In recent years, we have increasingly being asked to work with junior and senior infants classes in schools, and we became aware that our regular workshop materials were not quite suitable for these younger age groups.
To deliver a better service for these younger ‘customers’, we decided to take a three-pronged approach:
Engage in training to work specifically with this age group – we have been lucky enough in this regard, in that the four Dublin local authorities have teamed up, to investigate and resource this work, under the banner ‘Exploring and Thinking‘. We have been involved in some excellent training and discussion groups under this initiative, and it has allowed us to clarify our thinking about what might work with Early Years musicians, and generated some really good contacts that we can rely on for information and support.
Develop a curriculum, specifically targeted at young learners. This is a process of taking elements of the training, combining them with elements of the workshops we already deliver, and creating all new percussion-based activities that Early Years learners can both interact with and enjoy. Our current aim is to develop 8 week blocks of activities for both junior and senior infants groups, and we are currently about 50% though this process.
Build a bank of instruments that we can use to deliver sessions with Early Years learners. Masamba has always had a policy of only using professional-level instruments for our workshops, and through our partnerships with several instrument companies, especially Contemporanea Instrumenton Musicais and the provision of funding through agencies such as the Arts Council/Music Network Instrument Capital Scheme, we have been fortunate enough to build up a great stock of workshop instruments which we can use with both children and adults. However, some of these instruments are not suitable for use by very young children, some had to have a re-think. We have identified a selection of instruments that young children can hold, grip, play and enjoy! To fill this gap, we engaged with the Deep Riverrock ‘Thirst for Better’ campaign, and managed to raise a very impressive €600, which we can use to invest in these much-needed resources.More details can be found at: http://www.masamba.com/communityoutreach/retail-therapy/
