A Summary of the Service Learning Project

Since the outset of this course, Musical Toronto, my group members and I have done plenty of planning and preparation for the service learning project. Although, I have already written a person reflection on this topic of interest, I will once again delve into my experiences and analytically describe the preparation, and the process we went through as a group to achieve the goals we wanted to accomplish.

The service learning project was a great opportunity for us music students to use the synergic nature of music to bring people together in song and dance. It was a fantastic experience, and one that I enjoyed quite immensely, as in the past, I have had limited opportunities to work with people with disabilities in a musical setting. As a group, we really meshed well together in terms of our unique abilities, and personalities. As expected, we did two service learning sessions, within two weeks of the first session. The first session was remarkably well-received, although we had not planned very extensively. For the first session, we decided that we would teach the participants bits and pieces of famous songs, such as Yellow Submarine and Hey Jude, amongst others. To begin, we would pass out the song sheets to everyone, regardless of whether certain individuals could or could not read. The next step, was to ask people, whether they had heard of a band such as the Beatles. Did they like the Beatles? Were they fond of them? What songs did they know by the Beatles? As much as possible, we tried to engage them in discussion, and to this, they reciprocated quite gladly. After this small exercise, we would proceed to listen to the song on the CD. We would listen to it once and then, we would write the chorus out on the huge sheet paper, and invite people to follow along. At first we would invite them to sing along, and then after a few tries, we would invite them to move and dance as they felt was appropriate to the music. This was quite the task, as inviting others to dance, only meant that we ourselves had to dance, in order to set the ambiance for them to follow suit. However, whatever initial anxieties we as a group may have been plagued with before coming into the service learning session quickly subsided because the people there were so welcoming, and responded better than anyone had ever planned, or even imagined.

As a whole, I would account the most important factor in achieving success in this particular setting and approach to learning, was not in the fanciful songs we sang, or the instruments that were available to the participants.Rather, I think that people were deeply fascinated with our session because of the way in which we engaged them, and included them in a meaningful way. I really liked the way that we would ask engaging questions all throughout the session in a widely participatory way. Although sometimes, we would get irrelevant comments in response to our questions, as leaders we would respond to them in a mutually respectful way, and try to redirect the discussion to more productive terms. I felt that the program was well-received by all participants of the service learning session because we tried as best as we could to treat them as people first and foremost, before we recognized the fact that they had disabilities.

The second session of the service learning project was done within two weeks of the first session, and although we had a small group dynamic last time which involved only four people, this time, our group expanded to include two new members. I felt that the second session was planned with more detail, and precision than the first. We tried to coordinate a variety of activities in the second session to include a soundscape production and analysis in which we would introduce the idea of soundscape in respect to the song In the Jungle, and pass out percussion to the people in the room to encourage them to participate in creating a jungle soundscape. I felt that this exercise was the most stimulating, as we were able to get pretty much everyone in the room to participate in a contributive way regardless of whether they had an instrument in hand. We would encourage those without instruments to use body percussion to create the sounds, associated with the idea of the jungle. In order to create music in a timely fashion, we had Will use hand movements to dictate which side of the was playing at which time. He would hold out his hand parallel to the floor, and start from one side of the room,and sweep across to the other, indicating that one side of the room should start first, and the other should join in at a much later time.

In addition to simple exercises such as the soundscape production, we brought in our own instruments, such as the djembe, and the guitar, and discarded the use of the CD, for more favourable resources. I felt that the addition of the two new members was quite to contributive in group dynamics, as we had more people to coordinate planning with, and also, we were much more capable of meeting the needs of the large group, with more group members. As such was the case, we were able to disperse ourselves into different roles, and accommodate the group as we saw fit. Some would lead and direct the group through the activities, while others would demonstrate, and model for others to to follow. Overall, it was a great experience, and one that I would look forward to facilitating in my own community, should the need and opportunity arise.