As a self-employed music teacher, performer, Harmonica UK member, and it’s recently appointed Outreach Programme Manager too, I’ve recently started working with a group of ex-servicemen who gather for their weekly Thursday meetings in the Ty Coch army barracks in Cwmbran, South Wales.
They had all been members of the Royal Engineers (Sappers), Monmouthshire Regiment and Royal Regiment of Wales. They have strong links to their historic regiment the “South Wales Borderers” of Rorke’s Drift fame, and the regiment is well-known in the community. Cwmbran has many strong links with the British Army, including that many ex-Gurka Regiment soldiers have also settled here.
I discovered the Veterans’ Hub while keeping an eye on what's happening in the community via the local media. That’s a good tip for all you harmonica teachers out there. I saw that they already had a guitar group there, so I felt there might be an opportunity for a harmonica group, too!
I found the best person to contact and explained the benefits of having a harmonica group; not just musical but also confidence-building, working with others, focus, decision-making, heightened communication, and increasing social skills, amongst other real benefits, shared a very positive Zoom meeting with their hub liaison officer and was duly invited around to meet with the group.
What a lovely bunch of people with so many interesting tales to tell, often very amusing and they all certainly get stuck in on the harmonica!
I have lots of experience working with community groups and service users at organisations such as Close House, Mind, and Turning Point, so I am aware that delivering music (including harmonica sessions) really gives attendees a brighter outlook towards a better quality of life. It’s all about providing opportunities which give people something they may not have done before that is fun, easily accessible, low cost and portable.
My workshops became even more accessible than first thought, as Harmonica UK kindly decided to fund the cost of the instruments, and short-term grant funding was accessed via a local sustainability fund to pay for my first sessions teaching this group. Funding from other sources is currently being sought.
The participants are all retired ex-servicemen who are looking for positive, creative outlets to keep them engaged and give them a good outlook on life, especially considering the things all service personnel encounter and what it can leave them with, both physically and mentally. So, my project is so beneficial to them. In the future, if funding is accessed, we hope to be working on a variety of combined musical projects, including a youth group of home schooled young people at an outreach centre in Pontypool who are also learning harmonica with me.
Aidan Sheehan.
Harmonica UK Outreach Manager
