop and how well I achieved them:

• Teach them some songs- This didn't go to plan at all really, due to it being really difficult for me and Daisy to introduce them to something new together it would have been even harder to do that individually without each others help of controlling the children. It was a lot more harder than I expected and actually quite overwhelming and can knock you back a bit. As they were very young it was very hard to teach them something new as they are stuck in their ways and want to just do things that they already know.
• Introduce new movements to songs they already know- When we started the workshop we straight away realised that this would be impossible, it would have confused them changing the movements to songs that they already knew and seemed to only want to do songs that they knew and enjoyed. I think that we could have been more positive and given it more of a go because they may have actually been really willing to do this but we just felt it wasn't right but if it was an older age range I would definitely experiment much more and be more confident, so if I was to do it again I would do this. 
• Make sure that they enjoy their selves and have fun- This is one of the ones that we were really proud that we achieved, they all had loads of fun and really enjoyed the sing along. There was one boy in particular that got very upset when certain songs weren't chosen but I think we dealt with that well by working around it to try and keep them all happy but we didn't want to let him get his own way because then this may have upset the other children so we compromised. 
• Get them all involved and participating- They all did this with no problem at all, some were more difficult than others but they all got involved.

What I could have done to achieve my workshop objectives at a higher level:

• Teach them some songs- This being the initial idea of the project I think in order for me to achieve this next time I would have been more confident in teaching them, even if I just did a song they are already aware of and change a couple of the movements. It felt like it went really quick and it was really rushed and it makes you forget everything that you were initially supposed to do because there is so much going on but for next time I would definitely be more prepared.
• Introduce new movements to songs they already know- I don't think I would have even put this down as an objective next time as introducing a completely different set of movements to a song they already know off by heart would confuse them but I could still have just changed a couple because it still gets them thinking and they would have actually learned something.
• Make sure that they enjoy their selves and have fun- They all definitely had fun and this was something that I cared about the most. If they didn't have fun then I would have been really disappointed. I could have been more enthusiastic but as I said before it was actually rather overwhelming.

INTERVIEW:
I interviewed Laura who runs the mother and toddlers group. Below is the interview, the questions I asked and her answers. 

Questions

1. Why do you run this mother and toddlers group ?

2. Are the parents helpful ?

3. How long has 'Harpsden Hoppers' been going on for ?

4. Do you have any children yourself ?

5. Is the club expensive to run ?

Answers

1. I'm a mum of 4 myself and just really enjoy being around kids and setting up activities to do as I know quite a lot from my experience of being a mum. I do a lot of volunteering as well as this and love to  help others.

2. The parents are okay on average they sometimes are a bit chatty but I would say they do help to keep their children behaving well.

3. About 3 years.

4. Yeah I have 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls, my 2 girls come to the group with me.

5. The rental of the hall has gone up over the years, it's £35 now. I wouldn't say it's overly expensive but considering to start off it was about £8 and it has gone up an incredible amount.

Below is an interview which Daisy did with Clare who runs the mother and toddlers group along side Laura.

VIDEO DISCUSSION WITH DAISY:
Me and Daisy discussed how we thought the session went.
Questions we asked each other:

1) How do you feel the session went?
2) What do you think went well?
3) What didn't go so well?
4) What would you do next time and why?

VIDEO OF DISCUSSION FROM DAISY AND I:



I thought it would be a good idea to ask Laura and Clare how they think the workshop went: 

Questions
1) How do you think Daisy and I did during the workshop, for example, how did we deal with the children? 
2) Do you think the children enjoyed our workshop? 
3) What do you think we could improve for next time, what didn't we do so well? 
4) What did we do well?

Answers
1) I think you both did very well considering the situation that you were in. I think you could have both taken it in turns to take it the session, but considering what happened you did deal with it well.
2) I think they really enjoyed the workshop that you both held. You can tell by watching the video that they all really loved it. It was good for them to experience having another teacher for a change which was good for them, but this could be the reason that they played up a bit.
3) I think you could have perhaps been a bit more confident and enthusiastic. 
4) You did well by getting them involved well and they all really enjoyed the songs that you sang with them. You spoke to them in the right manor and although they did play up  a bit you both handled it very well. You both worked well together, for example, you didn't speak over each other and it seemed well planned and thought out.

I also sent out letters to the parents which has a questionnaire on it which had questions asking how they think we did and if their children enjoyed the workshop.

Future planning for next time

Next time I would:

• Go onto YouTube and compare how people hold workshops so this could have given me some inspiration and some ideas. 
• Create several plans just in case it didn't go to plan, just like mine didn't go completely well.
• Go and visit other places like nurseries and schools and go to other places that hold workshops and see how people do them in different ways. 
• Be more confident 
• Definitely teach a younger age range 
• Perhaps a smaller group as there was a lot of them it was hard for Daisy and I to take it in turns to teach

Video footage of workshop - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P0SVLSXWgQ

Learning Outcome 3

On completion of this unit a learner should:

-Be able to plan and participate in a community music-making project for a specific community group and/or venue.

Planning: eg setting aims and objectives, time constraints/management, project design, effective use of
resources (physical and human), follow up and sustainability, cross-arts projects, theme-based projects,
issue-based projects, collaboration, CRB clearance, public liability insurance
Community groups: concept of the ‘client group’ eg the young, the elderly, disadvantaged groups, schools
and colleges, the unemployed, youth groups, prisons, hospitals, enthusiasts, considerations for working
with particular client groups
Community venues: eg street performance, schools and colleges, community and arts centres, shopping
centres, pubs and clubs, theatre/dance/music festivals, outdoor events, parks, fund-raising events,
concerts

Organizing a gig in Magoo's- Henley 

I have taken part in a community project in Henley, our class in college organised a gig night in a local bar called Magoo's. It took a lot of organizing and took up a lot of our own time, as we had to meet up and rehearse a lot, not just in lesson. This event was to give us all a taster of what performing feels like (if you haven't had a lot of experience in it) but still to give you more experience and knowledge on how to organise an event as well as being apart of it,  this took a lot of control and we had to be serious about it in order for it to be a successful night. 

My role in this event.

My role in organising this event was that I had to go round the class and find out what songs everyone was doing for the performance, although it doesn't sound like it could be a difficult job this wasn't the easiest of things to do, due to people changing their song choice so many times. I also had to write down what instruments people would be using, for example, drums, guitars, so we could then write our list of what we needed to bring on the actual night. I had to find out what genre of song people were planning on doing this then made it easier for Zac who was in charge of ordering the line up so he could look at the genre's and make the line up of a mixed variety. I had to go round the class a few times a week just to keep my self updated of any changes and to write this down to then pass on to Zac. Communication is key when you're organizing an event. I found this project really interesting, it gave me a taster of everything. I also noticed that it takes a lot more effort than you would imagine, it's not as easy as it sounds and the small details you need to put in really do make a big difference.

We did have different groups for each thing that needed to be sorted out. This made everything feel much more organised and scheduled properly, as everyone had their own roles, including everyone. 

We had to think of a lot of little things that you wouldn't necessarily have thought, these kind of things did big impact on the whole night.

Organizing included:

•  Ordering the line up 
• Finding a place to actually do the performance, this involved having to ask around at venues, luckily the one that we finally chose said we can use it when ever we want, which is a really great thing because it will help us with experience
• The technical side to everything, sound etc
• Making sure we had all the instruments needed (and know a way of getting them back the next day, or that night), and also knowing how to get it down there- we had to find transport, people in our class drive so this made it much easier to get stuff down to the venue, we did write a list of everything that we needed, this made things in better order
• Making sure we had microphone stands, wires etc
• Everyone needed to know how to use the sound mixer, this was quite easy and only took a few minutes to teach each person
• Rehearsing, we had to do this in our own time and we had the opportunity to do it during class time as well
• Letting people know about it, we done this by putting it online, on Facebook, Twitter, sending out broadcasts, and just speaking to people to get them to spread the word

Doing this project brought people together in a positive way, bringing families together from different areas to come and support and watch us.

Here is the link to my performances:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?hl=en-GB&client=mv-rim&gl=GB&v=lhB0GioA3F8 - youth 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&client=mv-rim&v=uR2VNjuelfw - candles

Rebecca Poole Concert 

Another community project I am involved in is the Rebecca Poole concert which is being held in the Kenton theatre in Henley. On terms of organizing during this event, we didn't have any specific roles but sorting out what songs you wanted to chose, finding time and a place to rehearse involved a lot of organizing and commitment. Below is a picture of what the Kenton looks like from inside.

Rebecca was once a student in Henley college but now she is becoming a known singer. In this project I am going to be performing one or two songs during the first half. For this performance it requires a lot of rehearsing, and considering we only have just under 2 weeks to get them completed it's something that I'm going to need to be practicing a lot. I'm really excited to do this performance because I think it will give me more experience. 

Due to there being a lot of people that wanted to be in this show auditions were held and my group, Daisy, Charlie, Archie and I performed together, we sang Pompeii by Bears Den. We performed this song for one of our assessment pieces so we had a lot of practice for this (see musical ensemble unit for evidence of rehearsal). We sang these in front of 2 of our teachers (David and Alison) and of course Rebecca Poole, and they then chose the ones that they felt would really fit for the night and ones they enjoyed listening to. I was really pleased that we  got picked to do it. Below is a picture of us performing.

The dress code for this night was 1930's, so we decided as a group that the boys would wear shirts and Daisy and I wore dress/skirt with shirt. We wanted to look smart, and be wearing similar clothing so we look more of a group rather than wearing something completely different to each other, we felt this would look better.
Overall it was a really successful night, there has been some great stories about it in the newspapers around here online and everyone seemed to be really impressed. Below is a review of the night which is in the  Wokingham Times, and will also be featuring on the GetWokingham and GetReading sites and probably in the Reading Post which is really great and I'm pleased with how successful the night went.

Here is some footage of us performing- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIuhdyGJuig

Headway 

Our college is linked with a charity called Headway. We held an event in the meetings room where we performed to the people that are supported by Headway charity. It was a really lovely event as it encouraged Headway to perform and make music be a big part in their life. We got to exchange performances which was good because we got to see performances from both us and the people who are involved in Headway. One young man who has a disability he performed a solo which was really touching for us all to watch and it actually inspired me and I feel as though I got a lot out of it. I work with a company called Style Acre outside of college so I have already experienced settings like this and been in these types of situation, but doing this has made me more aware.

The song that we performed for this was an ensemble, the group was Daisy, Archie, Charlie and I. We have performed this song because (Bears den- Pompeii) and I think it was perfect for an event like this. We had a couple of rehearsals before but we felt really confident with it anyway as we have already performed it a lot of times.

Footage of us performing- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAysmRjwM7k

Headway solo performer

 Guest performer

 Mohan 

 Our ensemble

 James

The man above with the guitar was a guest performer and he was really good. He not only performed himself he did some performances which got us involved. He did this by teaching us hand movements, sign language to a song, and we slowly broke it down by eventually going through the entire song replacing the words for these hand movements. I think that was a really nice touch and good for this type of situation as it made everyone aware that no matter your ability you can be involved in music and it really showed that music brings people together. 

As the event came to the end we finished it off by singing a song altogether called, Bring Me Sunshine. Doing this was a really good idea as it made us all come together at the end and was a nice ending to a really great time. I feel as though I got a lot out of this and it's definitely something I'd love to do again.

There was a lot of positive feedback from this, the new town mayor came along to see it and he said he was incredibly pleased with the level of talent from the performances that he watched.

Learning Outcome 2

On completion of this unit a learner should:

Be able to lead practical music-making activities

The workshop approach: definitions and roles of the facilitator; definitions of a ‘workshop’; setting a context;
creating a suitable environment; communication skills; contingency planning
Practical activities: e.g. warm-up activities, musical games, starting points; style-specific workshops eg
samba, African drumming, taiko, singing activities, creative/composition activities, exploring an idea,
teamwork, directing, rehearsing, performing, integrating your own musical skills

• minutes from planning meetings
• annotated planning notes
• a final workshop plan
• an outline of an intended project (including, for instance, client group profile, venue details, practical 
• considerations, aims and objectives, workshop plans and materials)
• a project journal or diary
• evaluation evidence, e.g. completed questionnaires or recorded interviews.

Live Music workshop Harpsden Hoppers. 

In this project I'm going to be doing a live music workshop on a group of toddlers at a mother and toddlers group, in Harpsden, Henley, it's called Harpsden Hoppers. They are aged from 1 to 4 years old. I chose an environment like this and young children as I think teaching younger people (children) can be very interesting, they are much more eager to learn and you can make some really good exciting lesson plans for them.The downside of teaching younger children is that they can be very easily distracted and in some ways hard to keep in control but I think this will be a good challenge for me and give me good experience.

I want to choose an activity which will really interest them and encourage them to get up and involved. Although it may not be very technical I want to do something which will trigger their minds, make them have a good time, make them think and also inspire them.

I've decided I will teach them a small nursery rhyme which has small movement. I chose this because I don't want to make them do anything too long which will make them lose concentration or make them bored. I also chose a nursery rhyme because at that age it's something that they're used to hearing and learning so it should be something they're familiar with so they will be confident. For one week Daisy will be assisting me and for another I will be assisting Daisy (at the same place).

Below is the poster that we have put up in the mother and toddlers group, we will change the names according to who is doing the workshop.

ABOUT NURSERY RHYMES AND IDEAS 

I think it could be a good idea to teach them one that they are perhaps familiar with, I want to do something new for them because doing the same thing they have already done before may bore them but having something that they are vaguely familiar with could encourage them even more as they will feel confident with it. 

Names of nursery rhymes: 

• Baa baa black sheep 
• Humpty Dumpty 
• Jack and Jill
• Three blind mice 
• Mary, Mary, quite contrary 
• The Wheels on the bus 

The nursery rhymes above are rhymes that I am familiar with and used as a child, but I do think that they haven't got enough movement to them and the movement is something I also wanted to focus on, rather than just getting them to sing, I wanted to get them to dance and move too.

I found a great website which had videos and rhymes which I looked at and I'm going to choose one from here: http://www.myvoxsongs.com/my-vox-songs-cartoon-videos-nursery-rhymes.html

ABOUT OTHER GROUPS 

I looked into some nursery rhymes to look at what kinds of things I could teach them. The reason I chose to do a nursery rhyme because I think it is something that really works with children. I have looked into other musical clubs for children and noticed that they use nursery rhymes a lot as they are a great way with connecting with children. Musical activities improve all aspects of early learning.

I looked at a club called 'Monkey Music' which is held all over the country, there is one held in my local community, Henley. http://www.monkeymusic.co.uk/

The reason I chose to look into other children's workshops because I thought it could give me some ideas and help me plan my workshop, also give me some ideas on what kinds of nursery rhymes and songs young children of today are into. 

ABOUT HARPSDEN HOPPERS MOTHER AND TODDLER GROUP 

Harpsden hoppers the mothers and toddlers group has been around for about 3 years. It is held by two women, they get a a big help from other mums who attend this group.This group is held every Friday in a hall in Harpsden (Henley). The hall is in a lovely area, in the country side with beautiful environments, surrounded by farms and animals, a great place for young children. The class starts at 10.30am and it finishes at 12.00pm. The members of this group are extremely close, The cost of this class is £3.50 per group, this small fee pays for the rental of the hall and also goes to treats for the class, things like biscuits, juice, tea, coffee, and the arts equipment, things like paints, glue and play-dough. 

Harpsden Hoppers are very keen to raise money for charity and love to see the children enjoying themselves, dress up, and make them feel involved in these charity events. 

LESSON PLAN

4-5 minutes	Run around the room to get heart beat flowing, small clapping exercises/dance to get them prepared and used to copying me as they will need to do this when learning the nursery rhyme-to get them used to this I'm going to get them to play 'Simon Says' for a couple of minutes which will get them used to copying me
1 minute	I want to run this exercise sat/stood in a circle as it makes it feel more relaxed and close, after the warm up I'll get them in a circle
	Introduce the nursery rhyme, ask if any of them know it if they do then bring them to the front (near me) so they can help any others that aren't so aware of it, this will also be giving them children praise and straight away making them feel positive about this activity and will naturally make them want to be involved.
(5-10 minutes)	Start teaching them the song/rhyme, breaking it down bit by bit so they are familiar with it. Keep going over it a few times to make sure they comfortable with it and know what they're doing.
(10-15 minutes)	Once we've been through that several times and checked they're all okay with it, I will then introduce the simple movements.
2 minutes	Once completed them to cool down

I don't want this task to go on for too long, overall about 25 minutes.

AIMS

• To get them all involved and participating in some way. I understand they're young so they may not have my full attention, and say for example I say to clap my hands and they smack they're knees or the floor I will accept that as that's their way of interpreting it and they're still listening and getting involved/trying. I will encourage them and let them embrace how they're doing the task. 
• Get the whole group to have learnt what I am teaching/along the lines. 
• Make them excited and happy and wanting to join in. 

I have been thinking about it and think it would be a good idea to choose a couple of nursery rhymes because I think just doing one they will learn it very quick as they may even already know it, and they are used to singing nursery rhymes so I think that they will pick it up very quickly. If it does take the whole lesson to finish one nursery rhyme then that's fine, it's just in case they do finish it quickly and then at least I have a backup.
Another idea I thought of was that, if I chose one to sing and then ask them what their favourite nursery rhyme is and they can choose one and we will do that, and perhaps they can even teach me it. I think getting them involved and letting them help choose what song to sing this will make them more enthusiastic and want to join in.

The nursery rhymes that I have chosen are: 

• Wheels on the bus 
• He's got the whole world in his hands

I chose these 2 nursery rhymes in particular because they both have actions to them and I also think they may be familiar with them. 

Lyrics for Wheels on the bus

The wheels on the bus go round and round,  round and round, round and round,
The wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town.

The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish, swish swish swish, swish swish swish,
 The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish, swish swish swish, all through the town.

The people on the bus go chat chat chat, chat chat chat, chat chat chat,
The people on the bus go chat chat chat, all through the town.

The horn on the bus goes beep beep beep, beep beep beep, beep beep beep,
The horn on the bus goes beep beep beep, all through the town.

The babies on the bus go waa waa waa, waa waa waa, waa waa waa,
The babies on the bus go waa waa waa, all through the town.

Lyrics for He's got the whole world in his hands

He's got the whole world in his hands, 
He's got the whole world in his hands, 
He's got the whole world in his hands, 
He's got the whole world in his hands. 

He's got my brothers and my sisters in his hands, 
He's got my brothers and my sisters in his hands, 
He's got my brothers and my sisters in his hands, 
He's got the whole world in his hands. 

He's got the sun and the rain in his hands, 

He's got the moon and stars in his hands, 

He's got the wind and the cloud in his hands, 

He's got the whole world in his hands. 

He's got the rivers and mountains in his hands, 
He's got the oceans and the seas in his hands, 
He's got you and me in his hands, 
He's got the whole world in his hands. 

He's got everybody here in his hands, 
He's got everybody there in his hands, 
He's got everybody everywhere in his hands, 
He's got the whole world in his hands. 

PRACTICE RUN AND OBSERVATION- 08/03/13 

Me and Daisy went to Harpsden Hoppers today to see how the group works, what they get up to and to give us an idea and a practice run of what we will be doing. 

It was a great experience and I'm really glad we got a chance to try it out first, because it has let me look at my original lesson plan and change it, which I definitely need to do as I found my lesson plan wasn't really going to work. 

Not only did we help them with the sing-a-long we also helped with arts and crafts, play time, preparing snacks and tidying away.

What I need to change...

As the children there were very young and their attention span is very short. I figured it will be very hard to teach them something brand new because I noticed that they wasn't interested in learning something new and they didn't tend to listen when we tried to introduce other songs. I was thinking I could sing them a song they already know but introduce new movements and get them to copy me. I also found that in my lesson I said I'd only do one or two songs, I will need to do more than that, we did about 6 or 7 on Friday and had children coming up asking you to sing other songs they knew. 

Songs they enjoyed...

• Row row row your boat 
• Wheels on the bus 
• He's got the whole world in his hands 

There was a few songs that I didn't really know very well so for next Friday I'm going to learn them so I can sing ones that they enjoy.

Routine of Harpsden Hoppers 

Above is where you sign in and pay when you arrive, altogether there was about 40 children. It starts at half 10 and finishes around 12. The first week we did it the week after was red nose day so they put out a sign just to let the parents know. The week we will hold the actual workshop will be red nose day.

Above is them having play time and doing arts and crafts. 

Whilst the children are playing and doing activities we prepared food, things like fruit, biscuits and juice, and tea and coffee for the parents. The children have to have fruit before they have treats to ensure they are eating healthily first. The parents don't have biscuits until the children have theirs either.

 The week we did the work shop it was red nose day so there was a cake sell, above are the cakes that got made. We raised about £120 and that will go to comic relief, and £35 will go to the rental of the hall.

15/03/13- evaluation of this workshop.

VIDEO FOOTAGE OF WORKSHOP- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P0SVLSXWgQ

Today I went to Harpsden Hoppers and did the actual workshop. The original plan for this was I'll do 15 minutes or so and then Daisy will do hers for about the same time limit. We found that it didn't go to plan at all, and I'm going to find another workshop to do.As they were very young and I personally don't think the fact that their parents were there helped at all, it was very difficult to control them, and it would have been even harder to do this just on our own. I do feel like it helped me for next time though so I will know more what to do. The children there didn't want to learn anything new because they are very young I feel that they only wanted to do songs they were familiar with so perhaps doing it with children slightly older this will help much more.

What went well...

• They all seemed to really enjoy it and they all got involved and were having a nice time.
• I knew most of the songs they wanted to so it was good that I could sing with them when they were asking for certain songs.
• I think we had good communication with them and spoke to them directly asking them what kind of things they were into and what they wanted to do, in some ways this could have been a mistake as they can take it the wrong way, as in them thinking they are in charge of what we do.

What went wrong...

• I think because at the beginning of the session we asked them what songs they wanted to do, I think this was a mistake straight away because it made them feel as if they were in charge of the session and  they could decide what was going to happen. We should have showed them more that we were in charge. 
• We didn't really tell them what the aim of the session was. We should have had an actual plan of what particular songs we was going to do/the order, but it would have been difficult to do this because they were more interested in requesting songs and we noticed they got very stressed when the songs they wanted to do didn't get chosen. This made it too hard to even try and teach them something new.  
• I think another reason why it didn't go completely to plan is that the children did have a lot of activities to do before and by this point they had used a lot of their energy and they had lost concentration, so I think finding a place where we can do the workshop where there's more of a relaxed environment.    
• I don't think my lesson plan was right, but it's a good thing that I have tried it out because now I know,  but children at that age range I think I just needed a basic structure because things change depending on the personalities on the children and their ability. I don't think that I needed to spend as much time as I did on each thing.

I enjoyed the experience and think it will make it better for next time as I'll know what I'm doing more and will be more confident. I also know what to expect next time and I have more of an idea of what to do. I don't feel as if I controlled the children as well as I could have, I think it was quite intimidating having the mothers there watching us too, perhaps doing it at a nursery it will be much more laid back and I will be able to take charge more as the parents won't be there to be sitting with their kids. I think I could have dealt with the children better, when they were playing up I think we should have addressed this, but as I said before with the mums being there it was quite difficult to take charge of their children in front of them.

What  I want to change for next time...

• Let the children know exactly what will be happening during the workshop so they understand that I am leading it.
• I want an older age of children, perhaps 4/5+
• Research nursery rhymes/what songs/musical activities they like doing (I think doing the workshop I have done at Harpsden Hoppers has given me a good idea on what kinds of songs children enjoy but if I'm wanting to do it for children a little older then the song choices may change)
• Stick to my lesson plan. 
• Perhaps a bit more enthusiasm, I think next time I will because I now know what to expect.
• In my lesson I put that I will get them to warm up because I thought it would encourage them more where as I don't think they actually need to as they are very energetic anyway so next time I'm going to miss this out. 

Interview with Laura, who runs the mother and toddlers group. (Daisy interviewed Clare who also runs it)

Questions
1. Why do you run this mother and toddlers group ?
2. Are the parents helpful ?
3. How long has 'Harpsden Hoppers' been going on for ?
4. Do you have any children yourself ?
5. Is the club expensive to run ?

Answers
1. I'm a mum of 4 myself and just really enjoy being around kids and setting up activities to do as I know quite a lot from my experience of being a mum. I do a lot of volunteering as well as this and love to  help others.
2. The parents are okay on average they sometimes are a bit chatty but I would say they do help to keep their children behaving well.
3. About 3 years.
4. Yeah I have 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls, my 2 girls come to the group with me.
5. The rental of the hall has gone up over the years, it's £35 now. I wouldn't say it's overly expensive but considering to start off it was about £8 and it has gone up an incredible amount.

Learning Outcome 1

On completion of this unit a learner should:

- Know the context and purpose of community music-making including practitioners and organisations.

Know the context and purpose of community music-making including practitioners
and organisations
Context and purpose: community relations; music education; audience development; participation and
inclusion; ownership; impact on communities/society
Practitioners and organisations: case studies of local or national providers eg orchestras, opera companies,
London Sinfonietta, Sonic Arts Network, Sound Sense, COMA, arts development agencies, LEAs, the
Music Manifesto and government initiatives, funding bodies eg trusts, PRSF, Youth Music, The National
Lottery

What is a community project?

A community project is something which brings people together around areas involving everyone in an activity, for example, a festival. They're usually something that is funded by your council and local charities, they can be many different things, like a local run, gigs, Christmas dinners for the homeless. It's usually a group of people which perhaps share the same interests and have the same aim and join together to achieve this. All community projects are different and there is a wide variety. People who run community projects are either elected or not always elected, and usually they are volunteers and doing it out of their own good.

The history of community music
Community music projects have been going on for years and years, building and growing as the years have gone on.
Over the years community projects have changed and grown, got bigger and expanded. The times now there is many more community projects, and charity events I think this is because we are now more aware of things like these so people are willing to help others and hold events to bring communities together. Community music can help children who have difficult behavior and are very challenging, and also help with basic learning, children/ other people who have difficulty in learning/disabilities; in the past diagnosing a child with a learning difficulty/disability was more difficult and wasn't looked at as much as it is now a days, so community projects occur more often as more children are diagnosed and noticed to struggle with learning so these happen to more to help these people who find certain things hard. Music encourages learning and helps develop children.
Not only does community music help the above, it brings together people of different cultures/nationalities and beliefs. These kinds of things are much more accepted now and equality has improved over time, having more community projects has improved this, and that's why there are more community projects there are less differences and division to types of people and communities.

HENLEY FESTIVAL is a big one which is something that brings lots of people together. This festival has a lot of different things going on, music, dancing, performances, art, and also bringing different cultures together. The Henley festival's trust has included:

• Langtree School Art residency
• Chiltern Centre for Disabled Children Art residency
• Grants were also given to Langtree Sinfonia, HEDFAS and Henley Youth Festival, Henley Arts and Crafts
• Nordoff Robbins funding for a seventh year of music therapy work with the brain-injured at Headway, Henley.
• Guild, Henley Symphony Orchestra, St Mary's Church Organ Fund, Henley Concert Singers, Henley Choral Society, Henley Round Table, and Remenham Thespians.

Lavazza, westcoast, courtier's, invesco perpetual,  BGP, and Grabbie's are all sponsors of Henley festival.

What kind of things does Henley Festival do?

They put on shows of performances, lots of dancing with a mixture of styles, from street to theater.  They have the best in classical music, opera and comedy. Having a wide variety of different activities makes it more open to different age ranges involving everyone.

For more information on Henley Festival, go on the website: http://www.henley-festival.co.uk/

Here is a little bit about some of the charities that Henley helps and who sponsors them:

WESTCOAST

This charity is a sponsor of Henley Festival and it helps children that are not as privileged and it helps those that need help with the things they need most. Helping families with less income and who are really struggling this charity helps helps and supports family who need it. Lot's of children around the world lack the things that they need to get them by, and even to help them survive. The kids that we help aren't lucky enough to have healthy food, the resources they need to go to school, opportunities for activities, due to the fact that local activities usually involve a fee, and these families can't afford them.

The kinds of things that this charity do to help are:

• Food shelter and clothing (funding the essentials that for low income families need)
• Transportation (vehicle donation programme which they then inspect donated vehicles, which then get repaired, which are then given to qualifying families which is a way of getting these deprived children to libraries, school, work and the doctors)
• Education (tutoring on lessons like maths, English, science, history)
• Youth activities (sports clubs, music and art opportunities, service communications)

http://westcoastcharity.org/index.html

NORDOFF ROBBINS

This charity is one that Henley actually supports and helps. They have been training and educating since 1974. This charity is to help the vulnerable adults and the children in the UK. This charity helps people with disabilities, for example, autism, dementia, health problems, brain injuries, stroke, also people who suffer with terminal illnesses, like cancer. Music alters their life completely, in an extremely good way. They give professional music workshops, these are also open to everyone who are just interested in general. The research work they do helps train people. They actually give 50,000 music therapy sessions to day centres, care homes, schools and their own centres. 

What can music do to help you?

• Increases sensitivity, self esteem, confidence and creativity 
• Develops communications and social skills 
• Improves physical health and your ability 
• Address emotional and behavioral difficulties

Here you can read more about music therapy: http://www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk/content/what-we-do/music-therapy

It's not all down to them, and everyone is able to help, you can fund-raise, support an event, donate in memory, cooperate fundraising and leave a legacy. 

Here is Nordoff Robbins website if you want to find out more about their charity and what they do to help people and communities: http://www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk/

BUNKFEST 

Another good community project which is around my area is Wallingford Bunkfest. This event goes on for about 2 days and holds many activities. Activities like, story telling, vintage displays, many dance performances, which are mixed styles, lots of singing performances, with local bands and soloists. You can also camp here, there is a small camping field just down the road where you can pitch up tents and park your caravans to stay there. They don't just have performances for us to enjoy and watch, there are workshops which give the community a chance to get involved and have lessons. They have night entertainment as well as day time. It's also all free which is another great thing because it can get even more people involved.

What's on?

-Farms, a chance for children to meet animals, animals like donkeys, goats and lambs

-Rides

-Fun things in aid of Sue Ryder (bouncy castles, horsey hoppers, chocolate fountains)

-Food stools

-Performances from great acts (Al Kendrick, Melebo, Tom Lucas, The Colours)

-Camping

-Music and Dance workshops

-Clothing stools (selling things like t-shirts, scarves, hats, accessories)

And loads more.

Here is the Bunkfest website: http://www.bunkfest.co.uk/2012/index.html

ACOUSTIC BALLROOM 

Acoustic ballroom is a place for performers to show the town what they can do and to advertise, whether you're a solo artist or a band. It's an Open Mic in which any one is welcome to and all you need to do is turn up and you will be given a slot that night. It's held in Wallingford, and was first created in 2005. Ben Smith was the founder of this. They were originally in the Centre 70 but moved to the Portcullis club in 2007. It's open to any performers of any style. It's held on the first Friday of every month at 8pm, which is when the doors open but music starts at 8.30pm. There is a break in the middle, and it normally finishes about 11pm. This open mic night has been successful for every night. 

Here is the website: http://theacousticballroom.com/blog/about/

Ben Smith also has a studio in which is welcome to anyone aged 11-18. It is called STUDIO BALLROOM. It is also based in Wallingford. This encourages young people around the area to help them pursue something they are interested in. Young people are able to book a 4 hour recording session at a small fee of just £5, at the end of this session they receive a high quality CD and MP3 of their music they have recorded. This project isn't for profit, all money goes straight onto new high quality equipment. 

Studio Ballroom is supported by Paul Simmonds Removals. 

Where can you find Studio Ballroom?

Centre 70
The Kinecroft
Wallingford
Oxon
OX10 0DT

Interview with Ben Smith- Owner/founder of Acoustic Ballroom and Studio Ballroom and he is also involved in Bunkfest.

Acoustic Ballroom

1.    Why do you think Acoustic Ballroom is successful?

A large core audience has built up over 7 years. There is excellent word of mouth. Musicians really enjoy the chance to perform to an attentive audience.  A lot of hard work has gone into building up the night and promoting it. There is a website with photos, a Facebook group and a Twitter feed. All this helps keep the night in people's minds between events.  It also helps people to feel like they are part of the night.

2.       What is your main goal out of setting up these open mic nights?

To have fun and meet people!

3.       What first inspired you to do this?

Seeing other open mic nights and thinking I could start a night that was as good if not better.

4.       Do you feel like it helps your community, if so, how do you think it helps?

Yes - it helps bring people together that otherwise would not have met. It brings people of all ages together. It gives people a chance to perform music and gain confidence and self-worth - this is especially true for young people.

5.       What are you hoping to do next with your open mic nights?

To maintain the success and continue to attract new performers and audience.

6.       What kind of impact do you think Open mic nights have with communities?

I think that anything that brings people together has to have a positive impact on performers.

Studio Ballroom 
1.       What are your future ambitions with studio ballroom?

To reach out to more disadvantaged young people.

2.       What inspired you to start this?

To offer young people a chance to record their music at no cost.

3.       How many hours a week do you roughly spend on this?

5 to 10.

4.       Is it something you do individually or with others?

Individually.

5.       Is your studio something you want to expand and perhaps bring in people from other places?

Yes.

6.       How do you advertise acoustic and studio ballroom?

Posters in shop windows, flyers, word of mouth, emails, Facebook, Twitter, website.

What's Missing in our community?
I do feel like there isn't enough community projects around our local area, I think that there should be more musical activities, like choirs, band practices, group singing lessons, places where communities can learn instruments, not just for children, or young teenagers, a place for a mixed variety of age. I think this should all then lead to performances in the local areas, perhaps to raise money for charities, and just to bring people together. More groups that can help us with skills and techniques would be really beneficial and even prevent teenagers going down the wrong direction, things like this can keep people on their feet, having a sense of  commitment and a plan of regular activities can bring excitement to people's lives and encourage people for their future. Making children/teenagers and even adults feel like they are worthy can help them and change then as a person altogether, improving self-esteem and confidence, not only helping them with their hobbies and talents but actually helping them out with everyday life and also for their future. The activities should be at a small fee or perhaps even free as it is unfair to people that haven't got as much money to afford these advantages. I think that if there was more community projects musically then it could bring out the talent that some people have and get young people more noticed, and actually give more people a chance.

Rebecca Poole concert

Recently I was involved in a concert which was held at the Kenton theatre. It was a charity concert for Help for the Hereos and we raised a total of £1,500. Here is a link to a review.
http://www.kentontheatre.co.uk/news/rebecca-our-hero.aspx

Help for Heroes

http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/how-we-help/index.html

Help for Hero's is a charity which aims to support for our wounded and their families. They want to inspire and enable the kind people that have made sacrifices on our behalf to enable them to achieve their full potential. The war in Afghanistan is drawing to a close but for the people who now have to live with life changing injuries the war that they'll now have to battle between living and surviving will be ongoing and that's why this charity is here to encourage these people along the way.

• They help with financial support
• Help those who now suffer with life long injuries, for example, head injuries 

Our college got a chance to perform and the concept of it was to perform something that meant something to you, which was inspired by Help for Hero's charity. It was a really great opportunity and chance to bring the community together. It brought musicians together which are from Henley college and gave us a chance to hear each other and see what what material we have. It also gave us a chance to experience some more performing and work with other students and sing/play instruments at Rebecca's concert. It let us look at the more professional side to things. We had to be committed and dedicated to rehearsals and being organised. Events like this are good to also bring together families who would not have met otherwise.

Here's the video of us performing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIuhdyGJuig

Headway 

About Headway...

Headway was formed around 25 years ago, by a women that had a son who had severe head injuries, his life was changed when he was involved in a road traffic accident. The mothers name was called Roseanne Barnet and her son was called Lindsey Barnett. Unfortunately Roseanne and her son have now passed away. Her husband is in his 80's and still attends as many events related to Headway as he can.

 Pat Barnett (Roseanne's husband) at the Headway and friends concert at the Kenton theatre in 2011

Headway supports those who suffer from brain injuries around the Thames Valley area.

A brain injury is something that can happen over a small amount of time, even seconds, but is something that will affect you for the rest of your life. There is more than one million people a year who attend hospital after a brain injury. Accidents happen to everyone and could happen to any one around you. Recovery from brain injury can take a long time, maybe months or even years. 

Headway Thames Valley takes care of all their own funding and recruitment. They are here to help and support people with a brain injury. Not only these people but the people who are there with them on their journeys, so they are here to give information about their treatment to their families, carers involved and friends.

You can get involved with the Headway charity by volunteering. You can volunteer by:

• IT- helping to learn or re-learn computer skills
• Cookery 
• Fundraising
• Gardening 
• Tea/coffee- this involves doing things like, working in the kitchen, load the dishwasher, and put our packed lunches etc

http://www.headwaythamesvalley.org.uk/get-involved/volunteering/

What is the cause of brain injury?..
Trauma

• Sports injuries
• Assaults and domestic violence
• Industrial accidents
• Cerebral Haemorrhages and Surgical Intervention 

Road traffic accidents

• 49% of brain injuries are because of car accidents

Hypoxic damage

• Drug overdose
• Epilepsy
• Following cardiac arrest
• Hypoglycaemic coma 

Post viral infections

• Meningitis 
• Encephalitis 
• Other inflammatory diseases of the brain 

20% of the brain injuries in children are caused by cycling accidents. This is why it's so important to wear a cycling helmet, it reduces the risk of severe head injury by 88%.

Causes which contribute to brain injuries:

• Road traffic accidents 50%
• Domestic and industrial accidents 25%
• Sport and recreation 15%
• Assault 10%

Health and Safety
What is so great about Headway is they also make us aware of the consequences of health and safety, when for example, riding a bike. They also teach us the right ways on how to do things like, put a helmet on properly. You may think you're being safe by just wearing a helmet but then if you're not wearing it properly then it will be no good at all.
Here is a link to the section which talks about cycle helmets. http://www.headwaythamesvalley.org.uk/about-brain-injury/cycle-helmets/

Our college got the opportunity to perform along side the people that we support within Headway. I'm really glad that we got this chance because it has made me very aware of the charity and encouraged me to find more out about it.