Naomi House boys group rock out with Rocksteady Music School
Nationwide music school, Rocksteady, recently visited Naomi House & Jacksplace and voluntarily hosted a music session with a group of boys who regularly visit the hospices.
Four representatives from the rock school, Richard, Tracey, Amy and Amy, spent the morning with the boys in the hospice’s music room, teaching them how to play together as a band. The boys had the opportunity to have a go on the instruments they wanted to learn, including drums, guitar, bass guitar and the keyboard. The end result was a performance to family members and staff of Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’, and the White Stripes hit, ‘Seven Nation Army’.
Jenny Astall, who works in Naomi House & Jacksplace’s Family Support Team and organised the session, said:
It’s important for the boys to take part in events like this as it allows them to recognise what’s possible. Taking part as a group alongside people who have similar conditions, and who experience similar situations, removes a ‘barrier’ for the boys and allows them to feel a bit more relaxed, at ease and more comfortable to do things they might not otherwise have thought they’d be able to do. It was brilliant to see their confidence growing throughout the morning and as well as witnessing their sense of pride after the final performance.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to Richard and the team from Rocksteady Music School for your time and efforts today, and we look forward to working with you more in the future!
Richard Bushby, Head of Curriculum Teaching Standards at Rocksteady Music School, ran the session today and said:
It’s important to us to empower as many kids as possible with music, no matter their ability. Music can reach everyone, and we just tailor our teaching methods to suit each individual’s needs. Today was lots of fun; it was very rewarding to see young people, who didn’t have a lot of confidence at the beginning, completely come out of themselves as the morning went on and shine during the final performance. Thank you for having us and we very much look forward to coming back again.
Rocksteady is a nationwide music school that hosts in-school peripatetic tuition music sessions that make music fun and give children the chance to be in a band, perform songs they love and learn life skills. To find out more visit: https://www.rocksteadymusicschool.com/
The Final Performance!
Check out the boys' final performance of ‘We Will Rock You’, and ‘Seven Nation Army’ from the session in this rockin' video!