Tutti music – community-based kids music classes drum up excitement in Blackridge
Three grants totalling just under £10,000 from the Blackridge Community Fund have helped establish a thriving programme of children’s music classes in Blackridge over the last five years. A new grant from the fund will also sustain and enhance the programme for at least the next three years.
In 2020, there was no children’s musical tuition or classes available in Blackridge, and limited music provision within the local school. Financial constraints, and geographic and travel barriers, prevented most people from accessing other music provision in neighbouring towns.
A household survey showed interest from residents in launching such activities in Blackridge, whilst the social and developmental benefits of participation in music (particularly amongst children) is of course well known. More activities for young people in the area was also identified as a key priority in the 2019 Blackridge Community Action Plan.
Inspired by Feisean nan Gaidheal, which provides tuition in traditional Gaelic arts and music to thousands of young people across Scotland, Tutti Music was formed, initially offering classes to older people and kids in nearby Armadale. Tutti is an Italian word literally meaning ‘all’ or ‘together’ and is used as a musical term for the whole orchestra as opposed to the soloist. In true Tutti spirit, Blackridge Community Education Association (BCEA, volunteers who run the Council -owned Craiginn Community Centre in Blackridge) and local music tutors within Tutti Music group put their heads together to devise a new programme for Blackridge. BCEA applied for seed funding from the Blackridge Community Fund.
The Blackridge Community Fund supports community projects benefiting those living in the Blackridge community council area. The fund combines community benefit monies from three nearby wind farms: Burnhead Moss wind farm, owned by EDF Renewables UK; Torrance Wind Farm owned by Gresham House; and Harthill Wind Farm, also known as Torrance Extension Wind Farm, owned by Netro Energy. Foundation Scotland manages and administers the fund, but fund strategy, objectives and award decisions are set by a panel of Blackridge residents supported by Foundation Scotland.
The Blackridge Panel awarded just under £4,000 to help BCEA and Tutti Music tutors get the programme up and running. Funding covered tutor costs and the initial purchase of keyboards, bells, tambourines and other small instruments. It quickly became clear that provision for pre-school children was the priority, and ‘Tutti Tots’ classes were soon ready to go. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions setting in, face-to-face classes had to be paused.
Tutti Music pivoted quickly and was able to provide online sessions for six weeks between June and July, including supplying some children with music bags containing a selection of age-related hand-held musical instruments to use at home. Once restrictions eased, face-to-face sessions in the Craiginn Centre began as originally planned. Demand exceeded expectations; having initially planned to provide one weekly class to around 8 or 10 children, the programme changed to two classes per week with around 16 children (and 14 adults).
In March 2022, new fortnightly ‘Toots & Taps” classes for P1-P7 aged children were also launched, quickly attracting another 8-10 regular participants. The Blackridge Community Fund Panel awarded a further grant of £2,000 to help fund both the Tutti Tots and Toots & Taps classes for a further year, with regular attendance increasing. 35 children and 30 accompanying parents, grandparents and carers all took part, whilst two over 70s began volunteering and providing home-baking and snacks to the children. The waiting list for places grew further.
Based on this success, the Blackridge Panel awarded £4,000 in 2023 to help sustain the volume of programme activity underway, and in late 2024 a new 2-year grant of £10,000 was awarded, recognising increasing costs due to inflation since the programme first launched.
The Tutti Music programme has increasingly contributed to the Blackridge Community Fund's objectives to enhance local community life. The programme has fostered community cohesion through intergenerational activities, developing skills and confidence among children enjoying and learning musical instruments, and creating accessible cultural opportunities in an area previously lacking musical provision.
Alison Pinkerton, who runs the Tutti Music programme, has been delighted by the programme’s success in Blackridge:
“We are convinced that the Tutti Music project has provided the opportunity for the children in our classes to develop in confidence, strengthen their social interaction and establish a solid foundation on which to build a future of musical enjoyment. Our classes also provide invaluable support and a social network for the adults who come along with the children. We are thankful for the dedication of all our volunteers who have helped our classes grow and who continue to support us, enabling our project to flourish”
In turn, the fund has played a valuable role in the programme’s development in Blackridge. The existence of the fund as a potential source of funding helped spur initial ideas and consultation, and the Fund then enabled pilot activity to go ahead. The Blackridge Panel has subsequently awarded gradually increased levels of funding from the EDF Burnhead Moss part of the Blackridge Community Fund to accompany and solidify the programme’s growth, moving to multi-year funding as BCEA and Tutti Music demonstrated increasing solidity in the programme’s delivery and impact. Panel members’ first-hand knowledge and observation of the programme in action provided assurance that the programme really was making, and continues to make, a huge positive impact on community life in Blackridge.
EDF Renewables UK Asset Manager Abdirahman Abdirahman commented:
“Hearing about Tutti music and the positive way in which our funds are being used locally was music to our ears! We know first hand the positive impact funds from our wind farms can have for small communities, and for people of all ages. We are delighted to hear of the positive impact from our Burnhead Moss Wind Farm Fund. Congratulations to all involved.”
The Tutti Music story in Blackridge exemplifies what is possible when local aspirations, resident volunteers, local groups working in partnership and reliable long-term availability of community benefit funds all combine harmoniously to drive forward a new programme like this.
It seems certain that Tutti Music will continue to hit all the right notes in Blackridge for many years to come.
Click here to find out more about the Blackridge Community Fund.
