Ben leads free music sessions
Young people in the Eastfield and Barrowcliff areas of Scarborough and in Whitby can enjoy free digital music workshops this month.
Noise! is a series of free musical workshops for nineto-19-year-olds, inviting young people to try something new, with monthly music workshops including samba drumming, DJing, songwriting, singing and much more.
It was made possible after a £30,000 sponsorship from Leopold 1760 in memory of Alex and Trevor.
This month’s sessions will be led by Ben Sellers, who grew up in Scarborough, playing saxophone with local bands including the legendary Ska outfit Pony Club and involved with the autonomous youth arts group the DIY Collective, before beginning to work with young people using iPads as a way for them to access composition, improvisation and performance.
In 2014 he wrote the textbook Teaching Music with GarageBand for iPad, which is available on iTunes, and now trains teachers around the country on how to use his resources.
After a year spent teaching music on pacific islands and learning how to spear fish, he is excited to be back in Scarborough working on the Noise! project.
Ben said: “The great thing about iPads is you can create any type of music you want, from hip hop to dubstep to the blues, without any previous musical experience. In our sessions we will make beats, add basslines, melodies, guitars and maybe even vocals – all on the iPads. Participants will make the type of music that they like listening to, and leave the session with a finished song they can put online. No experience necessary.”
Dates are:
The Hub, Eastfield (next to Pindar School): Saturday March 4
The Gallows Close Centre, Barrowcliff: Saturday March 11
Eskmouth Scout Hall, Whitby: Saturday March 18
Workshop times for all three venues are:
10am-11.30am: eight to 11 years
Noon-1.30pm: 12 to 14 years
2pm-4pm: 15 to 19 years