Banded About Evaluation
Aims of the Partnership (Original)
The Project aims to develop the practice of creative music making through:
o the establishment of five clusters of schools each comprising one secondary school and
four primary schools involving young people from school years 5 to 9 and each managed
and led by one of the project partners.
o working with creative ensembles both in the curriculum and across cluster schools as an
extra curricula activity
o the support of musicians and teachers participating in a CPD programme that will include
‘lab’ days led by leading practitioners in the field and a musicians ensemble
o the engagement of the children and young people in the creative performance output of all
the partner organisations
Activities and their impact – The Vision (Original)
The project will include a variety of opportunities for participants, school-based teachers, Music
Service teachers and musicians working for the partner organisations. These will include
curriculum-based workshops led by musicians working in partnership with teachers; cross-school
creative ensembles led by musicians and BMS teachers; visits to public concerts given by the
partner organisations; sharing events between the five clusters and a final public concert
(hopefully) given as part of the 2010 Music for Youth National Festival – tbc.
The impact of this work is expected to leave a legacy of improved creative curriculum practice in
schools; increase the level of engagement of students in music when they reach Key Stage 3;
encourage students at Key Stage 4 and above to take advantage of the range of creative
ensemble and performance opportunities already provide in Birmingham; improve the confidence
and skills of BMS teachers to use creative ensemble methods in their future teaching and to roll
this knowledge out to other BMS colleagues; and improve the quality of creative projects offered by
the partner organisations to schools and the community.
The Sound It Out Cluster (Retrospective)
Sound It Out worked in the Perry Barr area of Birmingham. The schools that we worked with were:
Perry Beeches High School - Beeches Road, Birmingham, B42 2PY
Vicki Joyce (Head of Music) – Year 7 – 9.
Cherry Orchard Primary and Children's Centre - Cherry Orchard Road, Birmingham,
B20 2LB Faye Johnson (Creative Arts Co-ordinator) – Year 4 - 5
Great Barr Primary - Aldridge Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, B44 8NT
Amy Dunn (Music Co-ordinator) – Year 4 - 5
St Mark’s Catholic Primary - Almond Croft, Birmingham, B42 1NU
Fran Pocrnic (Music Co-ordinator) - Year 4
The initial contact and support from Perry Beeches High was gained in July 2009 through the
Programme Manager and Chief Executive and the school identified feeder schools that would be
interested in working in partnership. Cherry Orchard Primary and Great Barr Primary were
identified in September 2009 and confirmed early October. Originally, St Mark’s were not identified
but, due to prior commitments and workload of the main feeder primary schools (Calshott Primary
and Dorrington Primary), we approached St Mark’s in November 2009. They were keen to be
involved but would not be able to start their sessions until January as they had too many
commitments with their school play in December. The delay of recruiting St Mark’s meant that the
project sessions started before due to having to start the project before Christmas. St Mark’s
began their activity in January, catching up on the sessions they had missed. All schools signed a
partnership agreement outlining responsibilities and expectations written by the Programme
Manager and Programme Officer.
A meeting with the music co-ordinators, minus St Mark’s, was held in October 2009 at Perry
Beeches to discuss the workings of the project and to allow each school to decide which artist they
would like to work with. Prior to this meeting, Sound It Out had advertised the roles available to our
Musicians’ Database and artists needed to send a letter of interest alongside a brief description of
their work to date and what they could offer schools to apply. This description was given to
teachers and discussed in the meeting where Sound It Out brought their expertise and experiences
to help schools select the team. Claire Farrell, the Birmingham Music Hub Co-ordinator, also
attended this meeting to discuss the wider Banded About project and the partners involved.
The following artistic staff were appointed to lead the Banded About sessions:
Trevor Lines – Artistic Director & Perry Beeches Artist
Sam Harrison – Perry Beeches Artist (until Dec 2009)
Heather Wastie – Cherry Orchard Artist
Zirak Hamad – Great Barr Artist
Rob Anstey – St Mark’s Artist
The project itself was structured so that music activity would happen on a weekly basis with regular
participants. This, we felt, would heighten the impact of the project for these young people rather
than would be the case with termly projects with different students. As addressing the difficulties of
transition for younger pupils was a priority of the project, we felt that there was a need to have as
much interaction between the schools as possible, strengthening the relationships between the
schools. To do this, we delivered fortnightly cross cluster ensembles, or as we called them, big
bands. These big bands were hosted by Perry Beeches High School (in the main hall) and
happened within curriculum time on a Friday afternoon. In the weeks in between the big bands,
each school had an extra-curricular small ensemble session. Students were of varying musical
abilities and backgrounds and were recruited on the basis of their enthusiasm and commitment to
the project.
Sound It Out is keen to develop and offer opportunities to artists who are less experienced so it
was decided that a number of Shadow Artist roles be offered on the project, with mentoring support
given by the lead artists. Sound It Out has developed a programme of work called Infusion where
we have trained exiled musicians to be facilitators over the past few years. To broaden their
horizons and experience, we offered the majority of the shadow artist roles to members of Infusion.
The following Shadow Artists were appointed. Their mentors are noted in brackets:
Mira Yugai (Trevor Lines)
Sam Harrison (Rob Anstey) Please note that Sam’s role changed from artist to shadow
in December 2009 as, confidentially, we felt that he was not achieving the high standards
required of the role. Therefore, we took the decision, with Sam, to offer him a shadow role
to gain experience and have the support to achieve the required standard.
Colin Peters (Trevor Lines)
Laura Owen-Wright (Heather Wastie)
Vince Pryce (Zirak Hamad)
Pasha Asgar (Trevor Lines)
The successes of the project
For Sound It Out, the main success of the project was the strong relationships built with schools
and partner organisations that we may not worked with previously. In the past we have worked with
BCMG on our Little Horrors project which, as part of the programme, artists from Sound It Out and
BCMG formed an ensemble together, sharing ideas and practice). Our relationship with
Birmingham Jazz was forged within our Ways Into Improvisation/Elements projects where we
worked in partnership to deliver an ensemble development programme focussing on transition and
creative ways to devise music. Although we had worked with Great Barr Primary School a number
of years ago, all current staff involved were new to working with Sound It Out. The relationship and
support from Perry Beeches High School was particularly strong and we are keen to work with this
school again.
Our main focus was to get young people involved, regardless of whether they had previous music
making experience. The priority was enthusiasm and commitment. A diverse range of participants
were recruited to the project and all were able to contribute and take part equally. We had 56
regular participants throughout the year from Year 4 – Year 9 (26 white/ 12 Black
African/Caribbean/ 10 Mixed Heritage/ 8 Asian). The breakdowns of our Banded About activity are
as follows:
Total young people and children participants across your cluster:
56 regular participants
25 Score
400 CBSO Roadshow visit
481 - Total
Total workshops in schools across cluster:
63
Total workshops out of school time in your cluster:
52
Total number of ‘Creator’ participants (i.e. leadership roles within workshops):
56
Total number of internal Cluster music events/sharing days:
13
Total Audience numbers for both internal cluster & external sharing days/concert visits:
400 CBSO Roadshow visit
150 Cluster sharing
450 – Total (please note this excludes the 13 big band sessions as in each of these, groups
performed to each other as well as the creative ensemble work)
From the evaluation meetings that have taken place with teachers and artists, the major successes
of the Sound It Out Banded About project are:
 “The young people having the opportunity to perform at such venues as the Town Hall and
CBSO. Many of the young people have never previously been to a concert and for them to
perform and see others perform was very beneficial and inspiring.” (Faye Johnson, Cherry
Orchard)
 “All participants developed improvisation and compositional skills through working on the
project.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry Beeches School)
 “Working with professional musicians of varied backgrounds and specialisms to lead
workshops widened children’s horizons.” (Amy Dunn, Great Barr Primary)
 “Strong partnerships between the schools were built, especially between Perry Beeches,
Cherry Orchard and Great Barr, establishing links that could be used in the future
development of projects.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry Beeches)
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“All participants were involved and formed a real team. They all knew their roles and there
was no stress or tension between the schools.” (Trevor Lines, Artistic Director)
“The shadow artists had the chance to be mentored by more experienced facilitators,
increasing their knowledge of working with ensembles of differing abilities and
instrumentation.” (Trevor Lines, Artistic Director)
“The music created came from the participants. They created music that couldn’t exist in
any other way. Organic and unique.” (Heather Wastie, Lead Artist)
“I was pleased with how the school responded in the end. They were a difficult group with
very poor support from the school. A teacher only attended a couple of sessions even
though a partnership agreement had been signed. Behaviour of the children was difficult
even though they were a small group. They were a musical group. Most played recorder
and there was a violinist and guitarist. All were at a beginner standard. They also
experimented with percussion, provided by Sam, which engaged their interest.” (Rob
Anstey, Lead Artist)
“It provided the opportunity for different young people to work together. I was initially
worried that the Perry Beeches students would not have respect for younger children but
they had a very mature response.” (Trevor Lines, Artistic Director)
“The children at Cherry Orchard were very keen. They had no real previous music making
experience but were naturally gifted. They mixed with people they would not normally be
friends with.” (Faye Johnson, Cherry Orchard Primary)
“There was no emphasis on the musicians during the performances. The young people
were the focus. Other clusters depended upon their musicians.” (Zirak Hamad, Lead Artist)
“19 students from Perry Beeches achieved their Bronze Arts Award.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry
Beeches)
“The sharing of work created in small ensembles to the other schools during big band
sessions worked well.” (Debbie O’Shea, St Mark’s)
“I relished being in the practitioner ensemble. I was pushed out of my comfort zone. It is a
target set by John Clemson for Birmingham Music Service teachers to teach improvisation.
I feel much more confident to deliver this now.” (Lesley Knowles, Birmingham Music
Service)
Areas for development/ weaknesses of the project
From the evaluation meetings that have taken place with teachers and artists, the major areas for
development/weaknesses of the Sound It Out Banded About project were:
 “At the concert at the CBSO, the audience of other organisations and schools left before we
performed. This dampened the spirits of the participants as they had waited a long time to
perform.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry Beeches)
 “Although the sessions happened weekly, the continuity of sessions, when there were
holidays, there could be a long break. It would be better to have weekly small ensembles
with less big bands.” (Heather Wastie, Artist)
 “It would be beneficial to record what had been achieved in big band sessions so that
artists and young people could develop the ideas during the following sessions within their
small ensembles.” (Zirak Hamad, Artist)
 “Having the Arts Award involved more, especially when collecting evidence. This could be
more sessions allocated to achieving certain aspects of the Arts Award.” (Trevor Lines,
Artistic Director)
 The artists would like to have more specific roles allocated during big bands. The Artistic
Director took a free approach but the artists stated they would like to have had more
communication with the plans for each big band in advance. They also requested to have
more continuity between big bands so that more pieces could have been developed and
rehearsed. (Artist evaluation discussion)
 “It would be good to give all children the chance to try different instruments during
sessions.” (Amy Dunn, Great Barr Primary)
 “It would be beneficial to group instruments together during big bands to break down school
barriers further. This did happen at times but would be advantageous to do this more.”
(Heather Wastie, Artist)
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“Some of the gifted and talented students from Perry Beeches were not stretched enough
but did work on their creativity and improvisational skills.” (Trevor Lines, Artistic Director)
“St Mark’s – all participants were from the same class. It was difficult to work with a group
of friends. Having older participants may have cut down on class politics.” (Rob Anstey and
Sam Harrison, Artists)
“Cherry Orchard missed a few sessions due to previous school commitments. Faye
Johnson was very supportive at the end when she saw the performances. The school can
see the value of the project now.” (Heather Wastie, Artist)
St Mark’s teacher and school support very poor. A Teaching Assistant accompanied them
to Big Bands but read a book. No teacher was present in extra curricular sessions except
for a couple of sessions despite communication from Sound It Out that this was essential.
No teachers accompanied them to the final concerts. Francis Pocrnic, St Mark’s, stated,
“Parents did support and the feedback from them was that they thought it a shame that no
members of staff from the school were there to see their children perform.”
“The younger participants associated the project with Sound It Out rather than the wider
Banded About project. The Perry Beeches students had more awareness. This was mainly
due to the fact that all correspondence to them was via Sound It Out. Having all schools
invited to an event at the beginning with other partner clusters may address this.” (Vicki
Joyce, Perry Beeches)
“The room for the Big Band was largely unsuitable due to acoustics (echo). A smaller room
would be better along with break out spaces. There were no other suitable places to use at
the school. There was also a lack of equipment at Perry Beeches, such as extension leads
and amplification.” (Trevor Lines, Artistic Director)
Everyone agreed that more pieces could have performed at the Town Hall concert as lots
of pieces had been composed. The Artistic Director made the decision to perform a shorter
piece of music as our group were scheduled last and he thought the younger performers
would be tired. (Artist evaluation discussion)
All of the artists would have liked to have been involved in the practitioner ensemble but
this was not possible due to budget. Folk music was missed out of the practitioner
ensemble and it was very jazz orientated. It would be good to incorporate more stylistic
fusion to play on the strengths of all musicians. (Artist evaluation discussion)
One primary teacher (music co-ordinator) did not enjoy being part of the practitioner
ensemble. The standard of musicianship was so high that she felt nervous and out of her
depth. Only one other teacher there, the rest were professional musicians.
“Practitioner ensembles were too long. 2 hours would be a better length.” (Lesley Knowles,
Birmingham Music Service)
It would also have been beneficial to invite all artists to the CPD days, again not possible
due to costs. (Artist evaluation discussion)
“If we delivered the project again, it would be beneficial for the artists to perform a piece in
schools at the beginning of the project as a taster and to recruit participants to the project.”
(Heather Wastie, Artist)
“The summer term is very busy for schools so having the final performance earlier would be
better.” (Francis Pocrnic, St Mark’s)
Organisation of the Project
Overall, the schedule and organisation of the Banded About project ran smoothly. Having a longer
lead in time always helps. We started the project in November with 3 out of the 4 schools (see
above with regards to the delays recruiting St Mark’s). All artists were contracted for the whole
project and had met before the first session.
We decided to run the project on a weekly basis, alternating extra-curricular small ensemble
sessions with big bands scheduled during curriculum time. This was loosely based upon the
previous Ways Into Improvisation/Elements project model that had worked well. This was easy to
organise as all schools had input into the organisation of the project from the outset.
There were difficulties at times when additional activities were added after the original schedule
had been planned (e.g. Score, sharing days that had no fixed date, CBSO roadshow visits) which
did limit the number of participants that could access these opportunities. Those that did take part
in these additional extras gained a lot from them.
Claire Farrell and Keith Stubbs were very good in communicating from Birmingham Music Hub and
kept everyone informed. It would have been better to have had Ning set up from the outset as it
was hard to imbed this into the project afterwards. This may have helped reinforce the wider
project and partnerships with schools. We believe Ning is a great tool and will be using it for future
project communication.
We managed to deliver the Bronze Arts Award at Perry Beeches School, having Nic (Sound It
Out), Trevor (Artistic Director), Vicki (Head of Music) and Claire Farrell aiding the delivery. 19
participants achieved their Bronze Arts Award.
From the evaluation meetings that took place with teachers and artists, the major feedback around
the organisation of the project was:
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“Extra curricular sessions too long for all schools – 1 hour max.” (Faye Johnson, Cherry
Orchard Primary)
“Less big bands (once per month) and weekly extra curricular sessions to aid continuity. Big
Band sessions could be longer (suggested as 2 hours or a whole morning/afternoon).”
(Amy Dunn, Great Barr Primary)
“Having a longer lead in time to plan the school selection. One primary school not as
engaged as rest. More time to build relations with the schools may have worked better.”
(Vicki Joyce, Perry Beeches)
“Having the project that lasted a year was a little too long and it also covered the busy
exam period. It would have been better to start Oct and finish at Easter.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry
Beeches)
Arranging sessions in curriculum time was not a problem this year but there are stricter
guidelines for next year limiting the amount of time children can be out of their curriculum
lessons. This would need to be considered for future projects.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry
Beeches)
“The CPD days – it was good to be challenged and put out of comfort zones but also very
daunting. Each CPD was too similar – maybe have 1 focussed on secondary and 1 on
primary. Also, more time to work in own cluster and invite all artists and teachers. The
artists that led the CPD were good but had similar approaches. Would be good to have
contrasting delivery methods.” (Amy Dunn, Great Barr Primary)
“Claire fantastic and very supportive.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry Beeches)
The Concert and Sharings
Sound It Out groups performed at all sharings and concerts. The initial sharing, in December, was
only after the Perry Beeches School had had 3 sessions. We decided it would be good experience
for them to perform a largely improvisational piece. This worked well, with Great Barr Primary
supporting in the audience.
For the second sharing, in March, we were scheduled last, with 3 of our 4 schools performing a
piece as a big band. Unfortunately, the majority of the audience left before our participants
performed. This did affect them as they did feel undervalued as they had supported the other
cluster performances.
We took the decision for the final concert on the 9th July to just take part in the evening
performance. This was due to concerns that it was a long day for the children and that the schools
were reluctant to allow pupils more time out of the curriculum.
Perry Beeches School also took the opportunity to have the CBSO Roadshow (the string group)
perform to all KS3 participants. This was an excellent event and the school were very pleased with
this visit and have since booked the brass ensemble to perform in the new school year.
Our final cluster concert was held at Perry Beeches the week before the Town Hall concert. All 4
schools performed pieces they had written in their small ensembles and they also all came
together to perform as a big band. The concert was recorded and will be produced into a CD, a
copy of which will be presented to all participants during assemblies in September, along with a
certificate.
From the evaluation meetings that have taken place with teachers and artists, the major feedback
around the concerts and sharings were:
 “It was really valuable to see the other cluster group performances. It inspired our participants
to try new styles and experiment.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry Beeches)
 “The events were well organised and professional – especially the Town Hall.” (Heather
Wastie, Artist)
 “Internal sharing worked very well. Well attended by a large audience of family and friends and
a varied programme.” (Faye Johnson, Cherry Orchard Primary)
 “CBSO roadshow very good – performed to all of KS3.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry Beeches)
 “Score – really enjoyable day and involved other young people not in the main Banded About
project.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry Beeches)
 “It would be good to have sharings at each school, maybe in assemblies.” (Francis Pocrnic, St
Mark’s)
 “We were scheduled last a couple of times in the concerts – it would have been good to be
earlier in the concert as the participants were tired by the end.” (Amy Dunn, Great Barr
Primary)
Impact of the Project
Overall, all participants improved improvisation, composition and ensemble playing skills. They all
developed their confidence, performance etiquette and knowledge of different styles of music.
As transition was a major focus, the project encouraged young people of all ages, musical ability
and background to work together.
At Perry Beeches, before Vicki Joyce joined in Sept 2008, there had been no music teacher for a
number of years. Vicki has had to start the department from scratch. At the beginning of Sept
2009, there was a small choir and orchestra. Vicki stated that Banded About has really given the
school a boost as young people who had not accessed music activities before have become
involved and are now learning to play instruments. Banded About is seen as a group to aspire to
and Vicki is hoping to continue to run the ensemble in the new school year. There has also been a
dramatic rise in the number of pupils wanting to learn instrument (up by 50%), many who have
been involved in Banded About.
None of the primary schools have an orchestra or instrumental ensemble. Great Barr and Cherry
Orchard hope to continue activity similar to the project sessions in the new school year, led by
themselves or by contracting artists.
From the evaluation meetings that have taken place with teachers and artists, the major feedback
around the impact of the project were:
 “Luke – played drums. Did not play in an ensemble previously. Confidence has grown and now
plays in a band.” (Vicki Joyce, Perry Beeches)
 “Chloe – did not play an instrument. Started on shaker and progressed to playing keyboard
with 2 hands.” (Rhona McGarvey, Perry Beeches)
 “Daniel and Kieran – guitarists – enjoyed the creative input and working with people they would
not usually in a different style (they usually just play rock).” (Trevor Lines, Artistic Director)
 “Team working skills have developed.” (Faye Johnson, Cherry Orchard)
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“The pupils’ general timing and their ability to follow instructions have improved. They have
also had the opportunity to work on their own leadership skills through mentoring and
conducting.” (Amy Dunn, Great Barr Primary)
“The general attitude of the St Mark’s participants improved by the end of the project.” (Rob
Anstey, Artist)
“Fergus – very quiet at the beginning but performed part of the rap at the final concerts with
confidence.” (Francis Pocrnic, St Mark’s)
“Bethany – played recorder and was given the chance to explore and create more solo parts,
pushing her out of her comfort zone of relying on written notation.” (Sam Harrison, Shadow
Artist)
“Cherry Orchard really gelled as a group. They had a natural feeling for the music and their
improvisation skills were fantastic. All contributed equally and had mutual respect.” (Heather
Wastie, Artist)
“Simran – very quiet initially but much more confident now.” (Faye Johnson, Cherry Orchard)
Participant Feedback (please note this is information from Perry Beeches School.
Primary School feedback to be collected in Sept 2010)
Do you have, or have you in the past had, lessons on an instrument?
 Yes I have lessons at school – 14
 Yes I have lessons out of school – 2
 No I used to have lessons in school but gave up – 1
 No I used to have lessons out of school but gave up – 0
 No I have never had lessons on an instrument – 14
What instrument(s) do you/ did you play?
 I play the flute.
 I play violin and piano.
 Keyboard. I can read fluently and now use books instead of lessons.
 Bb Clarinet.
 Flute.
 Guitar.
 Guitar, piano.
 I play the saxophone and the violin.
 Clarinet and piano.
 Yes I play the keyboard and am still doing it.
 I play the keyboard and am still playing it.
 Violin. Keyboards – left the school.
 I play the drums and used to play the recorder but I found it boring.
 I play violin and steel pans.
 I play trumpet.
 I didn’t play an instrument.
 I have never played an instrument.
 Drums.
 Keyboard.
Do you take part in school music groups?
 Yes
17
 No
15
If yes, what groups do you take part in?
 Orchestra
 Orchestra
 Choir
 Orchestra
 Orchestra
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Orchestra/ Band practice.
Orchestra. My band that were doing rehearsals in school.
Orchestra, choir.
Choir and orchestra.
Choir, band.
Choir.
Orchestra when I don’t have Birmingham Rep.
Beeches Cadets Marching Band.
Choir
Can you describe your Banded About ensemble? Think about the type of music you play,
who you work with, what you play and when you meet.
 In Banded About, we play all kinds of music as we have a variety of instruments. We play
with other secondary students and primary school ones. We play unique things.
 We are a group of secondary students who play different instruments e.g. brass, strings,
woodwind.
 I play with Chloe Greenfield on the keyboard. I find it challenging and interesting.
 We play from our own chords with a small group.
 Work with Trevor on Tuesdays and Fridays and we play songs about different subjects, e.g.
seasons.
 We play quite loud, fast ensemble. We working with members of our school and Banded
About musicians and the primary school children.
 We play all parts of different music. We work with many people from the Sound It Out
group. We meet every fortnight on Tuesday and the week after Friday.
 My Banded About ensemble plays all different genres and play many things.
 Our Banded About ensemble was about the 4 seasons.
 We play jazz and we work with Trevor.
 I played the keyboard and worked with other schools. It’s every other Friday and every
other Tuesday after school. It’s fun.
 We was at Town Hall and I played keyboard with schools every Friday and Tuesday.
 We play all different types of music within our ensemble. We all play different instruments
such as keyboard, trumpet, flute, drums.
 I worked with Trevor/Sam/Nic. We meet Friday in week 1 and week 2 Tuesday after school.
I played the violin or the keyboard. It was a brilliant experience.
 We play different types of music and I work with people from different years.
 We meet once a week. We work with people – younger people and older people. We play
different types of instruments.
 We play lots of different types of music and we have met some fantastic practitioners.
 We work together on improvisation because we think of things and make them bigger and
better.
 Drums. 9 children.
 Mulitwiteral (sic. Multi-instrumental?). 10 children. Thursdays after school.
 I think the music is great. We worked with Zirak. We met at Perry Beeches.
 I think the music was really good.
 We worked with Zirak. We all met at Perry Barr.
 I did liked (sic) this because it was a misher of music (sic). Zirak. We meet ay Peer
Beechers (sic).
 We played lots of different types of music. We worked with Sam and Mark. I play tin whistle
and we met on Tuesday at school and Friday at Perry Beeches.
 We meet on Tuesdays after school and Fridays at Perry Beeches. Our teachers were Sam,
Rob. We practised different tunes.
 We played like jazzy pop.
 We did a lot of different music types. We did we worked with Sam and Rob. We met on
Tuesdays and we went to Perry Beeches School on Fridays.
 We met at St Marks on Tuesday after school and at Perry Beeches in school time.
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My violin teacher Mrs Buret. We meet on Tuesday.
How did you feel before and after your performance? Has this altered how you feel about
the ensemble?
 Before, I was a little nervous but after I felt happy that I’d achieved something good.
 Before the performance I felt excited and nervous and after I felt happy that we played well.
 Nervous.
 Proud.
 Before I felt nervous and I was scared I’d go wrong but after I was proud as I done it right
and it went well.
 I felt quite nervous before the performance but afterwards I felt good because we sounded
good.
 Before the performance I was slightly nervous but after a great performance I felt fine and I
was buzzing after.
 I never felt nervous anyway but after I felt ecstatic.
 I felt really positively about our performance.
 It was scary before but after I was ok.
 At first I was nervous but after I felt great.
 It was a bit scary and after it I was excited.
 I felt really excited about it.
 Before I was really nervous but after I was really happy with myself because I achieved
something.
 I remember feeling nervous but excited and it’s made me enjoy it more.
 I felt nervous at the start but after I felt fine because it was over 
 I felt excited and nervous but most of all proud to make it this far.
 It felt nerve racking at first but after it felt good.
 Nervs and releved (sic).
 Before – relaxed. After – confident.
 At first I was a bit unshure (sic) now I love music more than ever.
 First of all I felt a bit shy but afterwards I got used to it.
 At first I was a bit scared but when I get used to it feels normal.
 I felt shishy and then happy.
 I felt grate (sic).
 I felt really nervous and happy and glad that I took part.
 I felt like happy because I did it.
 Before I felt really nerverse (sic). After: I felt that I might of done something.
 Yes I felt nervous before and happy after.
Has taking part in Banded About changed how you feel about making music in school?
Yes
25
No
5
If yes, how has it changed?
 It has improved my improvisation skills.
 It has allowed me to make up my own pieces of music.
 It has made me more enthusiastic.
 It’s changed me by making me more of a leader.
 I enjoy it more.
 It’s made me want to play my instruments more.
 I feel more passionate about music.
 I have learnt a lot more.
 By thinking that we need more musical activities like this.
 Because I feel more confident in what I do and have learned that people struggle not just
me.
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It has made me realise what goes into making a piece of music and how fun it is.
It made me realise it’s more interesting when there are other types of instruments.
More to music with my instrument, violin. I don’t have to play just classical music.
Show that you don’t have to just play pieces on paper. You can make them up yourself.
A lot.
It has because it made me feel more confident in front of adults.
It has inspired me.
I know that I can perform music.
More confidents (sic).
What do you currently enjoy about taking part in your Banded About ensemble? Think of up
to 3 things.
 Working closely with other people.
 Being introduced to different kinds of music.
 Being able to make up our own music.
 Making up new pieces of music.
 Meeting new people who also enjoy music and working with them.
 Being introduced to different kinds of music.
 Confidence.
 Enjoyment.
 Creativity.
 Helping develop skills.
 Working with a team.
 Learning new experiences.
 Working with people I wouldn’t usually.
 Doing something I enjoy.
 Having fun at performances.
 It is fun.
 You get to work with new people.
 It helps with Arts Award.
 Playing music.
 Being part of a big group.
 Creating music.
 The different genres.
 Everyone participated.
 We could have a laugh any time.
 Working as a group.
 Fun, enjoyable and excited.
 It’s fun.
 I enjoyed listening to other’s music.
 Going to perform.
 Working with others.
 Listening to everyone’s music.
 Participating.
 Being in a group.
 Taking part,
 Performing.
 I enjoyed working with the primary schools.
 I enjoyed playing my instrument with other people.
 Meeting new people.
 Making music.
 Playing music.
 It’s interesting.
 Musical interests.
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Working with professional musicians.
Meeting new people.
Making music.
Being a part of a fantastic group.
The experience.
Working with new people.
Performing.
Working with other people.
Music. Team work.
Everything.
Good. Everything. All of it.
The music that I and we made as a team.
The people that I worked with.
Everything.
Playing music.
Taking part.
Feeling happy.
Doing concerts.
Trying out different instruments.
Meeting new people.
Making music.
Performing.
Playing different music.
Performing.
The music.
Going different places.
Having fun.
Showing everyone my talents.
Learning things about the Arts Award that I did not know.
The atmosphere.
The performances.
Are there things that you would like to do in your Banded About ensemble that you don’t do
at the moment? Think of up to 3 things.
 Introduce people who can’t play instruments.
 Learn new instruments.
 Play to bigger audiences.
 Learn new music.
 Meet more practitioners.
 Bringing more ideas to the group.
 Singing as a group.
 Solos on keyboard.
 Less Arts Award homework.
 No.
 Make my part longer.
 Make the ensemble more complex.
 Involve everyone, equally.
 No not really. It is good except we could maybe make different types of music.
 Have more performances.
 Have performances that are just with the secondary school (my school).
 Be a part of more bands like it.
 Do more separate stuff.
 And do more projects.
 Learning new instruments.
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Make more fun songs up.
More notes to play.
Let everyone add something.
Play a different instrument.
Make up songs.
Learn more skills.
I don’t think so. We do nearly everything.
Do a solo or a duo with someone else.
Make more complicated music pieces.
Meet more new people.
Play another instrument.
Experiment more with music.
Lead the group.
Have a bigger role.
Work with the group more.
No.
Raise money for charity.
More big assemblies.
More people to help us.
Different school assemblies.
Nothing really.
More big assemblies.
More help.
Different schools to go to.
Play different instruments.
We make up the music.
We have already finished so we don’t do it any more.
Change songs.
Make more our own songs.
Change instruments.
Do a solo.
Try new instruments.
Learn new notes.
Conclusions/ Legacy/ What Next?
Aims of the Partnership (Original)
The Project aims to develop the practice of creative music making through:
o the establishment of five clusters of schools each comprising one secondary school and
four primary schools involving young people from school years 5 to 9 and each managed
and led by one of the project partners.
Sound It Out recruited 4 schools in total – 1 secondary school (Perry Beeches) and 3
primary schools (Cherry Orchard Primary, Great Barr Primary and St Mark’s RC Primary)
focussing on Year 4 – 9.
o working with creative ensembles both in the curriculum and across cluster schools as an
extra curricula activity
Sound It Out delivered creative ensemble activity on a weekly basis from November
2009 – July 2010. This was scheduled to have alternate weeks of extra curricular small
ensembles in each school and cluster ensemble sessions during curriculum time.
o the support of musicians and teachers participating in a CPD programme that will include
‘lab’ days led by leading practitioners in the field and a musicians ensemble
The Artistic Director and Birmingham Music Service Teacher attended all sessions (CPD
and Practitioner Ensemble sessions). The secondary school teacher attended all CPD
days. Cherry Orchard Primary School attended 1 CPD day. Great Barr Primary School
attended 2 CPD days. St Mark’s did not attend any CPD days.
o the engagement of the children and young people in the creative performance output of all
the partner organisations
All of our participants performed at sharings at the CBSO in December and March. They
also performed at the final event at the Town Hall and their own Cluster concert at Perry
Beeches School.
Sound It Out is very keen to continue with the relationships built with the schools and will look to
fundraise for continuing activity. Perry Beeches are also applying for funding to continue the project
in the future on a smaller scale. They are already working with Great Barr Primary on a gospel
project which has been possible due to the links that have been built between the schools and
teachers.
The Banded About model that we have delivered this year is very similar to our previous
Elements/Ways Into Improvisation project. We feel that this experience enabled us to deliver the
project successfully, meeting the original aims of the proposal. There are a number of points for
development highlighted by this report that we would aim to address in future similar projects, such
as scheduling weekly sessions with less big bands, developing taster performances by the artists
and finishing the project before the busy summer term.
From an organisational point of view, it has been a fantastic opportunity to work with the
Birmingham Music Hub partners. This is the first time that this has happened on such a scale and
we believe it is beneficial for all organisations to share practice, strengths and work together in
order to deliver successful projects with high impact. We did feel that, initially, our experience
wasn’t recognised, or known about, by the other partners prior to the start of the project but
hopefully, through the quality of what we have achieved in our cluster, this is now more evident to
the Birmingham Music Hub. Maybe more could have been done during earlier steering group
meetings to share experience and practice.
Sound It Out is not an official member of the Birmingham Music Hub but we are committed to the
development of the Banded About project and collaborations of future participatory music
programmes.