Writing and recording music remotely with a group of musicians with learning disabilities. Part 6: Evaluation

It was a challenge to adapt our work to be successful online in this pilot project but everyone involved was committed to making it work. We are very grateful to carers and parents that supported the band members to participate. We have learnt that this is crucial to make an online project function well. Sometimes we encountered technical difficulties that needed resolving with their help and also it was reassuring for the band members when trying such a new way of working to know there was help at hand should they need it. For the most part though the band members were very self-sufficient. We used a picture of the studio we used to meet regularly at as our screen image when we had our break in the online sessions to give us a connection to how we used to meet in person. We very much hope to be able to meet in person again in the not too distant future but for now we feel the project has been successful and enables us to plan more ways of delivering project work online whilst social distancing measures are place in the UK. Here are some reflections:

From band members:

'I feel emotional, missing people. It was absolutely brilliant to make the song'

'I'm proud and excited, I enjoy listening to myself. I love playing music on my Ipad'

'It was nice to hear everybody. What they wanted to say in the lyrics. It was great trying to get it all up to speed. I had really good fun and enjoyed it'

From parents / carers:

'The online sessions have been vital during this time, and have given him a structure and timetable which is very important to him, as he gets very anxious if he doesn't know what's happening or when within a day. Sending the figure notes and accessories has been really helpful, as it is something physical and familiar for him to engage with in the sessions, and made it easier for me to help him. He has also enjoyed playing on the iPad, and has generally gained more confidence with devices.'

'The technology of the sessions has worked very well.  Really creative use of video call software to keep everyone on track with what's been done and for collaborating, both in terms of writing the lyrics and for making the music for the project.  She was really pleased with the way her and her friends' efforts were integrated into a finished piece. We would both really welcome further activities along these lines'

If you missed the link in the last post here is the song: https://soundcloud.com/user-424013868/lockdown-cheer-up