Transforming experiences of healthcare and hospital for children and young people with complex needs

July News!

Learning & growing

Hello everyone and welcome to our July newsletter!

It’s our final update today before we take a break until October. There’s been a lot happening both behind the scenes and musically in sessions, with our Young Associate Musicians continuing to develop their skills in working together, building their experience of working in the sensitive environment of Paediatric Critical Care, and our Fledgling musicians reflecting on their experiences with us now the academic year draws to a close. Scroll down to read more about these experiences, alongside an update on our new project, Hospital of Music. Wishing you all a great summer and thank you for your support this year!     

Ros, Mark and Juliet

Lead Musicians, Co-Founders and Co-Directors, Songbirds Music UK

Our Youth Music Project, Hospital of Music 

Over the past few months, we have been busy behind the scenes planning for our new Youth Music project, Hospital of Music. We’re pleased to tell you that our first phase of sessions will take between August – October.

These will include Songbirds team induction and training sessions, initial consultation and music making sessions with MFT Youth Service members, visits to Youth Club sessions by our new Young Creator Musicians, and sessions on wards supported by health play specialists to help us meet more young people interested in music.

We’re really excited to now be on the way with sessions, and look forward to updating you in the autumn!

We’re also grateful to Alan Penny and his friends who have collected a number of musical instrument donations for us in partnership with Susan Fairclough and Therapeutic and Specialised Play Services which we are hoping we’ll be able to give to young people to use in music making sessions during our exciting project.

Thanks so much Alan we really appreciate your support and kindness!

Below: members of the MFT Youth Service at Wingbeats 2024

Making the music happen –  the preparation behind the scenes

Making music in hospital spaces requires musicians to learn a specific set of skills to be able to engage and interact with child patients, and provide support for families. Musicians need to develop good observation skills and an awareness of their environment to make sure music is appropriate and fitting for families on wards, and happens ‘at the right time’.

Our 4 Young Associate Musicians, - Grace, Jodie, Hephzibah and Tabitha have been developing their skills in Paediatric Critical Care, working in pairs, building connections with each other, and getting to know each other musically.

To help this process, the 4 musicians participated in a planning session at the start of their most recent block of sessions, where they explored ideas for using shared repertoire and developed ideas for the different pairings of instrumentations for their forthcoming sessions. Grace reflected:    

 “We had a very productive planning session yesterday, consolidating our combined repertoire and adding one or two new ones we shared. We talked through how each pair might work together well and just playing all together made us feel more confident playing with each other on wards.”

Building strong connections together enables the musicians to create positive musical spaces for families on both PICU and HDU units, which can at times be emotionally sensitive places, but also, through the music, these spaces can, even for a moment, become shared spaces of joy.

 In reflective practice, the musicians made several observations - their comments really bring the impact of the project to life:

 “It was a lovely session yesterday, especially playing for parents having time with their children…”

“ I'm just feeling really grateful to have been welcomed into that space and that we were able to provide the family with something nice at [such a challenging time].”

  “We saw 11 patients today. Some highlights include: a baby smiling and putting his foot on the violin (mum said to go closer and wanted to us to come to him) and feedback from nurses saying a patient was really listening and enjoyed the music. Also - a couple of babies being held by loved ones who rocked to the music and smiled.

“We had a lovely moment when we played to two different beds at once, it felt like the music brought the patients, families and staff together. Nurses even propped a baby  up so he could see. We were thanked and told that the music calmed everyone down. And even got a wee round of applause which was lovely.” 

“Lovely moments of moving to music, including a baby kicking and waving arms to more lively music and a Mum to another baby commenting that ‘this is the calmest he’s been all day’ because of the music. Great reactions to different sounds by a teenager on HDU who loves music! ”

The music not only benefits families; the musicians have noticed how much staff appreciate the music being there too –  it supports the children and families in their care, but it also is for them, and the whole environment. Thank you to all the musicians for their excellent, sensitive work !   

Below: Our Young Associate Musicians take a moment for a selfie!

  Fledglings musicians Nadia and Ola

Members of this year’s RNCM Fledglings Project took part in a final online debrief session this week, some of the group are pictured above. It’s a fantastic process to witness the student musicians develop their skills during this project and go on to make music in hospital settings. We are really proud of all of the group, and what they have achieved this year. Nadia and Ola, made music on a day-case ward at RMCH. They wrote an excellent case study reflecting on their experiences – here's an excerpt:

 A Space for Music: a memorable encounter of making music in the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital with Songbirds Music UK.

”The encounter was during our last session in the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. The first bay that we came to, a family asked us if we could play some music for their little boy. He was about to go through a procedure, and they thought that the music would make him feel better. So, we entered the bay and met the little boy. As he lay on a bed, it was obvious from his facial expressions that he was worried about the procedure. We began to play relaxing improvisations together and it was clear from his smiles that he appreciated our music.

When the doctor entered, the little boy became agitated once again. We began to head out, to make room for the doctor and the procedure. But we turned back and asked the little boy if he wanted more music. He nodded his head, so we came back to his bedside and played some more music. We were worried that we would be in the way of the procedure and the doctor. However, this wasn't the case. The music did make him feel better; it was like an antidote for the pain and a distraction from the discomfort. Like a reminder for the little boy - that everything was going to be okay, and that he was safe and supported.

After the doctor had finished the procedure, we continued to make music with the little boy. We offered him some percussion instruments, allowing him to express himself and play with us. Once we were finished, the little boy thanked us as we headed out of the bay. It was a lovely encounter and offering of music.”

Ola and Nadia, RNCM Fledgling musicians.

Well done to all our Fledglings and thank you to the RNCM for making this amazing project happen !!

Thank you to all our musicians, parents, staff, children and young people for your inspiration and support - have a great summer and see you in October

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