Instant Songs

Hugh Nankivell

Session summary

Invent and arrange a new song/tune quickly. Use the first ideas that come up and make the simplest structure. Collaborate with others and have fun.

Detailed description

"During the last five years I have worked on a number of projects writing and performing instant songs with groups of children in schools, adults at conferences and mixed groups at festivals. I often do this work with my band Natural Causes (www.naturalcauses.org.uk) and sometimes call myself 'The Song Midwife'.

"We have a whole range of approaches to writing instant songs with a minimum of title, chorus and verse. We explore different ways to make and find melodies, rhythms, moods and to collaborate with each other. The aim is to create songs as quickly as possible."

A formal instant songs workshop on Day 1 of the conference will be followed by a Song Surgery on Day 2 when delegates will be able to request a bespoke new song.

Below: "This is an instant song written with two kids - Felix and Xylia at a cafe in Paignton on a day when Pat Allison and I were artists in residence for the day we wrote tunes and songs for everyone who came into the cafe that day apart from one elderly lady."

Hugh Nankivell

Composer/educator Hugh Nankivell has a wide experience of leading creative music projects in the UK and abroad.

He was the founding chairperson of Sound Sense and has been an integral player in establishing the creative music agenda within community and education settings in the last 20 years. He has worked on outreach and development projects for The Sage Gateshead, Opera North and Dartington Arts (among many others).

He worked with Huddersfield University on a research project for three years on composing in groups with children aged 8-11, he led innovative projects in early years with The Firebird Trust and DAISI (Devon Artists In Schools Initiative) and this led to an original project with 3-80 year-olds run in both Japan and the UK with another composer Makoto Nomura.

He is dedicated to finding new ways to compose and collaborate and to share these experiences as widely as possible. He has recently been artist in residence for Dartmoor National Park, has been the artist for the English Riviera Global Geopark and is just starting an early years project called Shared Inventions with two reception classes. Hugh lives in Torquay and writes songs obsessively.