Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham (Children’s)

Hi, I’m Joe and I’m a young musician from Nottingham. I have studied percussion for close to ten years now, and I also sing and play guitar and ukulele. I have worked in a wide variety of professional and community music environments including live theatre and even a french circus! I currently work as an apprentice with Nottingham Music Hub, teaching young people on a daily basis and organising projects for young people in Nottingham City.

My experience so far with Opus Music has been overwhelmingly positive. The warm welcome from hospital staff has been brilliant, as has the welcome from patients on the wards. Alongside this I have had the opportunity to work with some fantastic musicians and above all, friendly people. The tactful approach to the sensitive nature of this type of music making has been very tricky to master and I’m aware that I’m not there yet, but the training process has felt relaxed and safe and I feel like this has facilitated quick learning.

One of the fantastic things about Opus is that there is absolutely no pretence and no ego. All of the musicians I have met have only had one aim, and that is to improve other people’s quality of life. This is such an anomaly in the professional music world that it really takes you by surprise. The selfless nature of the practitioners of this work is astounding, and something I hope to mirror in the way I engage with not only this work, but in my wider engagement with community and professional music. I feel like this attitude may have evolved out of the environment in which we are working. In the hospital a tireless and dedicated medical team who show genuine care and empathy towards their patients surrounds you. This can only have a positive impact on the way that we work as musicians.

All that said, the real treasure and reward from this training lies not with personal development or heightened musical ability or awareness; it lies with the people that we meet. Engaging with a broad spectrum of complex, intricate people with a variety of different needs has shown me another aspect of the multi-faceted benefits of music. I am meeting people I would never meet in my day-to-day life, and making music with them and this can only be a positive thing.

My name is Angela Kang and I have taught and researched about music at the University of Nottingham, University of Hong Kong, and currently at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance where I teach and design modules for the opera degree programme. As a flautist, pianist and accordionist trained in the classical music tradition, I maintain a strong interest in how music can improve physical health and well-being.

Smiles

A little smile can be the beginning of a musical adventure. It can open a door to interact with a child patient and create beautiful sounds which will gently filter down hospital corridors. Today we knocked on the door of an isolated room, and sensing a rather curious and friendly little girl with a beaming smile, we started to gently play music. After a while, we picked out a glockenspiel and some shakers from the percussion box and showed her the sounds that could be produced. She happily took these instruments from us and began to take part in the music making. Her relatives were clearly delighted to see her enthusiastically and creatively join in, as were we. Beginning with a soothing guitar medley, the delicate sound of the ukulele and glockenspiel added a glistening touch. Underpinning this was the lively and spirited sound of the bodhrán, accompanied by melodious accordion interludes.

It is sometimes nice to be fortunate enough to be able to see there and then the immediate positive effects a musical interaction can have on parents and their children. In the afternoon, we all softly sang ‘Sunshine’ in 4-part harmony to another little girl cradled in her father’s arms. As we wandered off to the next ward we all heard the father continue to sooth his daughter singing the very same song – and of course that left all of the OPUS musicians with a big smile.

 

Musical Bonds

Creating music in a clinical setting forms relationships of two kinds: first, those which are created between the sounds and, secondly, those which are created amongst the participants. As professional musicians, we must use our musical intuition and skills in order to produce quality music aimed for a very particular situation (eg, a parent carrying a child on a hospital corridor, a dialysis ward with a large central open space, or even a child patient undergoing some form of treatment in an enclosed area). A heightened sensitivity and empathy towards listening and perceiving situations is crucial. Creating music in these situations involves very careful listening and communication between musicians; sometimes we are located in awkward areas of the ward and not necessarily in close proximity. An acute sensitivity to changes in volume, harmony, texture, rhythm, and melodic direction is paramount, especially amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy hospital ward. There is also the desire to create music that is appropriate for the situation and that can gently welcome patients, carers, and staff to participate (if they so wish). When this delightful moment happens, we forge a unique and special relationship with all the participants. One cannot predict what lasting effects these moments will achieve. If it provides a momentary sense of relief, relaxation, or positive distraction from the humdrum of the clinical setting – that can only be a good thing. If it provides a charming musical memory to talk about, or a sense of pride felt in contributing to a musical piece – that also, can only be a positive.

THIS COURSE HAS NOW BEEN FILLED. If you are interested in attending our training in the future, please email us at training@opusmusic.org and we will contact you when we launch our next programme.

OPUS Music CIC, in partnership with Nottingham Music Hub, is offering a training and mentoring programme for musicians working in, or interested in working in healthcare settings.

Initially there will be a two-day programme of training for up to eight musicians (unpaid). Following the training sessions, two trainees will be selected by interview to go forward as mentees to the ten day mentoring programme (paid) to be held at the Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham.

Training will take place on 12th and 19th November 2013 in Nottingham, UK, with mentoring taking place on Tuesdays between December 2013 and March 2014.

For full details download the brief here: Musician’s Brief (Adobe PDF)
The application form is here: Word Document – Adobe PDF file