Project Background

Gamelan is a musical ensemble of Indonesian origin, typically featuring a variety of instruments.  The ensemble element lends itself well to encouraging group interaction and the development of social skills.
The Good Vibrations project is a music programme serving young offenders between the ages of 15 and 25.  Run by the Firebird Trust the project is based in HMYOI Huntercombe in Henley-on-Thames and in Glen Parva YOI in Leicester.

Project Details

The principle aim of the project was to help prisoners to acquire the social skills to help them find employment after their release from prison: Research shows that if you can get and keep a job when you get out of prison you are less likely to re-offend.  The Good Vibrations project seeks to increase these success stories.  Gamelan is an accessible form of education with the added bonus of a certificate upon completion.  Unlike most prisoner education schemes, Good Vibrations, is run in an ‘out of classroom’ manner, making it more accessible to young offenders who find the classroom environment too stressful.

“To be honest, I was not expecting much, I just turned up to get out of my pad but I’m really into it now.  It’s good, working together and making music together.”  YOI resident
 
What Happened?

• The project was integrated into the prison’s own educational and rehabilitation activities.  Sessions were coordinated with the prison educational staff.
• Gamelan succeeded where other educational programmes fail because it focused on the involvement and integration of the most hard to reach prisoners.
• The awarding of certificates and a final performance in front of fellow inmates, staff and families gave the project participants a definite sense of achievement as well as an accredited skill.

What Was Achieved ?

• A highly positive experience for both Young Offenders and the staff.
• Record attendance levels with stories of difficult inmates taking to the Gamelan classes and in some cases becoming central to the project: One Huntercombe participant on suicide watch was particularly violent at the start of the project.  As classes continued he settled down and displayed excellent concentration skills.  He later commented:
  "Tthe music makes me relax.  I enjoyed being in the team.  The highlight was the play-through at the end because I had learnt something and I felt good doing it’.
• Many participants, including staff benefited from a new cultural experience, many may not have otherwise experienced such diversity.

What Next?

The Good Vibrations Gamelan project looks to have had a lasting influence upon many of the participants.  One Glen Parva participant was enjoying the classes so much he asked for his release date to be postponed so that he could complete the course.  Upon his release he was given information about music projects and vocational training in his area.

The Good Vibrations project is now being taken up by other Prisons and Young Offenders institutes across the country as well as other institutions where people are deemed hard to reach.

 _{Words: Lizzy King}