We have been offering three monthly sessions on “Keeping mentally well”, “ Preventing Injury” and “Vocal Health” since March. These have been very well attended online and we plan to continue to provide these for free in to 2021.
BAPAM sent an evaluation form to the attendees after each webinar to ask participants what they found most useful. Of the 75 responses received, 100% would recommend these sessions. The following quotes outline what participants found most useful.
Evaluation from attendees
Recognising that there are actually places to go when faced with mental health difficulties within the music industry.
The techniques I learnt as well as learning why these problems arise should hopefully help me to combat and overcome the issues.
Overview of what is available via BAPAM re musician’s mental health and a clear and gentle demonstration of someone who understands musicians and who walks her talk
Lots of new vocal and stress relieving exercises!
The reminders of my worth/’value’ and the practical tips in improving a creative life.
Inspiring & informative, engaging, relevant. Encouraging to adopt the lifestyle/approach needed for longevity as a performer.
Learning about vocal tension, how common it is and ways of addressing it
I didn’t know BAPAM and I think it’s essential for any musician. Techniques to scale up or down ‘fizziness’ (adrenaline) before/after performances. Cool down techniques.
Prevention of problems in the first place through warm-ups, cooldowns and general self-care. And what you can do if you do get a problem. It was all brilliant.
Professional guidance in an area not talked much about between musicians that I know
All the content has incredible value.
EVERYTHING! Clear explanations supported by a powerpoint presentation. Lots of time given to answer questions in a clear and concise manner.
Book on to our next season of training, as new Autumn dates are released.
Community Drop-In
In addition, BAPAM worked with Dr Pippa Wheble to put on a weekly hour-long Community Drop-in over 14 weeks at which there were 170 attendances. We booked guest speakers to share their expertise alongside Pippa. It was a space for artists who wanted to develop healthy practice, to share their progress with the healthy practice diary and learn new skills. The online community aimed to enable artists to collaborate and share in an open and safe way, their experience of the lockdown & what it has meant to them. A summary of content is below:
- Impact of the lockdown
- Vipassana Meditation.
- Conscious breathing practices for awareness, self-regulation and intention.
- Pilates.
- Performance Anxiety
- Mental practice skills
- Stretching for the thoracic spine and hip flexors.
- Creativity and motivation
- Vocal health
- Posture
- Return to work risk assessment,
- Alexander Technique
- Creative Minds and Mental Health
Feedback from the group demonstrated that participants had been able to embed healthy practice in their daily routine and were very positive about being able to continue this. We have picked out a quote from one of our participants which brought home to us the value of this work, and a new set of sessions will start in November
“This felt like a gift when the world was ending”