My 2.5 Years of Freelancing
Been in this community music game for a wee while.
It’s a hustler’s life for sure, getting used to not knowing where the work is coming from, but still makes me nervous to the core.
Mum reckons I shud do a PGCE, says she scared of seeing her babies struggle, she didn’t put us through uni with this in mind. Sometimes the 9 – 5 seems real tempting but nah!
Still gonna hang in there, hopefully the universe will provide. Some workshops go amazingly, some leave me sad, but still gonna fight to be the best that I can.
Nappy Nappy Joy Joy!
I did my ‘Big Chop’ almost 7 years ago. In my early twenties I started to question why I permed my hair. From the age of 13 I had chemically processed my natural tresses, swimming, having my hair touched by my boyfriends and rain were a no-no.
Going against the wishes of hairdressers and ex-boyfriends I had all my permed hair cut off. I think it was a grade/no. 2. Whilst living in Japan I was initially quite lazy with my hair, opting to have the tiny weeny afro. Like this:
I then grew it out and rocked an afro puff, my Japanese students were very complimentary.
For many years I thought having flowing, long hair was the most desirable and attractive thing! What a fool, I am madly in love with my natural coily, nappy, picky, hair, it’s mine, unaltered.
I have come across some lovely websites that have assisted and encouraged me on my hair journey, it’s important cos you can often get natural hair haters in the UK; especially from my own community. Here are some of my fave natural black hair and beauty sites:
I encourage any black woman who is interested in wearing her hair natural to do so! It’s all about nappy love!!
Music tech-ing
After a fairly quiet summer, I am back on the hustle in the community music world. I am delivering music tech workshops for All Change and Create Arts in Islington and Camden which promises to be challenging and fun.
The All Change project is called ‘Fast Forward’, working with young people living in Islington estates, as with most All Change projects, is cross-artform, and in this instance has a heavy dance slant. There shall be an end performance at Sadler’s Wells in March.
I shall be working with young carers in Islington re the Create Arts projects – using music technology and poems written with a spoken word artist to explore the theme of aspirations. Watch this space!!
Sound Cloud
Finally converted to the fluffy side of Sound Cloud. I’ve uploaded some mixes, have a listen if you have a chance.
I like how you can upload them directly into social media apps… comme ca!
Bobbalinhotslowburningmix07 by Bobbalin’ Hot
The Artist Cultivates
So, a good workshopper should be a good artist, something I have been told ample times, and am working on.
The more I perform the more I understand the nerves of my participants, the more skills I acquire as a musician.
Here are two of my fave pics of our latest gig at The Abbey on Kentish Road, taken by the lovely Faraz!
Dazzling Dreams and Nasty Nightmares Performance
Here is the audio for my final MAASER Spitz project!
Well proud of it! Well done to Osmani primary! Whoop! They sang beautifully! We had soo much packed into the project, toy music, music tech, 5 songs, 3 newbie workshoppers bricking themselves!!
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Hope you like it!
xxx
Dazzling Dreams and Nasty Nightmares – Spitz Project
The end of the Spitz MAAS project is nigh and today is our evaluation session.
Yesterday – fellow MAASers Chris, Tim and I completed our performance of Dazzling Dreams and Nasty Nightmares with Osmani school’s lovely year 5.
Dreams and Nightmares was a creative composition project for Year 5 students at Osmani primary school. It explored a range of themes using dreams and nightmares as the stimulus and participants created original compositions inspired by stories and artwork based on the participants’s experiences.
Year 5 wrote songs, used classroom percussion and toys (suitable noisy toys from home) to create music that represented an element of the subliminal journey.
We also used music technology to record sound bytes or words/phrases from their creative work onto an MP3 recorder. I edited them and used Ableton Live to create a soundscape/layered texture of voices that had a musical backing/under layer. It formed the ‘link’ section between the dreams – teaching assistant Nicola helped us with this during the performance.
It went really well, and we managed to overcome some issues to achieve our objectives – we didn’t even have to scrap any songs.
I improved at working with other practitioners with different delivery styles, thinking on my feet, how to utilise better the musical skills of fellow practitioners, the importance of communication, about the necessary gel needed for a team to work well, about timings of activities and how much more I have to learn in this community music world!
Down Your Way – Main Segment Dusted!
Here are some pics:
On the whole it went well, I learnt loads from being involved, what it takes to be a good leader – different ways in getting young people to compose original melodies.
Through the skin of our teeth we managed to bring all elements together; music tech, Wiimotes beats, live singing and band, young and old. Well done Betty, Chivenor primary and the Sound it Out team!!
A few hiccups were, (no project doesn’t have ‘em), older people not always wanting to be involved, venue issues, slight racism – Castle Vale maybe regenerated but it will take time for views to change, leadership/direction issues, little apathy with some participants making sessions difficult, and overall performance material could have been longer or developed more.
Learning all the time!
Summer Madness
Last couple of weeks have been nuts!
Loads of end of year performances, it all winds down from Sunday! Yippe yay!
Need to find a better way to utilise my free time in the summer…
How’s your summer term been? What you planning on doing with your hols?
Ahh Betty!!
Written by Betty, a participant from Down Your Way project…
‘SOUND IT OUT’ about ‘DOWN YOUR WAY’
‘There’s a big get together of youth and old age
Over at Chivenor House on one of the day’s’
Would maybe be happy thought entered my head
And would do what they told me whatever they said
‘Hello everybody’ came the loud greetings call
‘We are all here to greet you and will be having a ball’
Kids from Chivenor School Mr Jones class
Talked and laughed with us about now and the past
Taped it and kept it for a plan to be made
By the folks from ‘SOUND IT OUT’ about ‘DOWN YOUR WAY
Castle Vale Estate folks who were joining in
Were enjoying themselves and all wore a broad grin
Singing and saying lots from the tape
The kids and us old ones thinking ‘it’s great’
There was Nicola, Dave and sweet Bobby
Helping us out and keeping us jolly
Teaching us lots of jobs we must do
Sticking together like ‘NELSONS VICTORY’ crew
They are the team from ‘SOUND IT OUT’
What a delight and what a great SHOUT
So hope the kids know more about old Castle Vale
And the life the old un’s told them as a tale
No baths no TV no games to play nothing like there is today
So fingers crossed that all are like me
Happy and pleased and delighted to be
All together and making a show
And of course now awake to things we didn’t know
So ‘HIP HIP HIP HOORAY’
And a big thank you from us all
Too Nicola, Dave and sweet Bobby
Who taught us how to re call
The past the present and what it’s all about
And of course how to ‘SOUND IT OUT’………Betty P
