Mull Fiddle Week heads to Oban

Mull Fiddle Week is heading over to Oban to run some of its workshops for young people with learning disabilities.

The series of sessions, between Monday August 9 and Friday August 13 and part of a bigger week of workshops and performances in Tobermory, are free and in partnership with charity Hear My Music.

Hear My Music is a Glasgowbased charity helping people with complex needs and/or Autism to express themselves through music making.

These workshops are for ages five to 26 and will be led by two specialist practitioners who will work with individuals and also with small groups.

Event organisers are keen to hear from any groups in the Oban area who are interested in getting involved.

Individual sessions will last for 30-45 minutes and group sessions last for 45 minutes up to one hour. The structure will be clear and consistent, including the likes of a greeting song or exercise, a warm up and time to create something new.

During the sessions, participants will explore traditional music through different techniques including technology and other instruments. Nonverbal participants will be encouraged to make choices, both personally and musically using visual aids, picture communication systems and a coloured notation system called Figurenotes used for composition.

Hear My Music practitioners specialise in the creation of new music with individuals who traditionally may struggle to be heard or have autonomy over their choices.

There will also be a collaborative element to the week where the creative output from all Mull Fiddle Week participants will be included and woven together in a shared performance at the end of the week. This may need to be done through pre-recorded material or video-link-up but there might also be the chance of an in-person performance on Mull on the Friday.