By Bastian Pattipeiluhu | Coordinator Studio / Professional Social Worker
Hello everyone, as a studio coorindator and professional social worker, I would like to tell you something about the studio and how we work in some music projects. First of all something about the studio. The music studio that we have together (Studio MIC / Jenaflow Studio) has a special and important goal. I like working with Music Mode, because together we can do so much more. We are not just a music studio, together we have a vision, we are a Culture Feel Good Studio! The vision is to give vulnerable young people /kids a chance to to develop and showcase their talents through our studio with positive music. Our mission is to stimulate those young talents to help other people with their talents to help other people in need like the street children in Indonesia. You might thinkg...So how is it possible that people who have their own problems... can help other people with problems?
I will try and explain... in social work we don't only focus on problems.. we focus on the things people with problems can do... if you only focus on problems, people will only think to solve them.. when we focus on things they can grow in such as their talent in music, they will see hope... if they can help other people, they will see opportunities for them self!
We use the lessons and projects to work on their personal problems and to develop their skills and talents. The teachers of Music Mode are special music teachers, because they take into account the home situations of the youngsters and kids. I coordinate the music studio myself and during the music projects I coach them from my position as a professional social worker (youth worker). We use music in social work, because together it is a very powerfull tool to help those who are in need.
Let me tell you somehting about how we work within the music projects, the combination social work and music...At a normal music school it is purely for singing or music lessons, but in our projects/lessons, we also find personal experiences and problems very important. We talk about it and we see what is possible to work on those problems. Of course we understand, that we do not have ready-made solutions, but we do have the know-how on how to tackle some problems, with the focus on working on those problems, to stimulate to never give up.
In recent years we have learned a lot about how to use music and certain theater techniques with knowledge from my social work field. We combine some methodes from the social work and theater to teach young people how to deal with certain feelings. You can ask a student to sing from the heart, to let the people hear how you feel, because the lyrics are about some certain feeling... but students with a lot of emotional problems don't have the the possibility to do that, because their are emotions that block that abbility. So how do we unlock those feelings?
For example, our students receive a special assignment in our theater and music project This is my talent. The focus is that our students can bring out their deepest emotions in a playful way. For a lesson they have to bring something dear from home and tell something about it. Usually it is something very emotional, something special like a photo or a ring, often something of someone they lost. At these moments all memories come up and the young people share their love and sorrow. It is wonderful to see how such a simple thing can bring so much to the surface. Now in those moments, we give them our personal time so they can process those feelings, we listen and we are there for them. Tears falling, processing... During these exercises, our students, our teachers and project leaders get to know each other very well. Usually we introduce these kind of exercise at the beginning of a project, it is a very good icebreaker and we love the power of it, because after those sessions, when they start singing... you can hear and feel the difference! When they sing a song together, there is a lot more togetherness, because they have got to know each other in a personal and special way. They really sing together!
The best thing is that music and social work combined is used as a kind of cement to keep all those stones together.It forms a nice strong house that really stands. I see beautiful friendships being formed, I see young people grow to a higher level both in music and in person. And when they come into the studio, i really enjoy those voices, because i know they worked really well on their personal problems in the project sessions... As a coordinator and professional social worker (Youthworker) i love to use music as a tool. Many people underestimate the power of music. If you use music the right way, it really can change lives. I think without music our student would never have grown so much, it might sound strange, but with and around music there are so many ways to get through life, stronger, wiser and fuller. Music is important! Music matters!
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