Working at CME – Week 17

I have had a particularly enjoyable time at CME this week. This is because we have just acquired a lot of new equipment including guitars, basses and amps. My job for this week was to test all the equipment and make sure it was all working fine and then to catalogue it all onto a spread sheet so we know what we have. This was really fun for me as I love playing instruments, and we got some more equipment on Friday, so there will be more of it to test and catalogue next week.

Working at CME – Week 15

This week I have been busy with a few jobs. I have been working on getting the contacts database updated, helping out with recording for the Learning Foundation group and also various things such as posting packages and taking phone calls. I have also been busy with maintaining equipment, getting new parts for things and setting up guitars etc.

Week 14 at CME

This week we did a “Junk Workshop” at the forum in Norwich. Before doing this Tom and I had to go into the city to buy the junk we would be using. We had to find cheap objects from charity shops which would have a good sound when hit. This proved to be surprisingly difficult, only finding the odd thing here and there, until we came to the last shop to look in, where we found 90% of the things we needed.

The next day we took all the junk up to the Forum and made some music with it. We played twice (once at the start of the day and once at the end) and the second time went a lot better than the first. The idea was to show people that you can make music out of pretty much anything, even if you can’t afford loads of expensive equipment, and to get people to join in with playing (which a lot more people did the second time round).

I enjoyed the day doing the junk workshop lots as I got to be outside and playing music. I wasn’t sure exactly how it was going to go playing to lots of people with no rehearsed music, but we jammed out some good stuff and everything went well.

Week 12 at CME

This week as well as the usual jobs I was also given the task of working out how much it costs to put on a workshop. To do this I had to work out the amount of time it takes to organise everything, (booking tutors, a van, the venue etc.) travel time, and also do the actual workshop. I then worked out all the costs, (staff time, tutor time, promotion etc.) based on this. I then put all the information on to a spread sheet and worked out how much time and money is needed in total, and how much the students would need to be charged to cover the costs and also how much they would need to be charged to make a 10% profit.

I enjoyed doing this as it gave me a better insight into how everything works and how businesses in general operate. I also found that I am quite good at doing this sort of thing and Liz who does a lot of the financial work here said I should consider going into that sort of work. I would however, much prefer doing something practical such as teaching, but it is good to know that if I need to do that sort of work in the future, I will have the skills to do so.

Week 11 at CME

I have been very busy with workshops this week. On Tuesday I went to a Short Breaks workshop for children with complex needs. Because I had already been to one of these I found it very easy to turn up and start getting on with setting up, and working with participants etc. and as usual the day went fairly smoothly and the participants enjoyed it.

The day after I went to a new workshop for me called Rockestra. This workshop was for 7 – 12 year olds wanting to learn about creating music with others. This particular workshop was quite structured compared to other ones I had been to and there was already a plan for the whole day before the students got there. (Normally they are based on what the participants want to do when they arrive). The plan was basically to get everyone in the room to come up with a piece of music and to perform it at the end of the day (a sort of rock – orchestra). At the end of the day we achieved this and the participants performed it. I particularly enjoyed this workshop as being in rock bands is one of my favourite things about being into music so this was very much my sort of thing.

On Friday we did a similar kind of workshop but for older students (aged 12 – 18). With this workshop we split the participants into two bands and got them each to write a piece of music between them to be performed at the end of the day. The day went fairly smoothly and we gave help and advice at some points but they managed to come up with two good pieces of music by themselves and successfully performed it. Another pleasant surprise earlier in the day was when we were doing rhythm exercises in a large group and everyone managed to play a complex rhythm in 7/4 which normally takes people quite a while to pick up that sort of thing.

I have enjoyed this week very much particularly the Rockestra and Rock School workshops. I have had lots of things to do and keep me busy so the week has gone by really quickly.

Week 9 at CME

This week I have been mainly doing the usual admin related jobs but I have also done a few new things. On Thursday I got to help out with teaching some guitar to one of the students that comes here weekly. I love teaching and playing guitar so I found this really fun.

The day after I went to a workshop I hadn’t been to before in Sprowston. This workshop was for elderly people with disabilities such as Alzheimer’s and was the largest group I had seen in a workshop so far. The activities consisted of things such letting everyone have a go on the instruments and passing them round the circle, and variations on this such as having people stop and start at different times. There was also a bit at the end where everyone got into small groups and took it in turns to play as bands.

I enjoyed going to this workshop and thought all the participants there were really nice and I am looking forward to going to the next one.

Working at CME – Week 8

This week Tom and I were given the task of designing a flyer for the Rock School workshop. We decided to do this on Photoshop which I found quite challenging as I wasn’t particularly used to the program, but in the end we got it done and I now know how to use another program. The day after, we posted flyers to schools and colleges, and went round to various places in Norwich putting the flyers up in windows etc.

Later on in the week we were given the task of writing a press release for Rock School. I had never done this before, so I wasn’t exactly sure how to approach it, but after some research we managed to get it done. I enjoyed doing the flyers and press release as it meant I got to be very involved in what actually goes on. It was also a great opportunity for me to be creative in my work.

The main other thing that Tom and I have been doing is working on an acoustic set. CME are having a sale on the 5^th June to get rid of a few unused items and Tom and I will be providing  the background music, so come along if you want to pick up a bargain or just listen to the music!