Hello and welcome, here's a little background information.
I'm an NHS Professional (RMN), qualifying at Keele University in 2002. I am a Solution focused practitioner as well as a Social Media Officer for the UK Association of Solution Focused Practice (UKASFP). I have previously been the National Development Officer for the same Association.
My main passions in life are my family and helping individuals, organisations and communities to engage more effectively with each other using a variety of methods. These include facilitating group sessions, developing communities of interest and developing online communities.
I have experience in designing and developing online communities using web design, social media and social networking tools, for the past 6 years. My work has involved building websites for the NHS, individuals, GP's, Arts companies and social reporters.
You can follow my community related blog here
I also organise and perform in experimental sounds and visual installations and have been running a regular event called the bITjAM. The intention with the bITjAM was to bring together experienced and emerging artists in a non profit collective. The bITjAM has been successful at this aim and continues to grow as a community of practice.
I manage my success in these fields based on the ideas from Solution Focused practice which has 3 simple elements that guides my practice:
* If it works do more of it
* If it doesn't work do something else
* If it isn't broken don't fix it
You can find me on twitter as well as facebook, so just look me up and have a chat about how I could be useful to you or your company!
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Sound installations
The bITjAM:
Just spend a few minutes and imagine a piece of music or a sound, let that music just develop in your mind, don’t try to force it this way or that just let it drift along in your awareness.
You may at times drift away from the sounds however just gently and respectfully bring your mind back to the music.
Just spend a few minutes and imagine a piece of music or a sound, let that music just develop in your mind, don’t try to force it this way or that just let it drift along in your awareness.
You may at times drift away from the sounds however just gently and respectfully bring your mind back to the music.
After a short while take a few notes describing what you have just heard, how loud was it, how fast was it, was the music gentle, heavy, relaxing or assertive.
Try to get as much detail as you can including how you felt while listening, what it reminded you of, what instruments could you hear.
Try to get as much detail as you can including how you felt while listening, what it reminded you of, what instruments could you hear.
What we’d like you to do is share this description with the bitjam and sit back while this music is recreated filtered through the beauty of language, serendipity and chance.
This is your music, let us generate your music.
We have regular events each month at The Rigger Newcastle under Lyme as well as regular events lined up in Stoke On Trent.
We aim to provide free gigs and music at these events.
We are also involved in many corporate events generating the music and visuals you want.
Each set is improvised depending on the occasion, in some smaller gigs the minimal set up makes use of ableton, reaktor and reason on the laptop, however in the long playing sets there's much more hardware involved and live sequencing going on.
The bITjAM incorporates freeform visuals as well as electronic music and welcomes open minded artists, poets, medias, promoters who will give their time freely for the non-profit events.
We are also involved in many corporate events generating the music and visuals you want.
Each set is improvised depending on the occasion, in some smaller gigs the minimal set up makes use of ableton, reaktor and reason on the laptop, however in the long playing sets there's much more hardware involved and live sequencing going on.
The bITjAM incorporates freeform visuals as well as electronic music and welcomes open minded artists, poets, medias, promoters who will give their time freely for the non-profit events.
Rumours about Angels
There I was just stumbling about the net passing a few precious moments when I came across this website.
It's quite an experimental piece of artwork and web design depicting the birth process of an angel. The soundtrack is also experimental and a little dark at times.
I can say now that I spent those few precious moments well!
It's quite an experimental piece of artwork and web design depicting the birth process of an angel. The soundtrack is also experimental and a little dark at times.
I can say now that I spent those few precious moments well!
The work of John Cage
The work of musician John cage and the similarities to SF approaches.
Those who know my interests outside of my workplace know I'm involved in performing, producing and promoting experimental (electronic) music. As with any interests/hobbies there's a certain amount of research and learning curves to climb, the same applies to my interests. What I have learnt over the years is that one cannot simply switch from one frame of thinking to another (work and pleasure), nor should we and as many people who use Solution Focused Approaches in their working lives have found, the approach useful in other areas of their lives. Not only finding the approach useful but also noticing similarities with SFA's and artforms and ways of live (i.e Zen). I have been 'studying' the history and techniques of experimental and improvised music and have witnessed striking similarities.
Here's a quote..The "experiment" in this case is not whether a piece succeeds or fails, but is in the fact that the outcome of the piece is uncertain or unforeseeable (Cage 1961, 13)
Straight away we have the the acceptance of uncertainty, I believe this acceptance helps the SFA to be available to all with no exclusions. Exclusions are mainly based on the predictability of success or failure of the models used. Experimental music has huge potential for creativity, both from the performer as well as the listener, the listener has therefore an active part in the performance, not performed to but performed with.
John cage describes music as a combination of sound and silence, silence therefore plays a hugely important role in the art similar to the importance of silence within conversations, although silence maybe the absence of music, there are many powerful things happening during the silence.
Also much of John Cage's work was based on chance (aleatory) rather than design (known to flip a coin to determine choices), allowing a freeform direction to the music. There was also the concept fluxus, whereby the artists are allowed to be creative and not to be governed by models and conventions.
The art of improvisation is an important aspect both of SFA's and experimental music, the need to listen, react, add, augment and add silence (do nothing) all contribute to the performance. Many great experimental artists have an understanding of conventions however choose not to be restrained by them, equally so, musicians who have not received musical training can also perform powerful pieces of art as long as they allow the listener to be active in the performance.
I sometimes wonder why so many SF practitioners have such artistic abilities, poets, musicians, painters etc, is there something intrinsic with the ability to be creative ?
Those who know my interests outside of my workplace know I'm involved in performing, producing and promoting experimental (electronic) music. As with any interests/hobbies there's a certain amount of research and learning curves to climb, the same applies to my interests. What I have learnt over the years is that one cannot simply switch from one frame of thinking to another (work and pleasure), nor should we and as many people who use Solution Focused Approaches in their working lives have found, the approach useful in other areas of their lives. Not only finding the approach useful but also noticing similarities with SFA's and artforms and ways of live (i.e Zen). I have been 'studying' the history and techniques of experimental and improvised music and have witnessed striking similarities.
Here's a quote..The "experiment" in this case is not whether a piece succeeds or fails, but is in the fact that the outcome of the piece is uncertain or unforeseeable (Cage 1961, 13)
Straight away we have the the acceptance of uncertainty, I believe this acceptance helps the SFA to be available to all with no exclusions. Exclusions are mainly based on the predictability of success or failure of the models used. Experimental music has huge potential for creativity, both from the performer as well as the listener, the listener has therefore an active part in the performance, not performed to but performed with.
John cage describes music as a combination of sound and silence, silence therefore plays a hugely important role in the art similar to the importance of silence within conversations, although silence maybe the absence of music, there are many powerful things happening during the silence.
Also much of John Cage's work was based on chance (aleatory) rather than design (known to flip a coin to determine choices), allowing a freeform direction to the music. There was also the concept fluxus, whereby the artists are allowed to be creative and not to be governed by models and conventions.
The art of improvisation is an important aspect both of SFA's and experimental music, the need to listen, react, add, augment and add silence (do nothing) all contribute to the performance. Many great experimental artists have an understanding of conventions however choose not to be restrained by them, equally so, musicians who have not received musical training can also perform powerful pieces of art as long as they allow the listener to be active in the performance.
I sometimes wonder why so many SF practitioners have such artistic abilities, poets, musicians, painters etc, is there something intrinsic with the ability to be creative ?
