T-Brass  is a progression group for learners when they have nailed the basics in our beginner group.

Melody Makers is our after school beginner brass group. Friendly and inclsuive, we use lots of games and movement to make those firts months as enjoyable as possible.

History of the bands Melody Makers formed toward the end of lockdown in 2021 after an online chat with local residents and brass bands.

Families wanted more youth activity in Tebay and bands wanted help to develop beginner players who could join established bands when they had the right skills.

There used to be a band called Tebay Temperance Band so we are carryoing on that legacy.

Tebay is a working village which grew in the Victorian era with the coming of the railways.  There are ca. 178 young people aged 0-17. The population of the primary school is 46. Of our 13 players (in the two groups), 7 come from Tebay (and can walk to band) and 5 travel from nearby villages of Orton and Greyrigg. 

Tebay’s current music culture As well as T-Brass and Melody Makers Tebay there is a Community Choir for adults, a Young People’s Choir (convened twice a year for community events by local musician Pam Lawson), two music and art weekend sleepovers a year (run by Pam and myself) and Cobwebs Orchestra. Cobwebs is an adult group that meets after T-Brass in the same venue.

We have received warm support from the Methodist Church, local fundraisers and families and the Parish Council. We give back by performing at local fetes and concerts. 

Who plays with T-Brass and Melody Makers? 

Melody Makers players start at around 6-8 years old. T-Brass players range from 8 to 13. The transition to secondary school is hard and we aim to provide a consistent environment where young people can negotiate that change. 

We recruit by delivering tasters and/or 6-week low-cost BAND! programmes at primary schools and by word of mouth. We run a Facebook group (85 members) to celebrate and promote the band.

We are an inclusive band which means we welcome players with additional needs. We work with our players and families and with support organisations to offer the right support for the different needs that our players encounter. 

Learning opportunities

First and foremost we are a teaching band. Players can learn to a good level without additional lessons. We have developed techniques that support that progress. We have Arts Award Centre accreditation and I am a qualified ABRSM Music Medal assessor. We also operate a badge scheme. The badges break down the band experience into small chunks, and also celebrate achievements such as taking part in performances, conducting a piece with the band or helping to arrange an event. 

We have a good number of P-instruments (cornets and trombones) which our learners use. As they progress we have a smaller number of brass trombones, cornets and tenor horns to loan out. We have one baritone on loan from a local teacher, a drum kit, small percussion items and lots of drums which we use for rhythm and grounding work.

From day one we want learners to feel a pulse in their bodies, and be able to relate that to written notation. We borrow from Dalcroze’s embodied experience theory to teach rhythm and pitch. The band plays music in parts from the start, with staff putting in higher parts early on. 

Assistant Kath Wignall, who also teaches brass in schools, offers individual lessons to any player that would like them.

Players are encouraged to try out the Cumbria Youth Brass Band which takes place 6 times a year. When they can play two octaves comfortably, and sight read with reasonable confidence, they can also play/move on to the Kirkby Stephen Silver Band (KSSB 12 miles away). Our 12 year-old player Evelyn has taken advantage of all these opportunities and has now graduated to the front row of KSSB.

Performance opportunities

T-Brass and Melody Makers have an established annual programme of performance events.

Community Choir Spring Concert (May) – we form a choir as well and play the opening set for the concert

Brass at the Castle – 20 minute set at this festival

Tebay Sports Day (June) – we perform and offer tasters – great recruitment day

Christmas Carols (December)

– busking at the Truck Stop which is part of Tebay Services

– Christingle at St James Church

– Community Choir Christmas Concert – see Spring Concert

Staffing

Drum and Brass is a CIC formed by my colleague – an Indian tabla master – and me. I trained as a teacher before taking up music so have always been drawn to the training aspect of brass bands.

I lead T-Brass and Melody Makers with assistant Kath Wignall. Kath is a brilliant player who is well known throughout Eden..

Right from the start of being involved in music, I have encouraged young people to take on leadership roles. Over the years we have focused more on supporting inclusive opportunities. Our last volunteer – Jony (18, percussionist) and our current volunteer, Chloe, (23, euphonium player) both have autism. Representation is key to making music more inclusive and we are proud of our pioneering musical ambassadors. 

We require all over-18 staff to hold a valid DBS. Paid staff should also be trained to level 3 (DSL-level) in safeguarding, which D+B has funded to date.

We have a code of practice and policies which all staff receive along with a work agreement, when they join Drum and Brass. 

Communication

We use OSM software to manage the band. It is a secure online portal that allows emails, attendance records, event management and badge/player progress tracking. We can email all bands, just one band or individual players from this portal.

There are also WhatsApp groups for each band. Messages are carefully monitored and there are guidelines for their use. We don’t communicate with under-18s via social media for safeguarding reasons. We also avoid giving lifts to under-18s unless there are two DBS-ed staff in the vehicle.

Band genre

T-Brass plays a variety of beginner brass music as well as the exciting samba arrangements composed by Jilly Jarman for her Street Beats band. These pieces in 3 parts are easy and enjoyable to play. They enabled the group to perform with Street Beats at Brass at the Castle in 2024. Melody Makers wear turquoise polo shirts with the band logo. T-Brass players are deciding on a colour. 

Planning

Year/ term goals are planned over coffee and cake at the excellent Orton Scar cafe with staff members. We discuss individual players and their needs and match them to the overall aims – social and musical. Last year for instance our social aim for Melody Makers was taking turns. Musically it was to play in time. For T-Brass it was feeling like a team. Musically we wanted them to start to assess their own playing.

I use OSM to plan individual sessions. As each one is linked to a specific date in our programme, it’s easy to track where we are, or add notes after a session. We can link session activities to badges too, so that every player attending a particular session (with specific badge-related activities) is registered as having completed an element of a badge.

With constant contact with our families we are always aware of the needs or events of our individual players. We want each player to feel heard and valued.