Launched in 2022, Melody Matters started as something very personal. I never thought about how my music affected others. Really, I sang for my own pleasure – humming a Carnatic (Indian classical music) tune or testing out my opera skills in the bathroom. It was my grandfather's 80th birthday when I performed a two-hour Carnatic music concert in India, and I saw just how meaningful music was. My grandmother, who often kept to herself and revelled only in telling us stories of her past, teared up. And it wasn't just the concert; she had recordings of my practice songs stored on her phone which she played around the house at every opportunity. She said music gave her joy and made her live in the present.
I realised there were so many others like her: people who not only appreciated music but also longed for something that broke the monotonous routine of life. That is how the seeds of Melody Matters were sown. The project also had the added bonus of getting diverse students who loved singing together to give back to the communities they lived in.
Melody Matters in action
Each Friday, we meet for one hour after school. Usually, we'll rehearse five or six songs that we plan to sing in an upcoming performance. From over a hundred performances to date (not only at my school but also at other schools across the UK), songs have ranged from ‘Mamma Mia’ to ‘Sweet Caroline’ or ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’
In addition to singing, some students in Melody Matters choose to take on leadership roles to help expand the initiative. Setting up group rehearsals, sorting out repertoire, and contacting care homes, onboarding other schools, preparing timetables, and marketing the initiative on Instagram are some of the ways students can get involved beyond the singing. In fact, I used to dedicate an hour after school before starting my homework, sending out numerous emails, updating the website, and making sure I posted at least one thing on Instagram. My vision is to establish Melody Matters as an initiative that will live long after I or any of the founding members leave school.
When we first started, Melody Matters was just five students and a laptop playing karaoke backing-tracks. Within five months we had 20 students – basses, sopranos, altos, a pianist, and people working on social media and fundraising. Now, we are even working on coding features for the website that will allow schools around the UK to automatically be paired up with a care home.
With every performance, the response from the elderly residents has made me realise why I started Melody Matters in the first place. They perk up and sing along as they hear a song they recognise, write us handwritten cards thanking us, and even give us sweets sometimes (a crowd favourite!). We all feel so good after finishing each performance. It is less about what we sing or how we sing. Instead, we catch ourselves talking about the atmosphere, the warmth, the smiles we see, and even the tapping of feet to some of our more catchy numbers.
The repertoire we sing is up to us and what we love. It can even be something we've been learning in a school choir. My advice is: as long as you find a few friends who love to sing, this is an initiative you will gain so much from.
Calling all students!
If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, getting involved is easy. Contact melodymattersorg@gmail.com to express your interest as a school. We'll find an interested care home within a 20-minute or less walking distance of your school and set up a time that works for both the students and the care home. All you have to do is gather a group of students who are interested in taking part. Once you've grouped and rehearsed around five songs, you'll be set for your first 30-minute performance. Most schools tend to use a speaker and backing-track for this, but if you have a keyboard, that's even better!
tarabhamre.wixsite.com/melodymatters
If you are a student at school or college and would like to share your experience of music-making or views on music education, please write initially to the editor: phil.croydon@markallengroup.com. Music Teacher magazine will pay £50 for each article published.
