…an innovative project in the “Kultur macht stark!“ series

The generous donation of 12 guitar sets has made an innovative “Kultur macht stark!“ project possible.

Being able to offer the use of the guitars and equipment for the duration of the project allows us to lower the threshold for participation in this “Kultur macht stark!” project and to reach children and teenagers who wouldn’t otherwise be able to join in.

The Alliance
Kindergesundheit München e.V.
Innere Mission/Unterstützungsangebote in der GU Willy-Brandt-Allee München
Grundschule an der Lehrer-Wirth-Straße, München
Mittelschule an der Lehrer-Wirth-Straße, München
MORGEN e.V.

Structure
Regular meetings until mid-2020, every Thursday afternoon, 2h15m, on the premises of the elementary school in Willy-Brandt-Alle 2 (2-3 minutes on foot from the schools in the alliance).

Project management
Organisation and educational support by the children’s charity Kindergesundheit München e.V., www.kimü.de
Instruction by Tonstudio SOL, Francisco Arcón, www.soundstudiosol.com

Description in brief

  • “Guitar friends” offers children and teenagers, some of whom are refugees, the opportunity to access music and receive music instruction, without having to overcome any obstacles. At the same time, it offers a space in which friendships can develop.
  • Every “Guitar friends” afternoon (2h15m) is structured around age-appropriate song accompaniment, singing, learning to read notation, guitar and guitar construction fundamentals as well as time for shared rehearsal. Furthermore, a healthy fruit snack is provided every afternoon.
  • Rehearsing and playing in a group can become a focal point for friendships transcending personal experience and backgrounds, opening the door to organic intercultural exchange.
  • Teaching double act: guitar teaching is supported by education specialists to create a positive learning environment for children with special care needs, too.
  • All guitars and equipment are provided by the children’s charity KIMÜ e.v. for the duration of the project.
  • The teaching team spent months collecting donated old guitars, refurbishing them and making them playable again so that the children could get their own guitars at the end of the project.
  • For 2019, the project is planning to apply to Munich’s Migrant Council for advanced pairs lessons.

Preventive health improvement

  • Enjoyment of music strengthens both the immune system and self-confidence, and consequently resilience as a life resource.
  • The focus necessary to learn playing the guitar greatly increases both the ability to concentrate and coordination.
  • Singing in accompaniment to the guitar reduces tension in the singers’ bodies, exercises the entire breathing apparatus and improves the oxygen supply throughout the body.

The Peace Guitar
The various difficult, often traumatic, experiences of the children, their different cultural backgrounds and the confined environment in the elementary school where the meetings take place gave rise to a number of conflicts particularly in the early part of the project. This was taken as an inspiration to make “Guitar friends” a peace project, too. Music can and should be a peacemaker, and every guitar friend contributes to this peace. The peace guitar was the concrete result of this project. While learning the fundamentals of guitar constructions, the children together designed this guitar. All children wrote the words for “peace” and “love” in various languages all over the guitar, and added their names.

Small end-of-project concert on 22 November 2018 at the elementary school, supporting the intercultural band “Action People” – and with a surprise!
During the project, the project management team came up with the idea of looking for donations of used guitars for the children and refurbishing them, so that each child would get their own guitar at the end of the project and the project’s guitars could be given to other children for the duration of the project’s next phase. This allowed us to surprise the children on the night of the concert by giving each of them their own instrument.

 

Bildunterschriften:

12 guitar sets

…the peace guitar in progress.

…drying in an apple tree.

…practice…makes…perfect …

Guitar friends

Action People

Precious receives her own guitar