Oi Musica’s work celebrates all aspects of group music making – generating positive shared experiences, celebrating collective success, and finding common ground between players from different backgrounds.
Continually inspired by the infinite variety and possibilities that street band music offers – both as an artform and as an access route into music making – Oi Musica works with brass, massed horn sections, percussion, street drumming and more. Their programmes of work span music education, community music, live performance, artistic collaborations, festival programming, practitioner training and bespoke project design. Oi Musica work as artists and as producers, carefully designing projects and programmes to generate wide reaching benefits for everyone involved.
Schools
See also: Primary, Secondary, Curriculum, Participatory, Creative Learning, Musicianship, Ensemble, Instrumental Specialism.
Oi Musica offer a wide range of music experiences and education programmes for children and young people, working with P5 upwards: in small groups, full classes or whole school. Sessions can be instrument-focused or designed to develop learners’ creativity. Programmes can be one off sessions, or term-long programmes.
Oi Musica specialise in drums, percussion and brass, but regularly work with a broader range of instruments for creative outcomes.
Their 8-week Routes to Hoots street band programme for upper primary is delivered in collaboration with percussionist and educator Mat Clements of Where’s the One? – an exciting first experience of instrumental learning and ensemble playing. The programme has been delivered in primary schools across Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, East Lothian and Edinburgh City.
Brass Blast
See also: Participatory, Creative Learning, Musicianship, Primary, Secondary, Ensemble, instrumental specialism, community.
Brass Blast is a music project, an after school group, an exciting youth street band, a friendly and welcoming space, a learning hub for all abilities and a fun place to develop music skills and play in a band.
Founded and run by Oi Musica, Brass Blast provides specialist instrumental tuition in trumpet, trombone and street drumming (using samba drums) for all abilities, from total beginner to experienced player. Players aged 9+ are welcome and no previous musical experience necessary.
Brass Blast aims to broaden participation in music and open up opportunities to learn an instrument for children and young people who would otherwise miss out. Oi Musica offer free places for families who need them, and work hard to remove all barriers to participation. The teaching approach centres on providing positive and inspiring experiences of music, and Brass Blast is non formal, low pressure and fun.
Brass Blast works to a loose street band model: learning by ear, playing from memory and working to each player’s strengths. Players are welcome to use notation as a learning tool; but the ability to read music is not required to be part of Brass Blast. As well as receiving expert instruction in technique, embouchure and tone, players develope a whole range of skills associated with playing in a band. Oi Musica have a growing pool of young players who now lead and direct the band, and Brass Blast has a youth committee which takes an active role in designing the programme.
Shunpike Social Club
See also: Instrumental Specialism, Participatory, Creative Learning, Musicianship, Ensemble, instrumental specialism.
Shunpike Social Club is a loose collective of drummers, percussionists, brass & wind players at all stages of their music journey. An all-welcome street band,, they bring Cumbia, Brazilian, New Orleans and Cuban music alive with big band flair.
Directed by Oi Musica’s Marcus Britton, along with percussion directors Sam Ward-Hardy (Jack Drum Arts) and José Rojas (El Taller) they bring celebratory sounds to parties and street festivals across Edinburgh, while providing opportunities for players at all stages to get involved in relaxed, non-formal music making that is joyous and fun.
The Tubes
See also: CPD, Instrumental Specialism, Curriculum, Participatory, Creative Learning, Musicianship, Primary, Secondary, Online.
The Tubes are a new street band from Oi Musica, incorporating trumpet, trombone, banjo, percussion, sousaphone, harmony singing and plenty of groove. The Tubes bring a ray of sunshine to a world recovering from tough times, playing Americana, N’Orleans jazz and a dash of home grown folk.
Let it Grow
See also: Instrumental Specialism, Curriculum, Participatory, Creative Learning, Musicianship, Primary, Secondary, Online.
Devised in response to Scotland’s hosting of COP26 in November 2021, Let it Grow invited music makers of all ages, abilities & genres to share a piece of music in the lead up and during the 26th UN Climate Summit, held in Glasgow. The project generated an online wave of music that expressed solidarity with those working in the climate sphere – a mass sharing of views and creative noise-making adding to the growing international call for climate justice.
Oi Musica’s collaborative composition ‘Enough is Enough’, co-written with Karine Polwart and Heather Macleod (of the Soundhouse Choir) remains available for anyone to learn, teach or perform. A comprehensive collection of lyrics, chords, notation and arrangements for choir, brass and percussion is available under ‘Downloads’ on the project website.