Energy Release Through Music

We began by exploring different instruments in various structured and unstructured musical exercises. Group members were invited to select an instrument and instructed to play their instrument on specific beats. This served as a warm to get acquainted with the space and familiar with each instrument. We then moved into a free improvisation which contrasted with the previous structured exercise. Group members remarked that they preferred the structure as when freely improvising there are so many options. However, later on in the session, group members identified that after a few different improvisations they became more comfortable with the instruments and were able to add more musical contributions as the session went along.

After several structured and unstructured musical exercises, group members were asked to share descriptive words that would inform the next musical improvisation. The words shared were happy, fast/energetic, and active. We moved into another improvisation, attempting to create a sound that matched the selected words. This improvisation sounded faster and there were more musical contributions than in previous improvisations. Group members agreed that we were able to achieve the sound of happiness, energy and being active. Group members were then invited to play and sing along to the popular song Stand By Me by Ben E. King. We had sung this song as a group in previous sessions and it had resonated with group members, so it felt serendipitous to play this song together during our last session.

Group members sang along with their lyric sheets and added musical contributions on different instruments like shakers, drums, and xylophones. We then took the energy and connection experienced in the sing along and played one final improvisation together. As we played and sang together, several of the kids got up and began dancing in the centre of the circle. Some group members shared their thoughts about how it felt to connect over music today. It was lovely to connect with one another, release our energy, and create new musical experiences.