Sonic Possibilities – Remembering the art of play
I came to the Germination project with great enthusiasm, armed with my clarinet and voice with a decade of classical training under my belt which…
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What is Germination?
An experimental model of professional development for early childhood educators and emerging artists to develop their musical play practice with very young children, funded by Youth Music.
Our mission was to sow the seeds that will grow into a community of musical play. Through sharing knowledge, ideas and experience between artists, musicians and educators. Through creative approaches and with the intention of nurturing and caring for creative practitioners, we aimed to support learning which would thrive and flourish through improvisation and playfulness.
Funded by Youth Music, we recruited 13 fabulous artists, musicians, dancers, performers and early childhood educators to participate in this experimental training offer which included play days, and visits to nurseries and Baby SoundGarden sessions.
Through playful workshops, work based experiences and with the support of a mentor, we have been learning about how we can support and nurture creative practitioners to develop their own sensitivities and experience in musical play.
Our approach
Structured around the play days we gathered as a group of mentors and mentees three times over a term. The play days were all about tapping into our own sense of playfulness, connecting with others through play and exploring feelings of uncertainty and awkwardness that are often present when we enter into improvisational modes.
In-between the play days the mentees visited nursery settings and family music groups to experiment with offering musical play opportunities in different contexts.
This intentionally open-ended approach meant each participating artist could shape their own learning with their mentor based on their context, creative interests and starting point.
Listen to the Germination podcast series, hosted by Dr Jessica Pitt, in conversation with our participants and academics.
Reflections from the artists
“It felt like it was filling my heart and soul.”
Earlier this year we spoke to Bella who was one of the participants who took park in our Germination project. Germination was a professional…
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Germination Network Sharing
We were so excited to be able to share this Youth Music funded project with the Acorn Network. This free online network event was a…
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