The Sound of Music V

While doing activities with young people, it is very common to use music in a bigger or smaller scale, and in a more conscious or unconscious way. The music can influence the atmosphere that is created in a group, it can transmit emotions and/or words, it can be a fundamental part of one activity or even affect in a negative way when we are not using the right music for the situation.

The conscious use of music, the awareness of its impact on emotions, the right choice for the different moments, the options about public use (copyright, creative commons licenses), the digital tools to work with music, etc… are different aspects not always known and successfully used by trainers, youth leaders and/or workers in the field of youth.

Therefore, the purpose of this training is to develop the participants’ competences in the use of music as a powerful tool in non-formal education activities with young people.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives are as follows:

1. Provide participants with a theoretical framework of music and its influence on our body and our emotions.

2. Raise awareness of the influence and the impact that music can have (both positive and negative) in the participants’ mood, during the development of non-formal educational activities (NFE).

3. Develop the participants’ skills of in the creation of thematic musical sets ordered by purpose (e.g.: music for teamwork, for reflection, for energizing, for exploring own emotions, create trustful inspiring moments and settings, etc...)

4. Develop participants’ ability to create atmospheres using music (e.g.: the selection of the adequate music, distribution of the space in the room, temperature,) that boost the learning experience of young people in NFE activities

5. Provide the participants with digital tools related to music (to create playlists, edit, search, playback, music without royalty, where to buy music, etc.)

6. Support participants in the creation of live music as a resource for trainings as well as to elaborate their own soundtracks for their workshops, youth exchanges or trainings, learning how to “musicalize” their activities.

7. Provide a space to participants for exchanging experiences and resources among them about the use of music.

8. Discover the value of Erasmus +: Youth in Action, as a program for developing youth activities.

METHODOLOGY

The course will be inspired in the principles of Non-Formal Education - NFE (e.g.: participant-centred approach, flexibility of the training program, group as a mutual learning resource, trainers as facilitators of the learning process, holistic approach, etc) and experiential learning.

The course will combine a wide range of methods coming from the NFE sector together with other techniques coming from the music therapy and the art therapy fields. At this respect, it is important to remark that some sessions with music in the course may have a certain influence on the participants’ emotions. Please be aware of that.

The course will be eminently practical but brief inputs will set the framework in different moments across the learning process.

There will be flexibility to adapt to the needs of the group and their motivations, within reasonable limits.

The music will not be treated only as theoretical contents to discuss about, but it will be used systematically during the course. Case studies will be conducted to show what may be the most interesting themes according to the purpose and/or situation.

NOTE: Please, be aware that this training will not go deep into managing different DJ tools and software for mixing music but more how to use the music with different aims with young people. It is neither a course about how to create live music nor a course for professional musicians, still, live music will be one of the topics to explore.

PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS:

• Youth workers, Trainers, Mentors, Youth Leaders working with young people on a regular basis
• Above 18 years old
• Able to communicate in English (basic English knowledge)
• Previous international experience is not a must
• NOT professional musicians! Please, be aware that this training will be about how to use the music with different aims with young people. It is not a course for professional musicians.