Last year we were delighted to partner with Sound and Music to create a brand new ‘Minute of Listening’ collection. UK schools were invited to take part through students composing a 1 minute piece in response to one of seven themes.
We provided some exemplar listening and composer videos to help with getting started and the rest was over to the teacher and students!
What is Minute of Listening?
Minute of Listening is a carefully curated bank of 1 minute recordings to encourage children to actively listen and reflect.
New collection
This new collection represents a vibrant collaboration between professional musicians, secondary educators, and young people from the UK and we encourage you to pause in your day and have a listen to what these students have composed!
The themes
For this new collection there were seven themes which could be interpreted by students in whichever they chose.
- Identity and belonging
- Memories, histories and traditions
- Change and journeys
- Relationships
- My community and my environment
- The changing natural world
- Dreams, future and space
Participating schools
Students from David Ross Education Trust (DRET) schools and Bristol Cathedral Choir School took part in the project.
For the students at DRET, this project served as an introduction to their GCSE music journey and formed part of their ‘Composition Challenge’. Working closely with their composer-in-residence, Dr Alison Willis, and the Berkeley Ensemble, they explored the different themes together through discussion and listening to existing music. From the initial inspiration to the final edit, the process mirrored the industry standards they would encounter in their future musical careers, should they choose that path.
The students at Bristol Cathedral Choir School utilised DAWs to develop their pieces and produce the recordings, and took on the project as an additional creative challenge outside of their music lessons.
Listen now
It’s completely free to use the Minute of Listening platform. Simply visit the website, create a free account and start exploring.
Listen to the new Minute of Listening Collection.
Thank you
A big thank you from the Sound & Music and I Can Compose teams to the teachers and musicians who worked with the students on this project, and to the students themselves for getting involved so enthusiastically and creating a whole set of new musical works!
