By Diana Hart
On what seemed like a regular afternoon at Elgin Street Public School, a group of students sat cross-legged on mats at the back of the class to hear something most had never heard before, a banjo.
Introducing the grade five and six students to the mysterious new world of banjo music was Chris “Old Man” Luedecke, a singer from Nova Scotia.
Luedecke sang, played the banjo, and talked with students about his life as a songwriter. He says it was important to show young people there are many different kinds of music.
“It’s fun to have a banjo player in the classroom,” he says. “It’s maybe a small counterbalance to whatever MuchMusic can provide.”
This music lesson was part of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals’ Art Beat program, which ran from Oct. 12-15 to coincide with the council’s annual conference. Thirty artists from across the country volunteered to give workshops on everything from how to come up with songwriting ideas to how to play unusual instruments, like a washboard.
The four-year-old program, which came to Ottawa for the first time this year, connected artists, whose music ranges from bluegrass to jazz to hip-hop, with students in elementary schools, high schools and care facilities across the city.
Erin Barnhardt, the Art Beat coordinator, says the personal interaction with musicians was a great way to reach out to young people.
“It’s such a one-of-a-kind, organic program, “ she says. “It really changes each year to suit the needs of the community. We were able to get workshops for all the schools who applied.”
Art Beat held workshops with 29 different Ottawa schools and care centres.
Barnhardt says she was thrilled so many schools took part, as the workshops helped open up students’ imaginations.
The chance to expose her students’ minds to new music is what Elgin Street Public School teacher Cara Lipsett says inspired her to sign up her class.
“As soon as I saw it I was right in there,” she says. “If there is a chance for an artist to come in or songwriter or anybody to do with the arts, I grab it.”
Lipsett says Art Beat was a great, free way to expose her students to the arts and to new instruments and musicians..
“We just want them to experience different types of music to inspire them to continue later on,” she says. “For a lot of kids this age, music is one of the most important things in their lives. It helps them make sense of their world and helps them to express themselves creatively.”
Another artist who participated in Art Beat, Mushfiq Hashimi, a local Ottawa musician who runs the Mushfiq Arts Company, says the kids’ eagerness to learn a new kind of music amazed him.
“It was such a great experience for me as a teacher when I saw two children sing who had never thought about singing,” he says.
Hashimi taught the students of Manor Park Public School at 100 Braemar St. two Indian classical music songs in six hours of workshops, which the students performed at the conference’s gala dinner.
Hashimi says Art Beat was part of a way to encourage the protection of music in local schools.
“Music should be a central part of education like math,” he says. “It’s a key part of the program, but unfortunately the government is always cutting back its funding.”
“Music and art helps give the kids the key to their characters,” he says, adding music teaches children about teamwork.
As for the children of Elgin Street Elementary School, they say their time with the banjo has made them look at a new instrument.
Sam Murray, 11, says he loved the unusual lesson and the upbeat sound of the banjo. He might even try her hand at the new instrument he heard in class.
“I might want to learn to play the banjo at sometime in my life,” he says. “It was a pretty good instrument.”
His classmate, Ryann Nolan, 11, says she loved talking to Luedecke about his life as a songwriter, but is going to hold off on buying a banjo for now.
“For now I’m going to stick to my recorder,” she says.