Soundwaves 2016 begins!

A new year, a new Soundwaves!

Here at Soundwaves HQ we’re still buzzing over the success of the first ever Soundwaves course last summer. It was phenomenal! Five exciting bands, songs and music videos were created and launched. Epic big group pieces, where fiddles and electric guitars, singers and drummers, saxophones and pianos united in a dazzling fashion, were performed. And we saw young musicians leading their peers in improvisations live on stage – and it was all achieved in just three weeks!

If you haven’t seen the live performance yet, Check it out in all its glory here. While you’re at it, have a juke at the Soundwaves Artists Singles, which were so impressive they surpassed our wildest dreams!

Following on we want to nurture the incredible musical talents we witnessed at Soundwaves last year. Seeing the young musicians alert and enthusiastic about learning to write, improvise and perform music as a group has inspired us to create a Soundwaves top-up course this half term, where we are creating an opportunity for these young musicians to develop their skills as creators and leaders.

Improvising, writing and arranging collaboratively are essential and hugely enjoyable skills to have as a musician. However, Much like anything to do with music, the best way to perfect these skills is to practice, practice and practice some more! That is easier said than done. Short of getting together with your friends and jamming things out, there is little opportunity for young musicians to explore writing with others in Ireland – and some young musicians just don’t have the resources or enough willing musical buddies to make it happen!

So here we are, about to embark on Soundwaves 2016 – a whizz through masterclass of real life musical experience, building young musicians confidence in their own ability to create, arrange, lead and collaborate. The young musicians will get the opportunity to really flex those improvising muscles, with guidance and tips from professional musicians, who can push them out of their comfort zone and inspire them to try something new.

They will also get to experiment with leading musical groups. Being in charge of, conducting and arranging a 30 strong band of their peers. Challanging them to think of the music as a whole – listening to the group, figuring out how to get all the sounds to gel together. Learning how to turn those off-the-cuff flourishes into whole pieces and songs.This Soundwaves course is 3 days of exploring the role of a creator and the role of a leader in collaborative music making and developing these young peoples musical skills, all in the Soundwaves style of diving in and going for it!

We want to encourage and inspire these young musicians, giving them the tools to be able to expertly generate ideas, put finishing touches on creations and play, write and perform collaboratively. And we’re so excited! As I am typing this the main hall at Letterkennys Regional Cultural centre is filling up with the young talent – some familiar faces and some new, catching up with friends and eager in anticipation of what awaits. We can’t wait to hear the outcomes!

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see what we’re up to over the next few days!