the reeltime music newsletter ~ autumn 2008

The Congolese music group Jambo took the Tron Theatre by storm on the 17th and 18th June. Playing a short set of their own original songs, the group impressed the crowd, showing off the skills they have learned at Reeltime Music over the past six months. The invitation to p lay at the ‘Underneath the Same Sky’ event came from the Scottish Refugee Council who were keen for a North Lanarkshire based group to be involved in the celebrations. It was only the second live

performance Jambo had given since their formation in December 2007. Glasgow based YDance! were the headline act on the night, performing a dance routine which involved young people from all over Glasgow. Some of the dancers even found their way onto the stage during Jambo’s final few songs. Jambo consists of ten recently relocated Congolese refugees who meet every Thursday night at the Reeltime Studio to learn new skills in music p er forma n c e , pr odu c t ion a nd

Jambo Take OnThe Tron!Jambo Take OnThe Tron!Jambo Take OnThe Tron!Jambo Take OnThe Tron!

Cartoons Raised Me, a band who worked with professional music ians to write and record a song about responsib le dr inking for inc lusion on the Seven Bars CD, were successful in securing a slot at Live @ Loch Lomond. Ciaran Patr ick, Michael Smullen, Stephen Falsay, Bryan Thompson, Fraser Steven, Emma Dunlop and Marc Schofield all received their M i l len iu m V o lu n te er s Awa r d certificates in June for the many hours they have spent help ing others at Reeltime Music . Ciaran Patr ick and Michael Smullen were nominated by CVS North Lanarkshire for an award at North Lanarkshire Council Celebration of Learning awards. Although they d id not receive an award on the night, it was amazing that their great efforts have been recognised. Another first for Jambo! As well as performing live at the Tron as part of Refu gee Week Sc ot la nd , th e Congolese group also premiered their short film ‘You Are Not Alone’. Written, d irected and performed by the group, the film depicts a dramatisation of refugees build ing a new life in Scotland, and was warmly received by the audience.

songwriting. An initial pilot scheme funded by Strathclyde Fire and Rescue’s Seven Bars project saw the group through its early stages and further funding has just been awarded from Youthlink Scotland to allow them to continue their development. It is hoped that Jambo will continue to perform their music whilst organizing workshops and events to encourage more of the Congolese community to take part and find out what is on offer.

Jambo are helped each week by a team of workers who form a partnership between Reeltime Music and Generation Youth (part of North Lanarkshire Council). The key workers have seen a big increase in the confidence and ability of many of the Congolese young people. Morale in the group is high and a number of new members have already joined the group since the Tron performance. The performance has had other benefits for some of the group members. George Kasongo has been learning how to shoot and edit videos at Reeltime Music and the Tron performance was a great opportunity for him to film a live music performance.

Ian Anderson of Generation Youth believes the event was a real highpoint for Jambo. ‘The atmosphere on the way home was brilliant. The minibus was rocking from side to side, they were so happy!’

Jambo continued

The Next Generation ofThe Next Generation ofThe Next Generation ofThe Next Generation of R e e l t i m e r sR e e l t i m e r sR e e l t i m e r sR e e l t i m e r s Reeltime Music ushered in the next generation earlier th is year when Scott Brazil and Martin Corcoran delivered our first ever music tutor training programme. Young people between the ages of 16 - 25 living in New Stevenston, Holytown, Newarthill and Carfin were invited along to the training sessions with the possibility of becoming a future member of the Reeltime team. The idea for the programme was conceived by the Reeltime Management Committee who were keen to help develop the existing staff and to pass on their long ranging skills and experience in working with young people in the field of music. The success of Reeltime Music has also led to a need for more skilled tutors, and the committee was keen to involve local young people rather than hir ing in expensive professionals. Funding has been provided by the Brannock Fair Share Panel and the project will run until February 2009. The training programme consisted of three sessions at the Reeltime Studio and six workshop placement hours. The sessions in the studio were designed to be informal and fun whilst providing the trainee tutors training in all the key areas needed to be a professional

music tutor. Key scenarios and useful tips were also discussed as well as practical exercises for the tutors to practice their skills. All the participants enjoyed the training and have gone on to work through their placement hours on projects based in the Brannock area with agencies such as Community Learning & Development, Fairplay for Families and the Brannock Gala Day. A further training programme has also been arranged for another group of interested young people. There are numerous benefits for the trainee tutors which include the chance to gain experience and skills in working with young people and the opportunity to earn an income by helping others. Reeltime Music will also benefit from the project as having more skilled tutors will allow the organization to keep up with the demands of youth music projects whilst maintaining a high standard of work.

Ridgepark Rocks!

Pupils from Ridgepark School in Lanark had a

great experience at Reeltime Music in July this

year. The young people worked with our tutors

to choose a song, learn it on guitar and drums,

record it and make their own music DVD. All in

six sessions!

The idea for the project came from

professional music tutor Andy Murdoch who

works at the school. Having been involved in a

previous workshop project with Reeltime, Andy

felt that this kind of experience would really

benefit the pupils at Ridgepark. After securing

funding for the project from South Lanarkshire

Council, the work begun in earnest.

The six sessions in the studio involved first of

all getting to know the young people and

helping them to agree on a song that they

would all like to work on (which turned out to

be One Republic’s ‘Stop and Stare’). Then a

period of learning and practice took place with

the group learning their respective instruments

in order to play their part in the recording

session. Along the way the tutors and member

of the group shot video footage for use in the

final DVD. The music video was shown just

before the summer holidays to the group and

their schoolmates at Ridgepark.

In working on a creative project in the

studio, the pupils used and developed their

musical, personal and communication skills to

achieve the outcome of producing their own

DVD. The Scottish Arts Council’s ‘What’s Goin

On’ Youth Music Audit states that participation

in informal music workshops such as the

Ridgepark project increases social and

emotional intelligence, boosts confidence and

self esteem and develops manual and

intellectual dexterity. The workshop tutors

Martin and Scott definitely felt this was true of

the group. ‘When they heard the final mix of

the song playing back, they were really

chuffed to bits. Some of them couldn’t

believe they had done it.’

The experience of recording in a

professional studio is one which no one ever

forgets, especially when it’s a positive

experience. Multimedia projects such as this

which involves music performance, sound

recording, video production and elements of

youth work can be really effective for groups of

young people with short attention spans or

emotional and behavioural difficulties as there

is always variety and fun involved, and the

chance to make something to be proud of.