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Inclusive Music Workshops

Henry uses improvisation, songwriting, composition and music technology to create inclusive music workshops

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Inclusive Music Workshops

Henry uses improvisation, songwriting, composition and music technology to create inclusive music workshops, inspiring a love of music. He offers a wide programme of educational activities for schools, and creates boutique workshops for different community settings.

Inclusive Music Workshops
Inclusive Music Workshops

Henry starts with the participants: everyone can make music, it’s just about how best to make it accessible and exciting to them. He also delivers CPDL to music educators on employing composition, songwriting and music technology in their teaching.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and this week have still been talking about it. It was really lovely to see some children who find learning in school challenging to come so engaged and excited when composing, accompanying and performing. I will definitely be recommending you and hope that you will be able to come back into school in the future.

Chris Green (Birstall Primary Academy)

Creating your own music can be one of the most inspiring things we can do as musicians. It was a pleasure to ask Henry to work with some of our students on an exciting project to write a song to be performed at the Holmfirth Festival of Folk. It gave our students the opportunity to collaborate and make new friends, building on their confidence and performance skills whilst exploring their creative side. The finished song “You Can Go Anywhere You Want” embodied the whole spirit of the project and was a very enjoyable experience for all involved.

Ginette Eady (Musica Kirklees)

First time visit. Welcoming staff and clientele. Lovely atmosphere. A very rewarding session with Henry. Superb insight, skills, guidance, warmth and clarity. I now have impetus to move forward with my writing. Will definitely come back. Highly recommend Henry and this event.

Participant at an open-door songwriting workshop in a public library

For Schools

key stage four and five music workshops

Key Stages One & Two

Please click here to download our brochure of activities

key stage four and five music workshops

Key Stages Three, Four & Five

Please click here to download our brochure of activities.

Example Workshops

Christmas Songs

December 2022 saw Henry visit a number of primary schools, creating Christmas songs with classes of Key Stage 2 children. The children listened to a variety of different Christmas songs, before thinking about how best to write their own. Together, they created their own lyrics and music. Henry’s songwriting workshops give the children the opportunity to try out various acoustic and electronic instruments, before the song is recorded at the end of the day with Henry’s state-of-the-art portable studio.

It’s Christmas Go Go Go!

SEE LYRICS

Henry teaching guitar and instruments in school

See Lyrics

Henry at school workshop playing guitar
Henry at school workshop playing guitar
Henry at school workshop playing guitar

Watch a special performance of the song “Into the Light” at Huddersfield Town Hall

Into the light

Musica Kirklees, Kirklees’ Music Service, asked Henry to facilitate a Kirklees-wide songwriting project. Through a series of workshops, a diverse group of young people from four different secondary schools wrote a song together: a ‘post-lockdown’ anthem; a song of success, joy and freedom.

Subsequently, Henry recorded a ‘polished’ version of the song, as well as scoring it for myriad instruments. The song, ‘Into The Light’, was adopted by local primary schools, and performed by groups of children across the area, including at Huddersfield Town Hall in May 2023. It is a song both by and for young people.

Below you can hear the children’s original demo of the song, as well as the polished version which was sent out to schools and music centres across the region.

Into The Light (demo)
Into The Light (polished version)

Kirklees Libraries

‘Sharing Stories Standing Strong’ was a project set up in collaboration between Kirklees Libraries and the Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield. Henry was one of six artists to be selected to work in libraries around Kirklees, bringing accessible, free, creative experiences to communities. Henry’s open-door music and songwriting sessions saw him facilitate collaborations between a huge range of people.

Henry at school workshop playing guitar
Henry at school workshop playing guitar
Henry at school workshop playing guitar
Henry at school workshop playing guitar
Inclusive Music Workshops with Henry Bateman

This workshop is brilliant! The children who took part thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were really proud of the Christmas song that they composed together – they are still talking about it weeks later! Henry caters for children of all ages with varying musical experience and makes the day a success for all involved. Parents loved receiving a recording of their child’s song, with many saying that it was “the perfect Christmas present”. Thank you so much for providing our children with such a wonderful and memorable experience.

Lorna Bowers (South Crosland Primary School)

BOOK workshops

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