Interactive Music-Making: Working with the Under 5's

This year's group of Interactive Music-Makers are making brilliant progress as we near the end of the Taught Component, something many of you who have trained with us already will remember! Here are our four IMM Award students with their musical instrument sets - all of which were funded by their needs-based Award bursary.

If you are an early years practitioner interested in taking part in the IMM Course next year, but concerned that the cost may be a barrier to access, have a look at our IMM Award Scheme - more information can be found on our website, here: https://www.musicastherapy.org/our-approach/interactive-music-making/

Our new Music as Therapy International website has been a major project this year, and we are really pleased with how it presents our work to supporters and partners. Now, Interactive Music-Making has its own page too.

This is the same URL as was used for the old site, so you can keep using www.interactivemusicmaking.org to find everything you need to know about IMM. The new page brings IMM into our new website's portfolio of activities, showcasing its impact alongside the rest of our programme. It also links quickly to resources and CPD information. We hope you like it!

Interactive Music Making - Interactive Music-Making “Interactive Music-Making is what early years is all about.  What better inclusive environment can you think of?”   Dimitrios Kontozisis, Deputy Head-Specialist Leader in Education, Clyde Nursery School and Children's Centre

Our final CPD Event of 2021 for Interactive Music-Makers took place last week! As many of you will know, CPD Events take place three times a year and are a space for the Interactive Music-Making Network discuss ideas, troubleshoot challenges and celebrate successes.

Read the blog below to find out what the group discussed - anyone who finds the topics relate to their own practice can get in touch to find out what solutions the group came up with. Just email [email protected]

Our final IMM CPD Event of 2021 - Music as Therapy Last week, Alexia facilitated our final Interactive Music-Making CPD Event of 2021, once more on Zoom. How time flies!  We were pleased to connect with two Interactive Music-Makers from the 2016 and 2019 Courses, and to hear how they are using IMM at the moment. The group discussed, among other thi...

An Update from this year's Interactive Music-Making Course!

Read our blog to find out about the progress of our wonderful new student group as they work their way through the Taught Component of the IMM Course this Autumn:

An update from The Interactive Music-Making Course! - Music as Therapy After last year’s Covid postponement, we’re so pleased that our annual IMM Course is running smoothly again. With nine great students from London and further afield, tutors Gill and Alexia have been enjoying teaching from our new host venue, Morden Mount Primary school in Lewisham. Some of the g...

Sign up to the next IMM CPD Event now!

We are ending the year with another online CPD Event - offering you the same space to catch up, give each other peer support and share ideas that in person meetups do.

It will take place on Wednesday 13th October, from 4-5pm on Zoom, hosted by IMM Tutor Alexia Quin.

Read about our last CPD here! https://www.musicastherapy.org/news-item/our-june-interactive-music-making-cpd-event/

Sign up using this doodle poll link: https://doodle.com/poll/e8aeazar9ufywwn5

Our June Interactive Music-Making CPD Event! - Music as Therapy Last week Oxleas music therapist Hannah Smith hosted our Summer IMM CPD Event on Zoom. She met four Interactive Music-Makers – one of whom trained back in 2010. This [CPD] programme has helped build my confidence to run sessions.’ Bijita Gautam (IMM 2019) The group had a great discussion: they r...

"I feel very lucky to have had opportunity to work alongside the IMM students and have learned a huge amount from each of them. It is exciting to see how each student takes the learning from the course and develops it for their own settings."

Those of you who have trained as an Interactive Music-Maker since 2018 will know Gill O'Dempsey - but for those who don't, Gill is the newest member of our IMM teaching team. Here she has kindly shared her IMM Story with us - follow the link below to read about Gill's experience of her first three years teaching on the course.

We are also pleased to say that after a year of uncertainty, our 2021 IMM Course will begin this September! We are all looking forward to getting back to teaching IMM in person and welcoming a new group of practitioners eager to embed music in their early years care.

Read Gill's Story here:

Gill's Story - Music as Therapy Gillian O’Dempsey has been a tutor on the Interactive Music-Making structured Training Course for early years practitioners since 2018. Gill is a music therapist at NHS Oxleas, with wide-ranging experience in music therapy with children and young people from working in mainstream primary schools, ...

ONE WEEK remaining to apply to Interactive Music-Making 2021!

IMM is our structured training course for early years practitioners – taught by music therapists, it will give you the skills and confidence to run targeted musical interventions for the vulnerable young children in your care.

If you're already trained as an Interactive Music-Maker, why not suggest IMM to a colleague? Be part of a growing network of Interactive Music-Makers supporting one another, within your settings and at our termly meet-ups.

Some fully-funded Award bursaries are still available this year - apply for an IMM Award to receive a free place, set of instruments and £650 towards travel/cover costs. The application deadline is Wednesday 1st September!

Find out more and how to apply on our IMM site: www.interactivemusicmaking.org

"With the right environment and support to explore with confidence, children can make very impressive progress."

Read Interactive Music-Maker Carolyn's Story here to learn how she has navigated IMM sessions during the pandemic - and find out how to apply for IMM 2021!

Carolyn's Story - Music as Therapy Unlike many of the caregivers who undertake our Structured Training Course, Interactive Music-Making, as a primary school music teacher Carolyn Adams started the course in 2019 with a different level of skill and understanding of how music can benefit the development of young children. Yet once the....

All Interactive Music-Makers will know that music is an essential resource within early years care - but it's great for this to be acknowledged by Nursery World Magazine in this piece, that interviews our director, Alexia!: https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/features/article/essential-resources-music-pitch-perfect

..Read the full article to learn about different methods, activities and instruments to help you introduce music into your own early years work. This includes our very own Interactive Music-Making: Working with the Under 5's Course - which is now open for applications for 2021.

Find out more and how to apply on our website: www.interactivemusic-making.org

Essential Resources: Music - Pitch perfect Offering musical instruments for children to explore and handle freely along with targeted, adult-led music sessions helps promote listening and communication skills, Nicole Weinstein discovers

We can hardly believe that this year will mark the tenth anniversary of the IMM Course! Thank you to all the Interactive Music-Makers who have been such a vital part of its development.

To celebrate, we've been reflecting on the support and endorsements IMM has received along the way. Read our blog to see a couple of the highlights over the years... And don't forget, IMM is still open for applications for our 2021 course, beginning this September. There are still some award bursaries available too (website link below for more info).

Blog: https://www.musicastherapy.org/news-item/celebrating-ten-years-of-interactive-music-making-endorsements-over-the-years/

IMM Website with application info: www.interactivemusicmaking.org

Celebrating ten years of Interactive Music-Making: endorsements over the years - Music as Therapy The Interactive Music-Making Training Course first ran back in 2010, and has taken place annually ever since (bar one year!). IMM has grown in size, impact, and network, and we are incredibly proud of  the 54 Interactive Music-Makers who have trained, and who are working to enhance early years care...

Zoom CPD Events are a great way to catch up with a music therapist and other caregivers who use music - and our June IMM CPD was a great example of this.

Four Interactive Music-Makers met Oxleas music therapist Hannah last week to celebrate successes and troubleshoot ideas for their music groups, particularly thinking about working alongside Covid. Read more about it here - and sign up to the next IMM CPD at the bottom of the blog - there's only one more this year:

Our June Interactive Music-Making CPD Event! - Music as Therapy Last week Oxleas music therapist Hannah Smith hosted our Summer IMM CPD Event on Zoom. She met four Interactive Music-Makers – one of whom trained back in 2010. This [CPD] programme has helped build my confidence to run sessions.’ Bijita Gautam (IMM 2019) The group had a great discussion: they r...

Calling all Interactive Music-Makers! Sign up now for the next online IMM CPD event now (10th June, 4-5pm)...

"It was great to touch base - to hear about others' achievements and challenges to share. Loved the paper orchestra idea. Will go back and share with other practitioners. I think it was a success on zoom!" - Feedback from our last online CPD

Sign up to take part in the next IMM CPD Event here - Music as Therapy Sign up to to the next IMM CPD Event, hosted on Zoom, on 10th June (4-5pm) here. IMM CPD Events provide you with the opportunity to update your ideas, activities, ask questions of a tutor, and troubleshoot any challenges you might be facing with IMM. You don’t have to be running IMM sessions regul...