Live Music Now Scotland
‘FOSTERING A LOVE OF MUSIC’
4th World Forum on Music - Wednesday 28 September 2011
Radisson Blu Hotel Olümpia, Liivalaia 33, Tallinn
Project presentation by Carol Main,
Director Live Music Now Scotland/International Development
1. Introduction to Live Music Now and its dual aims of supporting young professional
musicians at the outset of their careers and the transforming power of live music with
people to whom access is otherwise denied
2. Background to and aims of ‘Fostering a Love of Music’
3. Introduction to the musicians – light rock band Miniature Dinosaurs – who
delivered the project
4. Description of the project - practicalities
Timing
Mon 11 – Fri 15 July 2011, 10am-12pm daily
Venue
North Edinburgh Arts Centre
Partners
A joint collaboration between City of Edinburgh Council and Live
Music Now Scotland
Funding
funded by Youth Music Initiative, Formula Fund from Creative
Scotland
Musicians:
Miniature Dinosaurs – four piece light rock band
Participants:
Looked after and cared for children, their siblings and carers
5. Description of the project – content – see Project Summary, appended
6. Outcomes
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
For those taking part
For the professional development of the musicians
For the local authority
For the funder
For Live Music Now Scotland
Project Summary
Day 1
Introductory session
Miniature Dinosaurs introduced themselves and their music; led ice-breaker and get-toknow-you activities with the children; worked with musical concepts of pitch, rhythm and
dynamics; introduced the concept of forming their own bands and writing songs to be
performed and recorded by the end of the week.
Themes and ideas for the songs were invited from the participants’ own experiences
Participants were asked to think of names of their bands, also from their own ideas – results
were: ‘The WolfBoys’ and ‘Circus of Fools’
Day 2
Session on lyric-writing and song-construction
Miniature Dinosaurs led the participants through exercises to explore their creative ideas for
song content, including developing concepts such as rhyme, rhythm, scanning and
structure. The lyrics are included at the foot of this document.
Day 3
Session on composition and melody-construction
Miniature Dinosaurs provided guidance for the construction of the tunes and supplied the
accompanying chords, which they composed in their own time participants. Miniature
Dinosaurs worked with the participants on how to play instruments to augment the songs,
also utilising instruments that the participants brought in from home.
Day 4
Recording session
Miniature Dinosaurs worked with individual participants in the recording studio, laying down
each track to produce a clean edit of each song. The participants particularly appreciated
one-on-one time with the musicians, giving them a chance to express their own musicality
and explore feelings of increased self-belief and confidence in their abilities.
Artwork session
During the period that individuals were in the recording studio, artwork took place with the
remaining group. Banners were created by the participants to decorate the ‘stage’ for the
final performance, along with flyers, posters, CD artwork, tickets and back-stage passes.
The participants created band logos, song artwork and portraits of themselves.
Day 5
Dress rehearsals
The group started the final day by listening to their tracks on CD, which had been edited and
duplicated by Miniature Dinosaurs in the intervening time. The musicians asked the
participants for their feedback on the week and their reactions to the songs they had
produced. Participants were given their own CD to take home, which included a CD cover of
their artwork, inlay with the song lyrics and their personalised CD labels.
Miniature Dinosaurs had set up the Theatre for the final performance and the participants
were excited by the new space and enjoyed rehearsing their songs for the final time.
Final performance
Carers, siblings, staff and guests were invited to come to the final part of the week to hear
the participants perform their songs. Miniature Dinosaurs gave the children the experience of
performing with a rock band on stage, developing their stagecraft skills as well as musical
skills. Participants were briefed as to how to stay behind the curtain until it was time to come
on, the importance of keeping quiet, controlling and dealing with a wide range of emotions,
how to interact with the audience. The participants were also involved in technical aspects of
the production, such as working front-of-house, making tickets, organising their costumes
and visuals. The participants were also excited to hear the band playing their own material,
and the fact that Miniature Dinosaurs are a performing rock band greatly added to the value
the participants placed on the experience.
Miniature Dinosaurs report
This was the second Fostering a Love for Music project we have delivered at the North
Edinburgh Arts Centre. Although the last one was a huge success, this time around it was
improved further by three main reasons:
1. Focused group of participants
Previously both Foster Carers and the Foster Children took part. This created many varying
angles for the project. We were aiming to enhance bonds between the carers and their
children; between siblings; and between the children of different foster families. On this
occasion, by having no adults, we had one less variable to address. It can be complex
catering for adults and children, both in terms of content and delivery, and the impact of the
activities were more effective as they were more targeted and focused.
2. Scheduling
Previously we did 3 extended days with the group, which demanded a lot of focus from
young children. This time, the scheduling allowed for 2-hour workshops each day, over 5
days. This was the perfect amount of time for the participants of this group to maintain focus.
It also allowed us to review how the two hours went and implement a fresh plan for the next
day.
3. Improved recording technique.
Previously we had the whole group in the recording studio at the same time playing their
instruments. This time we pre-recorded guide tracks and had the individual participants layer
their parts on one by one. This allowed accurate placement of their parts in the song, thus
greatly improving the quality of product. It was also encouraging to see how the children
thrived when they received this one-to-one attention.
Lyrics
Circus of Fools Iona, Hamish, Rory Greatest Show on Earth
I can’t believe I’m so excited That the circus is coming to town Five more minutes until it starts But I’m scared to see a clown! ‘Roll up Roll up’ the Ringmaster pleads The lions are ready, the canon is lit The crowd is excited so please take your seats This is the greatest show on Earth! ‘Roll up Roll up, Roll up Roll up, Roll up Roll up!’ Cheeky monkey has stolen my chips He is eating them on the trapeze The acrobats are staring at him And they don’t looked very pleased ‘Roll up Roll up, Roll up Roll up, Roll up Roll up!’ The Wolf Boys
Shane, Adam, Daniel, Jordan We are the Wolf Boys
On a dark night in June, howling at the full moon The wolves are searching for their tea. On a dark night in June, howling at the full moon A man said ‘Please don’t eat me’ With very jaggy teeth and very jaggy claws They’ll eat you if they see you just because They’re very hungry wolves, they don’t need any tools So don’t try to upset them or you’ll be with the fools We are we are we are the Wolf Boys Amongst the scary faced trees, don’t step on the leaves The wolves will hear the crunch. Amongst the scary faced trees, don’t step on the leaves And they haven’t had their lunch! Reprise: With very jaggy teeth...