There really is a ‘new school’ and it’s based in Bermondsey, one of London’s poorest and most deprived areas. St James’ Primary School has opened its doors to Ministry Of Sound, the global super-club just around the corner, as well as leading music equipment specialists Roland. Together, educator, entertainer and music-maker have devised a pioneering new music programme for kids and in the coming weeks class time will well and truly kick off….
Roland and Ministry’s unique syllabus promises a ‘fresh approach’ to the traditional music curriculum in UK schools. It aims to combine the latest music technology – by way of a specially installed, cutting-edge music suite – and innovative performance-based learning – overseen by a specially-appointed teacher and a team of lesson consultants from both Ministry and Roland – and wrap them both around popular contemporary styles and sounds. The programme should run for 12 months, at the very least.
“There’s no set date that this project will end” explains David Barnard, Head Of Education at Roland UK. “It’s a radical, ongoing course but one that aligns itself to the National Curriculum and has the potential to really engage with these kids, to take them out from behind their desks and really inspire them.”
Being that a high percentage of low-income families lives in Bermondsey, many of the young pupils at St James’ will probably not have had access before to the kind of sophisticated instruments, audio devices and recording equipment that are being moved into their school.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for the school, the parents and, of course, the children; it’s fantastic to think we can give young people the chance to really engage with music in an environment where it’s not always been so easy to.” Barnard says. “This new curriculum is a firmly project-driven vehicle. Engaging themes will be developed between the teacher and pupils; football, cooking and going out are possible examples. Learning about music and applying that learning follows on from those themes. The school’s governors and support staff will also be fully focussed on making this structure work for the area.”
That’s not to forget the wider implications, Barnard stresses, of what St James’ is undertaking: “I think the project has come at an interesting time. The National Curriculum for music is currently under review by the government. At the moment music education is still statutory until the age of 14; that’s now up for review. If it becomes merely a free-standing option for kids in the future then it will lose impetus and that’s a problem. We need to show just how important musical education is in our country.”
Roland has already done much in UK schools to achieve that long-term aim. Its Musical Futures initiative, for example, has seen the manufacturer working closely with independent grant-making body the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to set up a network of ‘Champion Schools’ which advocate a new non-formal way of thinking about music teaching within the largely formalised, traditional school framework.
“The programme has been running successfully – really successfully – for five years now” Barnard explains. “Again, it’s about pupil-centred learning… something less stuffy and didactic. Teachers work on the premise that the kids already know something about music and push on from there. Our National Curriculum is often dominated by English, Maths and Science, and those subjects are important, but music is another key area. Our music industry will need new thinkers, planners, producers and artists in the future, so we need to ensure the talent is there.”
Not that he thinks British music education, in its current form, is in any way floundering. “It’s one of the most dynamic programmes in the world” he says. “There are pockets where standards are poor but on the whole it’s really good. It’s actually quite progressive; it is happy to look at the use of technology, which is a vital stepping stone for the future, but it can do more. There’s also the issue of government funding and this current music review…"
The work St James’ does when its initiative goes live on October 31 – they are currently interviewing for the pivotal music teacher post – will, it should be noted, balance traditional acoustic and woodwind instruments with state-of-the-art tech kit. It’s not about replacing the old with the new; the traditional with the digital; the heritage with banal binary and bleeps. It’s all about fusion generating striking results on both sides of the musical spectrum.
“Technology will be used in the right way to enhance what is already there, not rewrite it” Barnard stipulates. “Technology and tradition can go in hand, just think of the music student learning the guitar and hooking it up to a Boss amplifier and Roland Loop Station for example. That situation is becoming more and more common place. Everything about this initiative is being carefully considered; I’ve been to schools where the kit is too sophisticated and students spend all their time figuring out the software and not learning music, so there will be a balance.”
It’s an educatory mindset shared by even the most historic of conservatoires, namely London’s Royal College Of Music and the nearby Royal Academy Of Music. Both institutions put much onus on traditional instrumental performance and composition, as one might expect, but have made increasingly significant strides in recent years to support electronic and technology-based music.
Both regularly host electronic-focussed events. The Royal Academy, in fact, is currently working with the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on a project called Hyperbow, live cello performance using a technologically-enhanced bow which generates electronic audio output when played, and has the ability to manipulate networked computers and trigger all manner of bespoke samples, loops and edits – usually the DJ’s domain. The Academy has also changed its undergraduate programme, making it now compulsory for enrolling students to study both traditional concert music and technology-based music, in the context of a full-spec electronic studio.
Back south of the Thames in Bermondsey, Ministry is confident it can make a significant contribution to the ongoing debate on music education. “It’s great to be part of something unique” Ministry CEO Lohan Presencer comments. “To be involved in a pioneering and innovative music project such as this is incredibly exciting. We look forward to the program developing and who knows, we might even be in the presence of some future stars!”
Ministry and Roland will use their relationships with the ‘stars’ of today to help generate further momentum at St James. Artist-led workshops and performances, at both the school and Ministry’s fabled Gaunt Street residence, will form a major tranche of activity for pupils. Barnard remains tight-lipped on details, which leaves it up to St James’ Headmistress Karen Willis to have the final few words. Her young, relentlessly energetic charges will soon be mixing woodblocks and recorders with Roland HandSonics (hand-generated percussion), Loop Stations (recording and sampling), Music Creator software and entry-level Juno keyboards.
“The project will undoubtedly benefit all of our pupils and their families” she enthuses. “We are delighted to be working with the Ministry Of Sound and Roland; we are very excited about this partnership and thank the Ministry of Sound for all their support in planning and executing.”
There will be plenty of eyes (and ears) on Bermondsey over the next few months; rest assured, it won’t just be the kids learning something….
Ministry Of Sound and Roland’s school music programme launches on October 31.
