A special group just for our secondary school singers to grow and perform songs at a pace that suits their age!

**Combining Singing, instruments (optional), writing and arranging, this group will be made up of students who are now in secondary school, who are graduating from our younger singing groups, or wishing to join as new students.
**It will be lead by the students in partnership with me, and they will have their own specific lesson plans, targets and challenges to create and learn music that suits their age, add their own style to it and work in collaboration with each other – supporting group and solo projects with music, harmonies, ideas etc.

Class will still meet on Wednesdays 5-6pm in The Exchange, Buncrana (as their old singing class always has), but they will have a separate room to work on their own projects, while supporting and mentoring the younger singers in occasional group songs.  They’ll have the chance to learn to use our voice and video recording equipment and run their own Music Box Seniors online music channel if they wish.

They will also help to organise our shows, assisting with stage set up, sound, and arranging their own performance pieces and helping to arrange the younger singers work too!  It’s a wide scope of possibilities but it’s all there for the taking and I hope they grab as much opportunity as they can and bring their ideas to our groups too – I’d love to hear them!

**This class is not a replacement for Guitar Academy, as no instrument instruction will be given, but students are welcome to bring any instruments along if it adds to their work.  Guitar Academy students will continue to attend those classes at their usual time.**

I really think this class will be a great step into musical independence for our older performers and an opportunity to show their own musical style and passion. I can’t wait to see what they do next!!

Happy New Year Everyone!

As 2018 rolls around, here’s a quick round up of upcoming plans, as we continue to push our classes and give our Music Box kids the best opportunities possible to learn and grow as musicians, singers and performers.

Just this past month, we received Funding that will benefit all our students.  We now have access to high quality voice recorders, and a camera that will allow us to record our work and improve our performance throughout the year.  It’s a great opportunity for us to improve our confidence levels, work on individual performance and see where we can improve, as well as record our group and solo work to share with everyone.  Our older students will also share in the organising of this and hopefully learn how to use the equipment.  I’ll be sending home sheets/asking you to pop in to sign a sheet before we begin – outlining permissions (recording/broadcasting of performances etc).

Guitarists (especially older classes) will have continued/expanded access to additional teachers, to further work like power & barre chords, theory, scales and chord variations, and we’ll really be drilling those scales etc to create more independent & creative musicians. Our beginners are a smart crew and they are moving fast so far so they will be well ready for a show in summer 2018.

Singers will work on more lots of great lively songs, but we’ll also work on more harmony, our posture, performances, singing exercises etc and continue to up our game and become more professional!  I’m hoping to be able to line up a special performance for each of our singing groups this year in addition to our regular summer shows, and of course the recording plans above will be a big part of their year too!

Boogie Bugs have grown so much, and I’m excited about the prospect of sharing more of what they learn through music, and their amazing input into the songs we sing together with our new recording equipment.  You’ll be surprised what they know, how they take part and hopefully once we get over the excitement/shyness of a camera being sometimes present, we’ll be able to share some great things with you! We also continue to add new instruments and props, which also travel with us to area preschools.

As we approach Summer, classes will continue as always till the end of June, with the help of some great additional teachers – many we’ve worked with before. I hope to work until the end of May myself, by which time all shows and plans will be in place.  I’m looking forward to our new baby co-operating timewise so I can at least attend the summer shows 🙂 :-).  With some of our Wee Glee original members graduating to Secondary School, it’s an important one for me, as they move on to their next big choirs and our hard working younger singers take the lead into a new year.

Of course we’ll still have our Music Box Summer School, with lots of music making and songwriting opportunities with myself and visiting tutors.  This summer school books out ever year and is a very unique opportunity for children to take part in meaningful and creative work at such young ages. We learn so much working together and those skills and the confidence to use them stay with us for life! I continue to learn also, taking part in songwriting workshops myself to see what new ideas I can bring to the children to simplify the process and make it accessible to everyone. I also hope to challenge many of our capable musicians to pick up a different instrument that week and try out something new.  I’ll have a selection on hand!!

Thanks so much for sticking with The Music Box, we’re getting better all the time, learning from each other, taking cues for our future from the children and what they need and want to learn and hopefully they are enjoying the work too! See you in the new year, it’s going to be a special one!!! ❤

WHOA!!!!! What a fast few months!!!  We’ve been working hard, doing really well with our paperless plan, which is working really well – though we’ll always have paper copies for shows.  It’s that time again – to announce the Christmas show schedule for our classes performing Christmas classics as well as new and original songs this year again.  Here’s the details – give me a shout if anything is unclear! ❤

TUESDAY 19th December:  SLIABH SNEACHT CENTRE

Sliabh Sneacht Guitar Academy – regular class at 4pm (bring a snack, you’ll be in for a couple of hours – your show is not till 6.30pm)

Sliabh Sneacht Singers – regular class at 5pm, combined show for singers AND guitarists at 6.30pm sharp (guitarists 6.30-7pm, singers @ 7pm).  We hope this show timetable will work for parents of children who attend singing AND guitar, so they don’t have shows at different intervals.

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THURSDAY 21st December (Exchange)

Thursday 5pm Guitar Academy class – Final class @ 5pm, show at – 6.30pm

FRIDAY 22nd December (Exchange)

Wednesday 5pm Guitar Class  – students In at 6pm on 22nd for guitar tuning, show at 6.30pm. For some students there will be two shows on Friday evening. .  Both shows (guitar and wee glee) will start on time – guitar show will take about  half an hour and then there will be tea/coffee/biccies while we get set for the Wee Glee Show.  It will be a lovely festive evening so we look forward to showing you our work this term.

FRIDAY 22nd December  (Exchange)

Wee Glee Singers – In at 7.15, show at 7.30pm. For some students there will be two shows on Friday evening.  Both shows (guitar and wee glee) will start on time – guitar show will take about  half an hour and then there will be tea/coffee/biccies while we get set for the Wee Glee Show.  Apologies for the long evening, the children have worked so hard so it will be lovely for them to show you all they’ve learned. Thanks, Bernie

 

For anyone that might not be familiar with what happens at The Music Box, here’s a wee intro to our classes and what we’re all about!  With new classes registering now for September in Buncrana & Drumfries, it’s a great time to bring music into your child’s life!  

The Music Box is a social enterprise that offers affordable music classes and pairs it with community projects throughout the year! Each of our classes are described below, and we have music for babies up to great great grandparents! We also have camps in singing, guitar & ukulele as well as seasonal workshops throughout the year for children, but we fit in lots of music for grown up s as well! Here’s all the info on our performance based children’s classes x
Wee Glee Singers/Sliabh Sneacht Singers.
These groups are amazing – affordable and lively, they are performance based singing groups that perform at their own Christmas and Summer shows, as well as smaller appearances at charity and community events throughout the year. We focus on technique, confidence and collaboration, and respect and appreciation for performance of all levels. We have loads of solos, harmonies and everyone shares a great experience – learning so much while having a great time, and building life long memories and friends! As with all our groups, we endeavour to keep costs low, so there are no big surprises along the way – just the cost of classes and the option to buy our t-shirt/hoodie. WEE GLEE meets in The Exchange in Buncrana on Wednesdays 5-6pm, and SLIABH SNEACHT SINGERS meet in Drumfries on Tuesdays 5-6pm
Guitar Academy, beginners
We try to accommodate beginners every year, and this year beginners will meet in The Exchange in Buncrana on Thursdays at 4pm. We try hard to learn a few basic chords in the first couple of months so that by Halloween we’re starting to put a few tunes together to keep the kids interested instead of just looking at chord sheets! Again, we are focused on the music and performance – but in a group class, we are always good to each other and supportive, fostering the confidence to play in front of each other, and eventually our families and friends.
Guitar Academy, Improvers
Whether you’re returning after the Summer break, or have lapsed in your playing for a while, we have groups at various levels of playing so we can find the right fit for you and you’ll be very welcomed back to guitar playing!! Get in touch to discuss where your child’s playing level lies and we’ll get to work! VARIOUS TIMES, PM FOR DETAILS
Boogie Bugs 3-6yrs 
This is where it all begins! Our youngest drop off class that is full of life, sound, colour and movement! We do it all in this group, and lay the foundations for a life long love of music, singing, playing, songwriting and performing. We explore the sounds of many instruments and enjoy all kinds of songs and dances, as well as the opportunity to take to the stage in a non pressured way to protect those tiny musicians of the future from stage fright 🙂 This class meets on Wednesdays 4-5pm in Buncrana.

Thanks to those that have already booked places in our classes in September!  Here are the classes still accepting new students, and then below that are more details about those classes including times.

Please note, All classes this year will be pay weekly for September, before moving to monthly payments from October.  Existing students please pm to confirm places from last year.

 

Guitar Academy, age 6 +, beginners and improvers in The Exchange, Buncrana.

Wee Glee Singers, age 6+ in The Exchange.

Boogie Bugs 3-6yrs in The Exchange.

Sliabh Sneacht Singers, age 6+ in the Sliabh Sneacht Centre, Drumfries.

Guitar Academy, age 6+, improvers only in the Sliabh Sneacht Centre, Drumfries.

Wee Glee Singers/Sliabh Sneacht Singers.  

These groups are amazing – affordable and lively, they are performance based singing groups that perform at their own Christmas and Summer shows, as well as smaller appearances at charity and community events throughout the year.  We focus on technique, confidence and collaboration, and respect and appreciation for performance of all levels.  We have loads of solos, harmonies and everyone shares a great experience – learning so much while having a great time, and building life long memories and friends!  As with all our groups, we endeavour to keep costs low, so there are no big surprises along the way – just the cost of classes and the option to buy our t-shirt/hoodie. WEE GLEE meets in The Exchange in Buncrana on Wednesdays 5-6pm, and SLIABH SNEACHT SINGERS meet in Drumfries on Tuesdays 5-6pm

Guitar Academy, beginners

We try to accommodate beginners every year, and this year beginners will meet in The Exchange in Buncrana on Thursdays at 4pm.   We try hard to learn a few basic chords in the first couple of months so that by Halloween we’re starting to put a few tunes together to keep the kids interested instead of just looking at chord sheets!  Again, we are focused on the music and performance – but in a group class, we are always good to each other and supportive, fostering the confidence to play in front of each other, and eventually our families and friends.

Guitar Academy, Improvers

Whether you’re returning after the Summer break, or have lapsed in your playing for a while, we have groups at various levels of playing so we can find the right fit for you and you’ll be very welcomed back to guitar playing!!  Get in touch to discuss where your child’s playing level lies and we’ll get to work! VARIOUS TIMES, PM FOR DETAILS

Boogie Bugs 3-6yrs

This is where it all begins!  Our youngest drop off class that is full of life, sound, colour and movement!  We do it all in this group, and lay the foundations for a life long love of music, singing, playing, songwriting and performing.  We explore the sounds of many instruments and enjoy all kinds of songs and dances, as well as the opportunity to take to the stage in a non pressured way to protect those tiny musicians of the future from stage fright 🙂  This class meets on Wednesdays 4-5pm in Buncrana.

We’ve got you covered for those long end of Summer days with brilliant fun days of music, crafts and learning!

Our Ukulele Summer Camp is coming up on August 9th and 10th, & our Mini Music Makers Workshops continue on Saturdays, with a special two day event coming up on August 11th & 12th!  All happening right here in Buncrana!

We’re also taking part in a wonderful Heritage Week event – ‘Under The Sea’ on August 19th 3-5pm.  There are wonderful props and costumes, great sets and dances, parades and music!  We’re joining in to sing some great sea tunes courtesy of The Beatles – with our renditions of Octopusses Garden & Yellow Submarine!  We invite all children aged 6+ to join us for an hour from 1-2pm on August 12 in The Exchange Buncrana to learn the songs, and then we’ll join the festivities on August 19th in town.

Our Ukulele Summer Camp has limited spaces remaining and is open to children (sorry adults!).  We’ll meet for two hours on each of the two days of the camp, and by the end we’ll understand the basics of ukulele chords and have worked on some tunes. It’s a great starter instrument, or a brilliant way to add a second instrument and they are so affordable – available to buy from about €20!!  Music for everyone!

Our Mini Music Makers events are booked out every week, and include two hours of music and crafts for ages 3-6, with snack provided.  We sing and dance, play with instruments and parachutes, and take to the stage with microphones to perform for us also.  Please get in touch if you’d like to join us on the last few remaining Saturdays of the month (10am – 12), or indeed for our two day workshop on 11th/12th August (10am – 12 on both days), where we’ll get to work with clay over the two days, as well as all our musical fun.  Music helps so much with confidence, coordination, and collaboration.  We take turns, we appreciate our friends performances and lay the foundations for musicians, singers and songwriters of the future!

 

 

Both our Singing and our Guitar Summer Camps incorporate Songwriting, and it’s not just the idea of it, we will write a real song together during the camp – collaborating, sharing ideas, learning about song structure, different types of song, trying out ideas, learning if those ideas work and changing them if they don’t.   We will share this collaborated work, but also write individually and these exercises do not have to be shared with the group so the children can feel free to write what they want.

We’re learning a few songs during camp that are pop songs, modern songs but still a form of ‘protest’ song – a kind of social commentary that has always been popular in music, but of course most popular in the 60’s.  So we’ll look at what we might want to write about if we were to try out this style and write a few lines of our own protest songs.

We will look at the idea of ‘storytelling’ through song and try a few lines of that style also, and we will also look at pop that is just for fun, with lyrics that rhyme and flow but maybe don’t say much of anything at all!!!!

Ultimately in a group setting it’s about working together, respecting ideas and being brave enough to suggest edits or something that might work better, and accepting the ideas of others for the benefit of the project.  It’s fun, challenging and interesting and in the past we have created some great music – though we never know what will happen when the pens come out!

With lots of guest tutors coming in this year, we’ll have perspective from various performers and all of that will make us stronger singers, players, performers and now also – songwriters!

Guitar camp is full with a waiting list (pls pm if you want to be added to the cancellation list), and Singing camp is almost full so book quickly for that one!

Camp runs from 10 – 13 July (4 days) in The Exchange in Buncrana.  Singers are in 10 – 1, Guitarists are in from 1.30 – 4.30.  The fee is €45, and there is discount for families or children attending both. Pls bring lunch.

Contact on FB http://www.facebook.com/themusicboxschool or text 0863068655.

And so Summer rolls around again, and as usual it has sneaked up on us too quickly – so here’s a quick run down of the next few weeks! Our Summer Raffle for friends and family is HUGE this year, with lots to win including wonderful prizes donated by Gerard O’Kane Photography and the lovely new Gifted (gift shop). Music camps, open to non members as well as members are almost full, so get in quick if you haven’t booked yet! Summer Show dates for each class are listed below, as well as details of our singers appearance at Feel Good Fortnight.

MUSIC SUMMER CAMPS

We have two music camps open to members as well as non members. Singing/Songwriting camp with 3 tutors giving the boys and girls loads of tips and techniques for singing and performance, as well as an insight into songwriting and help in collaborating on a song during summer camp!  Our other camp is Guitar/Songwriting and in addition to the songwriting module, Rickey Fullerton will join us again to push our skills further and hone the chords and guitar moves we’re already working on.  Camp runs from July 10 – 13.

RAFFLE PRIZES!!  We’ve got some great prizes up for grabs this year, sheets are going home with kids next week  – no pressure to fill them, just buy a few lines if you’d like!

**FIRST PRIZE**Family photo shoot worth €200!!! Included is a location shoot and memory pen of fully edited images, very kindly donated by Gerard O’Kane Photography

**SECOND PRIZE** 2 frames kindly donated by Gifted

**THIRD PRIZE** Ukulele

**FOURTH PRIZE** Free Place at Summer Music Camp

**FIFTH PRIZE** Bottle of Red & Bottle of White Wine

**SIXTH PRIZE** 2 hand crocheted children’s hats

SUMMER SHOWS (Sliabh Sneacht Centre and Exchange)

Wee Glee & Sliabh Sneacht Singers, 2pm, 24th June @ market square Buncrana. 20 min set for feel good fortnight

TUESDAY 27th June: SLIABH SNEACHT CENTRE

Sliabh Sneacht Guitar Academy – regular class at 4pm, show at 4.45pm

Sliabh Sneacht Singers – regular class at 5pm, show at 6.30pm

THURSDAY 29th June (Exchange)

Thursday Beginners guitar class 4pm: will be in for their regular class at 4pm with a short show at 4.45pm (last 15 mins of class).

Thursday 5 & 6pm guitar classes will do a combined show this year on Thursday 29th June- Final class for both groups @ 5pm, show at – 6.30pm

FRIDAY 30th June (Exchange)

Wednesday 5pm Guitar Class  – students In at 6.30pm on 30th, show at 7pm.                 For some students there will be two shows on Friday evening.  This is unavoidable with bookings in the hall/feel good fortnight etc.  Both shows (guitar and wee glee) will start on time – guitar show will take about  half an hour and then there will be tea/coffee/biccies while we get set for the Wee Glee Show.  Aplogies for the long evening, the children have worked so hard so it will be lovely for them to show you all they’ve learned. Thanks, Bernie

FRIDAY 30th June  (Exchange)

 Wee Glee Singers – In at 7.45, show at 8pmFor some students there will be two shows on Friday evening.  This is unavoidable with bookings in the hall/feel good fortnight etc.  Both shows (guitar and wee glee) will start on time – guitar show will take about  half an hour and then there will be tea/coffee/biccies while we get set for the Wee Glee Show.  Aplogies for the long evening, the children have worked so hard so it will be lovely for them to show you all they’ve learned. Thanks, Bernie

So here at The Music Box we are in the final run up to Summer Holidays, and things are busy!  But the music doesn’t stop for Summer!  Our annual Summer Camp is no open for registration too, so don’t miss that for ages 6+.  For our 3-6yrs, classes continue on Wednesday afternoons till the end of JUNE, but our popular SATURDAY MORNING CLUB is now also running so get in touch to book your place!  Come now and then, or come every week, but please be sure to get in touch – we don’t like to over-crowd!

Here are the details for Summer Camp!  It’s jam packed with new and old songs, both for singers and guitarists.  We have guest tutors for a new perspective and lots of fun along the way.  It’s a great way to learn about collaboration, songwriting techiques and writing exercises.  Creating the music as well as the lyrics, and looking beyond song structure to the human elements of songwriting.  There is the option of a Singing/Songwriting camp, which requires no previous experience, or the Guitar/Songwriting camp which requires at least 6 months previous playing experience.

 

 

 

Here’s a link to our Saturday Morning Club for 3-6yrs!

Our Littlest music makers have a busy time ahead, with our Mini Music Makers Saturday club starting again soon as well!

Our regular Wednesday class will be preparing for a wee summer show, nothing too serious, we like to make sure at this age that the focus is not on traditional ‘shows’, but on performance preparation, fun, creating a love of music, singing in the mic, taking the stage, trying lots of different kinds of music and instruments, sharing and learning together and fostering confidence that will stay with our children.  We’ll be singing you a few songs we’ve been learning together before we break for Summer hols, and we think you’ll love them ❤

Wednesday class continues till the end of June, but we’ll also be re-starting our SATURDAY MORNING CLUB soon too in The Exchange!  2 hours of crafts, instrument making, and singing dancing, trying new instruments, parachute games, microphone work etc.  This MINI MUSIC MAKERS series was always jammers last year so keep an eye out on the page for upcoming dates OR pm me now if you’d like to be contacted about those classes.

As summer approaches, we can also welcome some new kiddos to our Wednesday Boogie Bugs class which runs from 4-5pm in The Exchange in Buncrana, so let me know if you have a wee one that wants to be part of our happy musical family!