Mari Pritchard, co-ordinator for Ynys Mon the Youth Music Action Zone (YMAZ) for Anglesey, gave a presentation at Youth Music’s Welsh Millennium event in March 2005.

Background

Ynys Mon, the Isle of Anglesey has become an area of outstanding sounds since the coming of YMAS. This has happened under the guidance of Youth Music, which has nurtured an exceptional relationship with the Isle of Anglesey Borough Council. Following detailed audit and research into musical provision on the island, Anglesey was successfully converted into Wales’ first Youth Music Action Zone, in July 2003. Ynys Môn Action Zone started under the auspices of Menter Môn.

Youth Music has made an impression on the Island through its various efforts such as:

• The start-up services we have established
• The children and young people from all backgrounds who have benefited from the scheme
• The vision Youth Music has given us, to encourage children to experience and enjoy music
• The priceless opportunities given to young people on Anglesey, which would not have existed were it not for the intervention and support of Youth Music

The Aim Of The Scheme In Anglesey

• To provide opportunities for children in disadvantaged (community first) areas
• To provide opportunities in rural areas (where services are unavailable or inaccessible)

Two Welsh projects were looked at in detail:

• Miri Meithrin - A project emphasising the importance of live music to children in their early years
• Bocsŵn - School of Rock and recording studio

Miri Meithrin

This project has enabled the creation of dedicated resources; a CD and a new songbook providing an opportunity to listen, sing and move to music of different genres, live instrumental music and celebrity singers. The pack is called: Helpa Fi Wneud Can (Help Me Write A Song).

• 700 Welsh Nursery Schools, ie every Welsh nursery school in Wales, have received a copy of Helpa Fi Wneud Can.
• Every Nursery School in Anglesey receive sessions with a musician who will sing along with them, using the pack.
• There are 52 schools in Anglesey ad every one of them has had one block of sessions, with up to 30 children joining in the fun in each school.
• There was an opportunity for every Nursery School and parents to join in to celebrate their enjoyment of the pack in a jamboree held in June.
• Every song in the package is bilingual.
• Following the enthusiastic welcome the pack has been given – the pack is now available for sale all over Wales and beyond. Orders from England land on our desks every day. All profits from the scheme are fed back in to extend the YMAS scheme to the future.
• Workshops have been taken on the road so children in all areas can benefit from the CD.
• The project opened the doors for Miri Meithrin to work together with the Welsh language Board, the Welsh Nursery Schools, the Welsh Books Council, Barnados and the NSPCC.

Bocsŵn (Soundbox)

Download Bocsŵn Welsh translation

Bocsŵn has been running music workshops on Anglesey for 2 years now. Participants attend once a week for 8 weeks, the central aim is to record their own CD. Six weeks are spent writing and composing, then for the final two weeks we record the piece at Bocsŵn, (or ‘Soundbox’), which is a purpose built recording studio in Amlwch, to the north of the island.

Bocsŵn provides:

• The opportunity to write and record a song
• Access to a wide range of musical instruments
• Individual and group tuition (involving instruments, singing, song writing, DJing)
• Advice on band formation, and the music industry in general
• Opportunities to perform

Central to the above points is ownership and empowerment. Essentially, it’s the children/young people who drive the projects. Participation costs nothing, and is not dependant on age or ability. Bocsŵn provides the service whether you’ve never picked up an instrument before, or if you’ve already started a band.

Bocsŵn provides a valuable service to children and young people on the island, offering the opportunity to learn about music, and through doing so, develop personally in terms of:

• Team working skills
• Communication skills

The scheme is having a huge impact on the children and young people of the island. Song themes have included:

• Bullying
• Growing up
• Making the most of worthwhile opportunities
• Friendship
• Homelessness

Some of the Bocsŵn success stories include:

• Three bands who we’ve worked with have received airplay on BBC Radio
• One of these bands has appeared on regional television
• One of these bands is currently in talks with a national management company
• Parents have said that their child has specifically requested a musical instrument for their birthday or Christmas, rather than an Xbox/mobile phone etc.
• Bocsŵn enjoys continually high attendance rates, as ell as a continued demand for more places

Action Zone news from Ynys Mon

Ynys Mon has had the opportunity to cooperate with the Gwynedd and Môn Crime Prevention Team, Community First communities, and the Education Department working with children who have been expelled from school or are about to be expelled.

Ynys Mon has recently become part of the Children and Young People Partnership with the NSPCC and the Education Department. This means that the service now stands on its own two feet, and as a purely musical service it is recognised as a service providing an opportunity for young people to express their opinions and feelings through music. It is now a full-time service employing 3 permanent tutors as well as occasional staff.