A duo of Salford musicians have launched a new creative culture workshop, educating children about the world through the use of percussion instruments and Latin music.
The program will focus on empowering children ages 8-9 through music, creating a vibrant space for children to learn about culture, what music can communicate and the art of autonomy and expression.
Gabe Raven and Eve Lawton formed World Groove Movement during their Popular Music & Recording studies at the University of Salford.
The project is set to host its first workshop at Great Sankey Primary School, in Warrington, February 14 2025.
Gabe Raven, a drummer from Worsley, described percussion as a ‘tactile way’ to discuss culture.
He said: “The use of percussion instruments is a tactile way to learn about different music from around the world.
“Latin and salsa music is shown through quite a Western kind of light; we want to be able to expose these things in a more authentic way, getting kids to think about music other than just the charts.
“Rhythm is inherent to a lot of cultures, really. It links together the culture and the geographical side of music,” he added.
The workshop will feature a range of different activities, introducing children to the historical and geographical significance of music around the world, before learning the instruments and playing together to build up a final piece of music.
Eve Lawton says that a hands-on approach can keep the class ‘engaged’, as she said: “I think it’s a good way to keep the whole class engaged as well.
“No matter whether you’re academically inclined or not, I think the whole class can get involved with it being such a physical activity.”
The Salford musicians are keen to capture all sides of music production, from playing instruments to music technology and engineering. Lawton feels that schools should teach more about how music is made.
She said: “I don’t think there’s a lot of education on music technology, so I think to be exposed to that from a young age will be really interesting for them.
“We’re looking at setting up a bit of a recording session, layering the two different sessions on top of each other to create one session overall.
“I think tying that all together shows that, if they do learn an instrument, they can record it and showcase that,” she added.
Alongside the musical aspects, the duo hope the program can help break down stigmas around cultures from different parts of the world.
Raven hopes the class can build upon the program in the future, stating: “In a basic sense, it comes down to kind of autonomy and expression, what music communicates.
“Music is all a cultural exchange and, you know, it’s important for kinds to be able to communicate that and build upon what they’ve heard at the workshop.”
Lawton added that she hopes the program can encourage a discussion around ‘a different type of music’ worldwide
She said: “It comes down, socially, to acceptance too, experiencing a different type of music other than what they’re used to listening to at home.
“We want to create an understanding that it might be different, but that’s not a bad thing and it’s not just for one group of people to be involved in. Everyone can get involved, and it should be spoken about worldwide.”
The pair are hoping to bring the workshop into Salford in the future, as Raven said: “We want to make it bigger in the future, we’d love to carry this on and operate these workshops up and down, probably into Salford and elsewhere.
“Hopefully, this is kind of the start of something really quite nice.”
Further information about the World Groove Movement program can be found here.
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