COUNTY DUBLIN

Fostering a love of music can unlock the key to a child’s future, writes Arlene Harris

Banging the drum for Music Generation’s innovative offering

SET up in 2010 to allow children of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to develop a love of sound, rhythm and song, Music Generation has gone from strength to strength. And in less than a decade, what began with two pilot programmes (one in Dublin city and the other in Donegal) has grown to include 12 counties. This is why the Government intends to extend the reach of this project nationwide by 2022, though the Creative Youth Plan – a plan to enable the creativity of every child and young person, launched in December 2017.

Funded by U2, the Department of Education and Skills and Local Music Education Partnerships, each centre has developed in response to local needs.

Aideen McLaughlin of the South Dublin area says their programme is open to young people from ‘0 to 18’, and from the smallest baby bouncing to nursery songs to the talented teens writing and producing their own music, the benefits of this all-inclusive drive is apparent.

“The Music Generation concept is really simple, it’s about bringing music to everyone,” she says. “In the past, it was confined to those who had access to tuition or who were studying it in school, but this ruled out so many youngsters.

“Our programme is open to all ages and it’s wonderful to see how important it has become. It involves those who aren’t sporty or socially outgoing, it encourages teens to be creative, instils confidence and challenges them to express themselves through a different medium. It also alleviates stress, addresses sensory needs (which is very important for children with special needs) and also gives children and young people a voice that they otherwise might not have had.”

Together with its lead partner, South Dublin Council, this ever-growing branch of Music Generation works with primary and secondary schools, local nursery schools and crèches.

“There is so much on offer through the programme and we can see youngsters getting more and more involved as their love of music develops,” says McLaughlin. “There is vocal and instrumental tuition, song writing and music production courses, and the suburban sounds studio.

“This introduction at an early age encourages people to think about music in their third level education choices and as we don’t teach to a curriculum, it inspires them to be more creative and independent than they might be if sticking to a particular course.”

Domhnaill Corrigan from Lucan, Co Dublin agrees. As a musician, songwriter and audio engineer, he is a participant in the SubSounds Schools programme (a partnership programme of Music Generation and South Dublin where young musicians have the opportunity to work with professionals, host their own gigs and write and record their own music).

The 17-year-old student also has his own weekly radio slot on Liffey Sound 96.4FM and says the creative aspect of Music Generation made all the difference. “I had many teachers over the years but I’m just not into lessons as I don’t think it works for me,” he says. “You’re told what to do and it’s sort of an awkward environment which can put some people off playing. So I just buy an instrument and say, ‘Okay, I need to learn this’. It was the same with drums, we just bought the drum kit and I’ve been drumming ever since – never took a lesson.

“And writing with people makes writing music a lot easier. You get different inputs, and when I was by myself I was just listening to too much Radiohead, trying to sound just like them – but you need other influences. Our drummer (in his band, Groove Killer) is really funky and our singer is really jazzy so I’m getting into the jazz scene myself. And then our bass player is into death metal, which is odd, but then he’s into playing pop music which is cool. We’re all best friends and I’m pretty sure we’re just going to keep going forever - being part of this (Music Generation and SubSounds) has changed my life.”

Rosaleen Molloy, national director of Music Generation says everyone can and should play music.

“Thankfully the outmoded thinking that you have to be good at music to be able to participate is gone,” she says. “We work on the premise that everyone is created equal and every child has ability.”