We Can All Make Music.

Mistaken expectations

Advocating for something that isn't quite what many people think it is

What do people imagine when the phrase “community music” is mentioned?

Community choirs practicing regularly for their annual concert or performances at aged care facilities?

A stage at the local festival for amateur players?

A project to assist local homeless kids to write and record their own songs?

The activities of the local government officer with community arts or cultural development in their title?

Eisteddfords and studio classes by the local music teacher?

A visiting composer commissioned to write a piece for the community orchestra?

Of course, it's reasonable to tag all these activities as being “community music”, but none of these describe our work.

This is not a claim that what we do is “better” than these activities, but rather, that it is different, importantly different, and often confusingly different.

In fact, sometimes we think that what we are on about is so simple, so clear, and so obvious that there's really nothing to explain! (What a big mistake!)

So what are we on about?

We’re on about building the confidence in everyday people to re-discover their own innate capacities to enjoy making music together. We can all make music and we'll all be more “whole” as people as a result of making it.

This is all very simple really, but our perspective brings with it a bunch of attitudes which tilt slightly counter to many prevailing trends. Here are ten:

Engagement more than excellence - nothing must stand in the way of being able to include all who wish to be part of the music-making experience.

Collaborative more than competitive - group music-making depends on, and is the celebration of, playing together.

For the doing more than the showing - the essence of vocal nosh practice is experiencing the joy of singing together now, not rehearsing for a future performance.

Group singing more than singing groups - our keenest interest is in developing situations in which people with no prior connections can very quickly experience the pleasure of collaborative play.

On-going more than project-based - every move we make must be predicated on a commitment to increasing the likelihood of these activities becoming a normal and regular part of a community's life.

Independent more than subsidised - as with the previous point, local commitment to, and ownership of these activities is the foundation of their sustainability.

Amateur more than professional - there are people everywhere with the capacity to start a singing circle. While we support those who have the dedication to make a living from group music-making, our main focus is on liberating the capacities of those for whom music isn't all consuming.

Sharing more than specialising - the skills we demonstrate are to be shared with (or “passed-on to”) participants.

Everyday more than “on special occasions - we're committed to returning music-making to a less elevated position in our culture, back to a place where everyone can reach it.

By ear more than by sight - we discover how to speak before we learn to read; so should it be with music.

We've used the words “more than” rather than the word “not” in the above descriptions because these are matters of emphasis, rather than being a case of either “one or the other”. While we emphasise the points above, we're also proud to support professional singing leaders and established singing groups, setup the occasional project and accept subsidy. We realise that we all want to improve our musical abilities, and while it’s not an objective of ours, we believe it's a perfectly acceptable desire to wish to perform publicly.

That last point is supposed to be a bit of a “heads-up” for you (be warned! J). If you get involved with us (and we would encourage you to do so), don't be surprised if you feel “the CMV gears stripping” occasionally! While it’s true we often find ourselves speaking from differing perspectives, toward differing purposes, despair not! The ensuing debates are always challenging, invigorating and often idea-changing. Neither our thinking, nor yours, should be rigid. To us, every conversation is an opportunity for change and development, and it is this sharing of ideas and philosophies which has shaped CMV into what it is today.

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CMV - making a sound world together.

© Community Music Victoria Inc.