Reflections on the transition into Music Leadership
Anthea Prince is a Rhythmix tutor and here she shares her thoughts on transitioning from being a songwriting, recording and performing artist to launching herself into the Music Education Sector with gusto. Why did she do this, what has the experience been like, and what has she learned from it?
Why become a Music Leader?
Every musician knows it’s hard to cover costs and make a decent living these days, particularly with the decline in people wanting to pay for either recorded or live music. Most of us need a portfolio career with multiple income streams to manage the ups and downs of cash flow, and being involved in community music is a great way to use your musical skills to make a living in a highly rewarding way.
But primarily it’s a fantastic way to get involved in the community, give something back, and to inspire young or disadvantaged people to develop personally, socially and musically - growing in confidence and self-esteem - and find a “voice” to express themselves creatively. All this adds up to a healthier, more caring and creatively diverse society - which has got to be a good thing!
I am also a huge advocate of ongoing personal and professional development for musicians, and the community music sector provides ample opportunities for this.
What’s it like taking the plunge?
I won’t lie, it can be a little scary turning up at a youth club for the first time when you know that the area is known for its high levels of crime and socio-economic need and that many of the young people meet criteria for being described as facing “challenging circumstances”. Or starting workshops with a group of people with learning disabilities and wondering whether you’ll be able to communicate effectively with them. You may start to wonder about your own abilities or the difference you can make to these people’s lives, and I think that a certain amount of humility and a great deal of reflection and ongoing learning is extremely helpful; but don’t let it turn into self-doubt.
One of the mistakes I made early on was to try to steer sessions too much, but I learned that in order to facilitate a meaningful and valuable experience my main roles include providing a choice of starting points (which might be instruments, activities or techniques), being a good listener, being responsive to the group’s interests and ideas, and creating an emotionally safe space in which people feel free to experiment and explore. As I’ve learnt these things, some of sessions I’ve run over the past year have been among the high points of my life so far - for example, seeing a youth group develop into an emotionally literate, caring and tight-knit team through exploring group improvisation together.
Music-making provides such instant rewards for its participants - it might be that the collective group mood lifts and everyone leaves on a high; or a chilled-out session takes place and everyone leaves feeling calm and peaceful. The trick is to follow the lead of participants, have lots of ideas up your sleeve to go with whatever direction their flow takes, and develop discernment to know when to contribute and when to step back.
What have I learnt from my experiences so far?
Becoming a Music Leader has certainly enhanced and developed my own skills as a musician, composer and producer. The wide range of people I’ve been working with, along with their diversity of interests in different genres, has challenged me to educate myself and open my mind to genres I had previously dismissed as not within my sphere of interest. Coming from a background mainly consisting of alternative rock, folk and acoustic singer-songwriter genres, I’ve had to overcome my own personal prejudices of taste - for example to learn about what makes an effective pop song chord sequence or to learn electronic dance music production techniques - and this in turn has informed my own musical direction and inspired me to try new things. My own music-making has been expanded and enhanced as I go on an exploratory journey along with the groups I work with.
The broad range of training opportunities open to me as a Music Leader - some provided through funded opportunities, others which I’ve funded myself - has enabled this journey to progress. Training has increased my skills in engineering and production, taught me about the use of iPads in music-making, and - one of the biggest areas for my own professional development - increased my confidence in improvisation.
Improvisation has been a massive part of the group music-making I’ve facilitated, and my own journey into this has been one of the most rewarding by-products of community music work which has taken my personal and professional music-making to another level.
I’ve also learnt a great deal of techniques for effective communication and facilitation from working alongside other community musicians, and am always picking up ideas to incorporate into my own delivery. Becoming a Music Leader means becoming part of a supportive community of musicians who learn from each other, share ideas and disseminate examples of good practice.
Summary
In summary, I would encourage any musician who enjoys working with people and expanding their horizons to consider joining the Music Education and Community sector.
Working within the music industry can be frustrating at times, and if we musicians spend all our time focusing on our own commercial career as a recording artist, producer, songwriter etc. it’s sometimes too easy to get caught up in the music “business” and forget the human and emotional aspects of music-making - which is more than likely the aspects which inspired us to be creative in the first place.
Going right back down to basics and enabling people to explore self-expression through music - often for the first time - is a fantastic reminder of the journey we have all been on and can reawaken the joy of pure creativity in ourselves.
Experiencing the delight of creative discovery and empowerment alongside participants as they break new musical and personal ground is a privilege and gift for which I am constantly grateful.
Find out more about Anthea
Facebook: www.facebook.com/antheaprincemusic
Youth Music Network: http://network.youthmusic.org.uk/near-you/member-directory/anthea-prince