In the UK community music developed largely from the 1960s and expanded massively in the 1980s, one of the

reasons being that The Beatles were formed in 1960 and Nirvana was formed in 1987 two of the most famous bands of all time. Community music nationally and internationally has gone on to build a set of practices, a repertoire, and a number of organisations, qualifications and career paths. Music is in our everyday lives, so that makes it perfect to bring a community together. The very Glastonbury music festival was held in 1970, a perfect example.

Another local area that practices music in the community is the All Saints church in High Wycombe. Here is a quote taken directly from the churchs web page: Choral singing is one of Britains richest traditions and a vibrant, living heritage which is often the preserve of our great cathedrals. The choir at All Saints is precious; it transforms and inspires worship and enriches the community in High Wycombe There are quite a few musicians/singers/songwriters from High Wycombe; here are a few of them: Ian Dury a rock and roll singer who rose to fame in the 1970s. Howard Jones musician, singer and songwriter. He appeared at Live Aid in 1985. Leigh-Anne Pinnock in the girl band Little Mix who won the X Factor. There are so many forms of community music that its nearly impossible to not share it with people. The earliest reliable evidence of music is ancient Greece and Rome. We know this from written accounts and some hymns and ancient songs that were left behind and recovered. Community music can be something as small as sitting with your friends just playing music together, which people have done for centuries! Music in the community is important because many people believe that music can help the mind and body and it has been proven to relax the muscles, combine that with socialising with the people around you, it simply makes you happy!

The Nathan Timothy foundation is a charity as well as a community workshop for children. All of our one-day workshops are unique, presenting children with opportunities to sing, write lyrics, perform and record their ideas both individually and as a team evaluating their progress and actively supporting the progress of their friends every step of the way. Recorded material is then available free for children to download and schools can use the songs for presentations, assemblies, special events or for use out in the wider community. There are also band workshops where you are put into groups to form a band and you have to write a song together as a team and perform it at the end. Its a great way to get to know other people and to showcase your specific talent within music. Some people have come away from these workshops and remained in the band they were put in to begin with, so another advantage of community music is that it could encourage kids to take music further for their careers in the future. Our band workshop courses offer to give our students to opportunity to work alongside our other budding musicians in a band situation. This is a completely different discipline to playing by yourself. It offers students different challenges which will develop your playing and enjoyment in many different ways.

Some examples of music in the community are community centre sessions, prisons, retirement homes, after school clubs for children, public music schools, community bands, choirs, busking, battle of the bands, etc.

In High Wycombe, there are a lot of people busking on the streets and gigs being played in the local pubs and community centres. I played a few gigs in a pub called the roundabout which attracted the locals to come and watch and enjoy the music as well as the people who were invited.