 The Rock Project
Contact Us
Family Jams
Gigs
Hertfordshire Songwriter 2007
Hertford Intergenerational Community Song Project
Recordings
Rockschools
Summer Rock 2007
Urban Funk
World String Day
Youth Music Collectives
Songwriting
Song and Rap writing has been at the heart of most of the work of the Rock Project since we set it up in 2003. A lyric based approach has enabled us to teach song-writing as a vehicle for self expression, and personal and social awareness. We’ve supported initiatives to help young people to share peer advice about issues such as bullying, (check out www.musicalfutures.org.uk/antibullying)
and have found song-writing to be a great way of consulting and listening to young people.
We’ve also developed workshops to help young people write about environmental and social issues by writing songs based on their interviews of elderly people from the local community. Several schools have written these into their development plan as part of specialist school outreach and citizenship.
We run the Songwriter Competition for young people to have their songs reviewed by professional songwriters, and to get their work heard on an online chart. We’re currently developing Family Song workshops to encourage families to use music to communicate and to sing about their personal and cultural histories. You’re never too old or young to sing!
Hertfordshire Songwriter 2007
Hertfordshire Songwriter is a competition run by Hertfordshire Music Service to encourage young people to write songs about their life in Hertfordshire. It’s a great chance to get your songs heard by a wider audience, get feedback and gig and recoding opportunities.
Cross about something, worried about something or happy about something? Turn it into a song, send it to us, and receive feedback and advice from professional songwriters and producers. Prizes are even better this year, and include recording gear donated by Roland UK, vouchers for musical equipment from Play Something, Ware, recording and gig opportunities at major venues.
This year there’ll again be an online voting chart, with each song-writer having the chance to get feedback from the other writers, and receive votes for their songs from across the whole county. Last competition the winner of this section received over 2000 votes.
Previous songs received have been about the environment, bullying, conformity, posing, frustration with your parents, sport…even love…you name it, you can write about it and we’d like to hear it.
Some previous winners have gone on to showcase gigs at The Royal Albert Hall, London or Rhythms of the World Festival in Hitchin, and have received grants via the Arts Council Escalator scheme to support mentoring by professional song-writers and producers.
There are 3 style categories, Urban, Rock and Acoustic, and 3 age categories, Junior, Intermediate and Senior. The competition is open to everyone aged 18 or under on 31st August 2007.
Closing date is 20th December 2007. Hertfordshire Music Service will be running Song-writing and Urban Music workshops to help you prepare your song. Please contact us for details.
More information and entry forms from:
Email: the-rock-project@hertsmusicservice.org.uk
or phone: 01582 830394
Rockschools
Rockschools are a chance to be coached in the art of playing in a band. You can learn how to write songs and prepare for playing gigs and recording. We run regular gigs in genuine rock venues, and offer opportunities to record in youth service run studios at subsidised rates.
We offer support and training for schools to run their own Rockschools and also run centrally run Rockschools at the following locations:
Stevenage Music Centre
Freman College, Buntingford
Greneway Middle School, Royston
Ralph Sadleir Middle, Puckeridge
The Highfield Letchworth
Onslow St Audreys, Hatfield
Longdean School
Astley Cooper
Tring School
Kings Langley School
We’re currently developing accredited courses and are also hoping to offer support to Young People’s Arts Awards within the scheme.
Summer Rock
Watford School of Music - 30 July - 2 August 2007
Watford School of Music once again played host to Summer Rock where aspiring rock musicians gather to take part in workshops run by leading session musicians.
 Run by The Rock Project in collaboration with Base1 Music and Watford Borough Council, this is a great 4 days to come and play, write songs and meet other bands and players.
Gigs
We run regular showcase nights for the Rock school bands at genuine rock venues in the county, and are planning to stage a best of Herts. bands showcase at the Roundhouse in Camden and at the Junction in Cambridge. If your band is interested in a gig send us a CD.
Check out some recent gig reviews and recordings here.
As well as running regular gigs we’re delighted to offer band showcases at local festivals such as Music on the Moor at Hemel Hempstead and Rhythms of the World in Hitchin. For a review of some of the great bands at last years gig:
We’ll be running a showcase at this year’s Rhythms of the World on the BBC Three Counties Sponsored Stage.
Recordings
We run subsidised recording sessions at Council run studios on partnership with the youth service. Check out some of the recordings here. If you want to record your band give us a ring on 01438 202806
World String Day 2007
Hazel Fairbairn brought her acclaimed World String day workshop at Mid. Herts. centre for Music and Arts, Hatfield on Tuesday 22nd May. It was a chance for school aged players of violins, violas, celli and double basses of all abilities to learn some great world music by ear in a group.
Right from the simple rhythmic warm ups Hazel began teaching the tunes entirely by ear ‘from the rhythm up’. The players then continued to learn about harmony and to absorb the tune, as they provided simple accompaniment to Hazel’s tune playing.
Hazel is very skilful at helping participants to work at a level at which they are comfortable, and successfully engages both beginners and more experienced players in the same pieces. By the end of the day they learned tunes from Shetland, Soweto and Nova Scotia, all entirely by ear, and many had also gained the confidence to improvise solos over the structure.
Final performances were recorded and returned on CD. You can get more information from:
Hertford Intergenerational Community Song Project
8 schools from the Hertford Extended School consortium have been involved in an innovative Reminiscence and Song-writing project. Sele and Simon Balle secondary schools and Hollybush, Millmead, Watton-at-Stone, Hertford Heath, Abel Smith and Morgan’s primary schools all invited in parents and grandparents from the local community to speak about their experience of growing up in Hertford. The pupils then wrote songs about the reminiscences, with the help of songwriters and rappers from the Hertfordshire music Service Rock Project. The evolving songs can all be heard online at:
The final performance will be held at the Castle Hall on 24th June. Tickets will be available only through the schools.
Youth Music Collectives
The Rock Project is working in partnership with the Hertfordshire County Council Youth Service to set up Youth music collectives to develop workshop and gig opportunities for young people in towns across the county. If you’re 18 or under, and are interested in contributing your ideas with a group of other young people, contact us on 01438 202806. We’re currently setting up pilots in Bishop’s Stortford, Stevenage and Hatfield. Make sure your type of music gets heard!
Urban Funk
Our urban music team is currently working with Broxbourne Borough Council to offer a series of Urban Music Workshops to youth clubs in the Broxbourne area. Give us a ring if you’d like to come to a workshop.
Check out previous Street Talk work with Broxbourne Council:
Family Jams
We’re currently setting up a series of Family music workshops across the county. Parents, carers and grandparents have the chance to learn music together with their children. The original Rock Family Jam (check out www.musicalfutures.org.uk/familyjam)
has been supplemented by Family Guitar, Family Gamelan, Family Tabla and Family Songwriting and Parent and Toddler Song. We’re also running a Family Ceilidh band day in Bishops Stortford in July. Watch this space, or ring us for more details.
For more information contact us:
The-rock-project@hertsmusicservice.org.uk
01438 202806
The Rock Project
Bowes Lyon Centre
St Georges Way
STEVENAGE
SG1 1XY
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