As I reflect upon my time as a Music Champion working in partnership with Jenny at Beaumont Leys Children, Young People and Family Centre, there are a few key things that I have learnt that have influenced my practice today.

The first is that it’s less about bringing a prepared set session and is more about bringing a set of qualities. Your attention, presence, acceptance, playfulness, creativity, joyfulness, flexibility, curiosity, self-awareness, attunement and adaptability (to name a few) are far more important than sticking to a meticulous plan. Not that I’m advocating for throwing plans out the window, but I’ve certainly learnt that they are best held lightly, as young children come with so much creativity and spontaneity that, when you bring the above set of qualities in response to their lead, it allows for the session to organically unfold in its own unique direction – which is all part of the magic!

Even with the regular attendees at the children’s centre, no two sessions were ever the same, because I was practicing in a child-centred way. I saw this with my fellow Music Champions, too – spontaneously composed songs about hedgehogs and new and exciting ways of using instruments and making sounds (who knew that a boomwhacker could also be a didgeridoo?) that came directly from the children’s creativity.

For the most part, young children have the benefit of not having been told the rules about how to express themselves musically, or to play something in a certain way, so there’s really a lot to learn from them and even has potential to change your relationship with your own instrument, as it did mine.

When I talk about a set of qualities being important, what I’m really talking about is working in a relational way. Having a musician present is different to simply leaving instruments out because it brings a relational musical interaction into it. What I saw when I was working in partnership with Jenny was that she was building relationships with the young children and their parents and carers. Building relationships with the children, their parents and carers, and with Jenny and the staff at Beaumont Leys was a natural, and important part, of being a Music Champion. I say natural because, when we respond to a child banging a drum, strumming a guitar, holding a violin bow for the first time, and we notice and share in their delight, we’re meeting a relational developmental need. In little ways, we’re showing them that they matter; that their creative expression matters. We’re allowing them to make an impact on us and we’re celebrating their self-definition through musical interactions.

When a child comes and instructs you that you are their new band member (‘Beth, you play the guitar, Mummy you sing, I’m playing the drums’), you are more than a musician, you are a musical companion, responding to their initiative and imagination through musical interaction. I was lucky enough to get to know the children’s parents and carers, too. Which meant that I got to learn about musical preferences (like traditional Nepalese folk songs) and how the experience impacted the children beyond the sessions. Make no mistake, the child that stays silent and observes may well be taking it all in (and may well be telling their parents and carers all about it later that day, or asking for just one more of their new favourite song before bed, or pointing with glee when they spot a cello in a shop window, which must have its photo taken to show to Beth next session, because it’s like a big violin!). I got to see how parents and carers can be fantastic Music Champions and how important it is to include both the children’s and parents and carers’ voice in shaping the sessions and the project, alongside Jenny and her team’s valuable insight.

I think what I caught a glimpse of through this project is that, when we create a community of diverse Music Champions, of musicians, early years practitioners, parents and carers, and the wider community, who embody the above qualities, we’re creating a space in which all kinds of musical expression can be accepted, valued and celebrated – which is to say, a space in which all kinds of children can feel accepted, valued and celebrated for their unique, authentic creative expression – and I don’t think that can be underestimated.

I keep these learnings in mind now, and remain curious and open to learning more, as I continue my journey as a Music Champion beyond this project in my child-centred music practice, with gratitude to everyone I got to connect with, and especially to Spark Arts for this special opportunity.