Sound Therapy

In case you’re wondering if the Magic Cake is a cake you can eat without adding to your hips - sadly, no. It’s the name given to a day of interactive activities on Saturday, June 7th at Mountfield Village Hall. Tom from the Music Gym will be working with MJM-Access to provide fun, interactive installations, designed for everybody to enjoy and to show how in this age of rapid technological growth people with disabilities need no longer be excluded.

Besides The Magic Cake you can try out “The Four Stones”, “The Speaking Room”, “Mountfield Hall of Mirrors” and “21st century Music and Movement”.  MJM Access will also be running two short 45-minute workshops exploring how disability affects people’s lives at 1.30 and again at 3. Continue reading ‘The Magic Cake - interactive day for people with disabilities’

It’s time to say thank you again to our volunteers, like Alexa (on the left in the photo) who add so much to the experience of Music Gym members.

Because the Music Gym is aimed at people with profound disabilities the members need their support staff in the hall at all times. It can be a great opportunity for them to have fun together and for the staff member to see someone do something they hadn’t thought possible. Continue reading ‘Volunteering at the Music Gym in Hastings’

                                                              A huge thank you to every person on this photo, taken at the Plugged In concert at Barton Court Grammar School in Canterbury earlier this year. The concert, featuring bands from the school,  was organised by the Year 10 Charity Committee, who approached us having seen the BBC film about the Music Gym and the way it benefits people with profound disabilities in East Susssex and Kent.

This was the upshot of the concert - Tom being presented with a cheque for £760 last Friday after he’d been to the school to demonstrate how we use some of the equipment in the Music Gym.

Thank you again.

If you’d like to see the film that inspired these students to put on a concert for the Music Gym please click here.

If you’d like more information about sending someone to the Music Gym please call us on 01424 444322 or email us.

This is Twilight - one of the stunning works of digital artist, Sunny Chana, that we’re projecting in the Music Gym in Hastings.

Sunny, who’s based in Birmingham, contacted us about displaying his work in the Music Gym. As we set up and dismantle the equipment each week that wasn’t feasible so we offered instead to use the images IN the Music Gym. They can be seen on the wall adjoining the “chill-out” gazebo where members can relax, watching the images and changing them as they wish with the use of switches and sensors. Continue reading ‘Sunny Chana’s work on display in the Music Gym’

The Rooms, cafe and bar in Western Road St. Leonards is offering discounts to Music Gym members during April. We were delighted as at the Music Gym we aim to offer new experiences for people with profound disabilities in East Sussex and we felt a visit to the Rooms would also offer a new experience for many members. Continue reading ‘The Rooms welcomes Music Gym members’

We’re learning at the Music Gym all the time. One thing we’ve learned is how much people love the simple things - inflatables to hit one another with, balls to throw to each other - and our members are no exception.

Although the Music Gym is designed to engage people with profound disabilities through the use of music, sound technology and images, the important element is the engaging and if that comes about through throwing and catching a ball then all well and good. Continue reading ‘A load of balls’

Good news - the Swanfest will be happening again this year, at the beautiful Swan pub in Lamberhurst. The provisional date is Saturday July 26th and there’s the possibility of a camp site nearby for people who don’t want to drive home afterwards.

It’s organised by Four Seasons Events and last year Gez had some wonderful musicians playing there. He even managed to arrange for the sun to shine which was quite an achievement in a summer when events everywhere were being washed away.

Proceeds go to the Music Gym, the activity in Hastings for people with profound disabilities.

 If you want to be kept up to date with what’s happening there’s a Swanfest group on facebook and more details will appear here as we have them. There’s also a whole gallery of photos at www.myspace.com/fourseasonsevents

We’ll be looking for volunteers to help in a variety of ways including collecting tickets and flipping burgers. If you’d like to be involved please give us a call on 01424 444322 or email us or fill in the contact form.

There have been two developments this past week in the groups that can use the Music Gym.

First, it’s been adopted by the training company JamBerry Ltd. for corporate team-building. This can be for including everyone in making music, even those who really believe they can’t play a note, or for tailor made modules such as Find That Song - working together to locate a certain piece of music in a completely empty room. Continue reading ‘The Music Gym more widely available’

We’re currently putting a team together to run, walk or hobble the Hastings Half-Marathon in support of the Music Gym facility for people with profound disabilities.

For anyone who doesn’t know about it, the race has been voted the best Half Marathon in Britain in the past. It’s a scenic, if gruelling route, and coming as it does in mid March it’s good training for the London marathon.

It’s organised by the local Lions who raise a lot of funds for local organisations. This year we’re encouraging anyone who’s undecided about entering, or anyone who’s entered but for no cause in particular, to consider running to raise money for the Music Gym. Continue reading ‘Run the Hastings Half Marathon to support the Music Gym’

 Before Christmas the Music Gym had a visit from Mark Knowles of the BBC. He stayed several hours, talked to members and support staff and thoroughly immersed himself in the spirit of the Music Gym. The film he made, although very short, reflects his interest and his understanding of what happens there.

If you didn’t see it when it was shown on South East Today it’s here