What Hubs are for (MEC welcome speech by Siggy Patchitt)
Bristol Plays Music (BPM) is the lead organisation in the Music Education Hub for Bristol, which was set up by Bristol City Council and Bristol Music Trust (who manage Colston Hall). In September 2013, the music service was transferred from the Council to the Trust so that all the education work done by what was the music service and the education department at Colston Hall now comes under the BPM banner.
And that puts us in a unique position, nationwide. We have the benefit of the experience and expertise of the music service and it’s connections with the formal sector (something that most Hubs have); we have all the learning that the Colston Hall Education team have gained over the last decade running programmes such as the Youth Music Action Zone, Remix, Music Leader South West and, currently, the Music Inclusion programme SoundSplash (something a few Hubs have); we have access to the resources of a regional concert hall (something fewer Hubs have); we are managed by a Charitable Trust that has recently been awarded NPO status (something very few Hubs have) and, to top it all off, we have just appointed a Hub Leader, in Phil Castang, who comes to us from Newham Music Trust having transformed the borough’s Music Education offer into a national award-winning outfit. The best thing about all of this is that we want you to take advantage of it.
Because, with all the above raw materials, Bristol has, arguably, more potential than any other Music Education Hub (MEH) in the country and we would, in my opinion, be doing Bristol a disservice if we are not extremely ambitious.
And we are extremely ambitious. Our vision is to make Bristol the UK Capital of Young People’s music. Our City is already the UK’s most musical city. This is based on the number of musicians and venues and the amount of actual music going on. And if it doesn’t already, it should include the massive variety of music education work going on in the city. We are blessed with a wealth of independent organisations delivering in and out of school and we have some of the most outstanding school music teaching, nation-wide. If we are to achieve our vision, we must draw upon every single one of the elements that make Bristol so musical.
I want, now, to talk a little about what, in my opinion, Hubs are for. I find it useful to think of Music Education as having two basic elements; Engagement and Progression. But how do Hubs fit into this?
Well, firstly, we all need to make the first experiences of music so enjoyable, so interesting, and so engaging that Young People are hooked from outset. You’d think this were easy, given how integral music is to young people’s lives. So why is engagement even an issue? I think that, when we want something to be engaging, we must respect the context of the activity. The only people who can tell us if something is engaging are those we are trying to engage and, in this instance, that is the Children and Young people with whom we work. We must consult these experts much more. We, as experienced musical educators, can guide and suggest, prompt and, sometimes, prod but we should never dictate, direct, or instruct without the learners permission. This approach is what led us to the Henley review and the ultimate creation of Hubs. Education (and, in particular, Music Education) is not something that should be done to a Young Person. It is something a Young Person should participate in, explore, and reflect upon.
If we do this right then all we need to do is keep doing it. In Bristol, there is so much opportunity that all we need do is point in the right direction and all that requires is a comprehensive understanding of all available activity (!) But that’s what Hubs are for.
When I think of progression, I find it useful to think of it as a ball of string; so many strands all interweaving; a complex entity, which needs care and attention lest it become a tangled mess and get dumped in a corner, gathering dust. In the past we didn’t have this problem. We would draw a straight line from A to B and say:
“Ok, so you are here with no knowledge or skill and, over there is where you are going. When you get there you will have mastered the skill so you will then be able to be creative. Don’t worry; I am a master of the skill so I will tell you everything you have to do to make yourself get there. You’re not likely to have any fun along the way but, guess what…you don’t have a choice.”
Well, thankfully, today, Young People do have a choice and they are voting with their feet and choosing (whether active decision or gut instinct) to disengage. And that is our fault. Today we need to be more creative in how we weave the various strands together to build environments within which Young People can succeed. Although these environments can form quite intricate tapestries, they must not sacrifice quality for quantity and must never become so complex as to hinder navigation. This requires a considerable amount of coordination and advocacy….
And that’s what Hubs are for; to join up, to strengthen, to support, to challenge and to champion all the work that is being delivered across each region so that we can present a cohesive offer across, in this case, Bristol.
Please don’t think I am denouncing the tried, the tested and the traditional. I am insanely jealous of those who have mastered their instrument and can musically express themselves unhindered in their eloquence. I can only imagine the joy of being able to read a score and have a symphony come to life in your head. All I am saying is that there is no single route to any musical journey. Young People’s music education portfolios should be as varied as those of the modern-day music professional.
To sum up, I stand here urging you to make use of your Hub. But it’s not just me doing this. Ofsted are urging you to make use of your Hub. The Department of Education is urging you to make use of your Hub. Schools and all other providers must be active members of their Hubs. We are all already members and partners of the Hubs. That is automatic. But it is the quality of the relationship between the Hub and its partners that will determine the success or failure of music education in this country. That’s what it comes down to. So we need to support each other. We need to hold each other to account. And we need to push each other to raise the bar way beyond the expectations of the DfE. This is not about delivering the National Plan for Music Education: This is about delivering the National Plan for Music Education FOR BREAKFAST. If we succeed in delivering the bare minimum then we have failed.
All we at Bristol Plays Music want to do is to reach and engage every single child and Young Person and offer them a range of appropriate and accessible progression opportunities. That’s it. The reason we want to do this is to create a generation that has a lifelong relationship with music. This is something that couldn’t be more difficult when we are all working in isolation; worried about sharing practice for fear that someone will steal our idea and take the credit.
Conversely, however, if we can adopt a shared vision of an outstanding music offer across the city, it couldn’t be simpler. I know that ‘simple’ doesn’t necessarily equal ‘easy’ but whether we know it or not (and, if we know it, whether we like it or not) we are, all of us, in the same boat. And the journey is well under way. And we are lagging behind. With all we have at our disposal Bristol is lagging behind. If we continue to try to go our own separate ways we will, at best, end up going round and round in circles and, at worst, we will sink.
But…if we can decide today that we are going to pull together in the same direction, we will make our music education truly world-class.
…and THAT is what Hubs are for.