Sound Stories

The Sound Stories project comprises 8 workshops lasting over a full school term. 

The project can be delivered to a whole class, or head teachers can select up to 10 pupils from the middle to upper Primary who they consider will benefit most from the intervention. 

Inspired by Dave’s many year’s experience of composing music for Theatre and Radio, the work aims to engage pupils in music making by encouraging them to explore their emotional responses to music.

The sessions involve working as a group to devise and perform our own music, providing great opportunities not just to learn basic music skills, but to develop skills in collaboration, turn taking, active listening, sharing and self-expression.

We explore the use of music in film and television, learn how music helps to communicate ideas and tell stories, and finally create our own story with musical accompaniment which can be  performed to another class.

Schools Feedback:

"Both staff and pupils have commented on the positive impact of the sessions on self-esteem, confidence and emotional well-being. Staff have reported that pupils not normally engaging in collaborative activity were inspired to do so by the type of intuitive music making the group enjoyed each week. In one setting, staff were delighted that a P7 pupil on the autistic spectrum who normally had to learn separately from others was able to join in with the group most weeks and participated in a final performance."

One teacher said that they would now be looking at music more seriously as a long-term strategy to engage pupils in the Nurture Hub, having witnessed its effectiveness to engage her group.

Some schools have subsequently funded the project to extend beyond YMI funded period, and this has provided additional value  and benefits for the pupils taking part.

The YMI Outcome for this project is:

Young people who would not normally have the chance to participate can take part in music making opportunities.