To most observers, music is an underfunded subject, often resulting in students missing out on experimentation to broaden their interests. Readipop, established in 1998, offers young people – from primary age up to university – in the Reading and Thames Valley area the chance to engage interactively with music.
Youth clubs, community bands, festivals, a record label and outreach are ways that Readipop delivers its services. Based in a studio hub in Reading, music leaders offer drop-ins for young people to take part in a variety of programmes – but the outreach also extends into schools to engage directly with students and teachers.
‘We offer djembe workshops, ukulele, percussion and vintage synthesisers to students in schools, and we are able to adapt our workshops to the age range, whether its nursery or university’, said Abbie Hill, a Readipop music leader.
Adaptation
Improvising, being responsive and having communication with staff is key to Readipop's technique, as music leaders adapt sessions to suit the specific needs of children.
‘We always go to workshops as a team of two. We know what to fall back on and how to strip things back if students are struggling with certain aspects, or escalate if they are more advanced than we planned. We have a lot of communication with teachers beforehand as well, to know what they want the class to get out of our workshop, whether that's just a bit of fun or to have something recorded’, said music leader Harrison Screen, before adding: ‘we aren't precious about a plan – we're there to fulfil whatever the young people want us to do.’
‘Additionally, we are always made aware of children with SEND, which works well with there being two music leaders in a session. One of us can lead the group, and one is on hand to give one-on-one time to students who need it’, explained Hill.
‘Participant-led’ is Readipop's motto. The team doesn't run sessions in line with the curriculum, and is called in by teachers who want students to experience joyous music-making; some workshops can even last a whole day, as the team works with different year-groups across the whole school.
However long the workshop, things are kept practical. ‘For young people whose families aren't interested in music, they're never going to get chance to do it. In our workshops we don't do music theory, because having the format of sitting in a classroom and learning from a book would lose someone. However, our practical workshops do teach a basic understanding of rhythm, meaning students are learning a bit of theory without realising it’, explained Screen.
Impact
Kept running by a range of funders – including Arts Council England, Children in Need, and Youth Music – Readipop faced challenges during the pandemic. But maintaining virtual connections with young people meant that its Access All Areas youth club is now at maximum capacity.
The youth club, aimed at older teenagers, offers a band room and a recording studio for young people to express their feelings through music, leading to impactful results. Hill recalls the story of one young man who started as a one-to-one mentee who was using music as a release to understand his mental health; he has now gone on to be a singer and rapper, releasing music on Readipop's label, Riser.
Hill also recalls the praise from staff in the schools about the workshops (‘I've never seen that child get involved in anything before’) and how one session ended with a class teacher involved in a ukulele band singing the main song – when their original plan was to sit and mark.
For the future, what the music leaders want to see is a shift in attitude towards more purposeful and enjoyable music teaching:
‘I just want to see music get cared about more at school’, said Screen. ‘Looking back at when I was in school, people didn't really pay attention or care about the purpose. Instead of teaching me about Beethoven (when I'm from an estate in Reading), people should be taught about the music they enjoy and listen to. Music should be freer, and that's what we aim to do here – there are no rules.’
