Jacinta Foale ... Music

My involvement in this project came about as a result of a process of the decision making and the sourcing of funding by Jack Nicholson, for CASA, Alice Springs. The coordinator of Mapping New Territory, Veronica Calarco, supported the "hands on" carrying out of the activities. Also, the inception of CASART and the many individual artists working under this umbrella over the past few years has also been important for this project. Many of the participants are clearly familiar with "workshop" processes, which has made my work easier. This forms a rich potential for development of the artistic culture of Alice Springs. Acknowledging the history and connections of how projects are created, and supporting strong networks, are an important key to ongoing, effective Arts Work, especially with people with disabilities.

The fundamental aim of this project was to provide the participants with an experience of joy and shared learning at whatever level of involvement individuals were capable of. Beyond this aim was skill development and ultimately, access to a means of expression. Three areas of musical activity were presented - playing marimba, singing and body percussion. The reason for these three activities was to have a diversity of activity to suit the mix of high, low and no support needs of participants in these sessions. Also, the marimba, voice and body are acoustic (not needing extra electrical equipment to function) and have high sonic value. Marimbas are centuries old and found in various forms around the globe. The design for the one I use came from Linsey Pollak, using 15 keys of plantation pine. It has two octaves (F to F), diatonic (no black notes), suspended on rope as opposed to a fixed frame, and attached to a stand with a timber base and aluminium poles that is portable and easy to put up and take down. I made them myself in the Kin Kin workshop (Queensland) of Mik Moore.

The human voice is an amazing tool. There is an enormous amount of research showing the potential of the voice for creativity and healing. My approach is inspired by the work of Meredith Monk, a Canadian woman now in her early 60's, who for more than 30 years has essentially worked with the voice as instrument, using it in as many ways as possible, not limiting it to standard song forms, always pushing the boundaries of what we understand to be singing. Performers like Laurie Anderson, Kate Bush and Bjork acknowledge her influence on their own styles. Frankie Armstrong is another international voice worker whose approach I find useful for working with groups of people, including people with disabilities. She also has had a big influence on many people working in various areas of community arts. Essentially, the emphasis is on breath, comfort, ease, the raw material of all the noises a voice can make and rhythmic and melodic cycles.

Body Percussion uses the patterns created by the claps, thuds, pops, brushes, stomps and movement of feet and hands making contact with one's own and other's bodies. Greg Sheehan is perhaps Australia's greatest exponent of this music and movement art form.

Musical work with people with disabilities is a growing area. It has suffered being treated as an "accompanying" activity for e.g. dance or drama, and its sonic value is often overlooked. The marimba in particular is an instrument that can change this attitude, or culture, because it is easily and immediately accessible to all levels of skills. It has a sound that widely appeals and can be played by more than one person at a time ... shared. These characteristics also allow for projects and activities to be considered for broader "community development" aims, rather than just specifically and exclusively, for people with disabilities.

Marimba - this aspect of the project has been very successful at the level of a joyous new shared experience. Skill development was a little haphazard but some skills were developed with some people.

Listening - being still and quiet enough just to hear what the instrument sounds like. Access to the instrument - approaching, standing, sitting, reaching, aiming, hitting, understanding its resonance - hitting in the middle of the key.

Following cues - starting, stopping, tempo changes, dynamic changes, listening - to self, to others, to the designated leader. Playing rhythmically, playing melodically, playing in a set tuning (eg leaving out the F and B for pentatonic tuning), playing with one hand, two hands, in various directions, at various tempos and with various dynamics. Developing a "style"-copying, trying own ideas.

Singing - a much smaller group participated in this aspect of the project. All of the people who attended these sessions participated happily and enthusiastically. The skills developed were breathing, humming, opening the mouth in various ways to get various sounds, the use of a mixture of sounds from speaking to singing, including growls, squeaks, whispers, hooting, sirens, etc, the singing of own names and other names in various ways to develop musical ideas, using short phrases both serious and silly, to enrich the initial musical ideas. These experiences and skills led to a song inspired by tears- Bringa me Water - which began with me "teaching" phrases but evolved into a dynamic, multilayered piece with a vocalised percussion section (Cameron, Tim, Martin, Andrew), and new phrases and melodic lines contributed by participants (Maureen, Sarah, Barrington, Cathy).

Body Percussion - this activity was the least successful of the three with only a few of the people with disabilities enjoying it. There was a strong interest from "general public" participants, but the body percussion sessions were reduced to keep participation as valuable across the board as possible. Martin, Jane and Andrew were the people with disabilities who participated with some level of interest. Andrew enjoyed trying to achieve the "patterns" of this activity and Jane and Martin included themselves by reaching out to meet other participant's hands at points in the cycle where partners were needed to complete a pattern. Martin brought some "performance" moves to the whole activity which contributed to the style and fun of the body percussion.

The Mentoree - Cameron's involvement as mentoree was invaluable for a number of reasons. Firstly, his prior contact with most of the clients meant that there was an established relationship that I believe eased the initial processes. (This can also be said of most of the support workers. Their relationships with the people with disabilities and preparedness to communicate and participate helped get activities "off the ground".) Also, the contribution of Cameron's drums, bells and shakers, and his close supportive work especially with Martin and Andrew meant that we had a "rhythm section" which allowed more freedom with playing marimbas; more room to experiment and use them as a melodic instrument because a rhythm was being held by the drummers. That "pulse" kept a sense of ongoing music at times when participants were not as consistent with playing other instruments. Beyond this, Cameron's motivation and enthusiasm (and some experience) for musical activity with people with disabilities meant he was able to initiate his involvement with very little direction from me. His role mainly centered on looking after the drummers, but he also helped motivate and show parts to marimba players. His lack of inhibition in the singing sessions brought about originality and creativity.

General Strengths