Borders YMI – Making Music

August 17, 2020August 18, 2021

The Big Drum Adventure

Mat Clements, who delivers The Big Drum Adventure, has been working across the Borders with the YMI programme since 2010. He delivers a gateway music programme which takes a whole primary class on a musical journey with drums, percussion and voice.

The project introduces pupils to the exciting world of music making, building rhythm, playing and performance skills to give each pupil the confidence to progress to the next level.

Mat’s website has details of all his projects. www.wherestheone.co.uk

Mat has created some online versions of his fantastic Museum of Amazing Musical Instruments which you can see on our blog here.

The Museum of Amazing Musical Instruments

These are two recoding from one of the projects Mat has run

ig Drum Adventure at Knowepark PS , track 1.

Big Drum Adventure at Knowepark PS , track 2.

November 8, 2019November 8, 2019

Paul Harris talk

For November’s in-service day music staff from the YMI project, the Music Instrumental Service and our Music Curriculum Support Teacher’s got together to hear from music educator Paul Harris.

Paul has written over six hundred books about music education and writes for major international music magazines. He performs regularly and is an examiner and an adjudicator at national events.

At our session he talked about his Simultaneous Learning approach to instrumental and singing teaching. There was so much to take in, both practical ideas and the theory of learning. One of the themes that really came across was the need for a teacher to be an empowering guide to their students, collaboratively going on a learning journey with them. His ‘Map of the Musical World’ is a practical presentation of the musical ingredients that learners need to develop. It helps both student and teacher move through, and make connections between, these ingredients to embed the learning and develop their skills.

We are already considering how we can bring Paul back to expand into group or whole class teaching and inspire non specialist class teachers.

November 6, 2019December 6, 2019

Music Appreciation Assembly

Music Appreciation Assembly

Three of the YMI team recently performed songs at an assembly in Earlston Primary schools. The school was running a series of afternoon assemblies bringing in musicians , asking some of the pupils to play their own instruments or listening to music to increase the appreciation and enjoyment of music . the Depute head teacher, Kevin, asked if we could help and Kaela, Jon and Jenni went along in December to play sing and get the pupils up dancing.

It went down well and we hope to help the school invite some other musicians along to inspire the children.

September 1, 2019November 1, 2019

Sounding Out

In 2014 a report was commissioned to examine the strengths and weakness of youth music in the Scottish Borders. The writers spoke with a cross section of sectors, music teachers and young people. The report led to the creation of the Borders youth Music Forum ‘Soundcycle’

The full report can be downloaded below.

Sounding Out 2014

July 1, 2019May 29, 2020

The Borders YMI team

The Youth Music Initiative team in the Borders consists of four music tutors , working in our schools, who are supported by the Creative Learning Officer. We are part of the Education, within Children and Young People’s Services.

Each year we apply to the YMI Formula Fund for the staff team, resources and the external projects that we run.

We work in many of our Primary schools, all of the Support and Complex Needs units and some of the High schools. We compliment the work done by the peripatetic Curriculum Support Teachers (Music), who also deliver lessons in some our primary schools, and we ensure that we visiting each primary school in the region between the two teams.

The YMI tutors are highly accomplished musicians and have taught in schools for many years. Whilst they all have their own specialism they deliver whole class music making lessons, using a wide range of instruments including ukuleles, drums, tin whistles, keyboards and the accordion, as well as using singing and music technology.

Our funding enables us to deliver a number of regular projects provided by external partners, such as the primary school tour by Scottish Opera and Mat the Hat’s ‘ Big Drum Adventure’ as well as other one off projects by touring musician’s, such as the Ghanaian Kakatsitsi drummers.

For more details about what the work YMI team in the Borders is doing and some of our activities we are currently undertaking have a look at some of our Home Learning posts.