About us

Our mission is to inspire and motivate marginalised people with complex needs and give them the tools they need to help them realise their true potential and build more positive futures.

Our mission is to inspire and motivate marginalised people with complex needs and give them the tools they need to help them realise their true potential and build more positive futures.

Good Vibrations changes lives through communal music-making

We work with some of the most marginalised people in the UK, in prisons, secure hospitals and in the community. Our expert team of facilitators support participants to grow in confidence, deepen their communication and social skills, and develop more positive self-identities. They connect with their creativity and musicality, find community with others, and build a sense of hope for the future.

We are best known for using the Gamelan

a magnificent set of Indonesian gongs, metallophones and drums:

  • It’s new to most people so they all start at the same level
  • No previous musical experience is needed
  • The music is formed of complex layers, which encourages listening and non-verbal communication skill
  • Everyone’s contribution is equally important
  • It’s adaptable for all abilities so anyone can join in
  • It’s melodic, not just rhythmic, providing rich opportunities for musical development

We often include other art forms, such as shadow puppetry, dance and adapted technology. This allows us to create multi-sensory experiences that particularly engage young participants, and those with disabilities, sensory integration issues, and autism.

Why our approach works

Since 2003 we have built a reputation for excellence and for being effective working with very marginalised people who can find it hard to engage.

  • Facilitators are sensitive to individual needs and create safe, non-judgemental spaces to take creative risks in
  • Participants learn by doing and create their own music together
  • Social dynamics are explored through the safe lens of music, with a focus on shared responsibility and shared success
  • At the end of a project, participants perform in front of an audience which gives a great sense of pride
  • And receive a professionally-produced recording of their music to share with family and friends

Our approach is beautifully captured in a piece of research, entitled, Good Vibrations Facilitation: Creating Spaces for Dissonance and Harmonyby Dr Jennie Henley from the Royal College of Music.

You can read further independent academic research into our work at the Arts Evidence Library

Good Vibrations changes lives through communal music-making

We work with some of the most marginalised people in the UK, in prisons, secure hospitals and in the community. Our expert team of facilitators support participants to grow in confidence, deepen their communication and social skills, and develop more positive self-identities. They connect with their creativity and musicality, find community with others, and build a sense of hope for the future.

We are best known for using the Gamelan

a magnificent set of Indonesian gongs, metallophones and drums:

  It’s new to most people so they all start at the same level

  No previous musical experience is needed

  The music is formed of complex layers, which encourages listening and non-verbal communication skills

  Everyone’s contribution is equally important

  It’s adaptable for all abilities so anyone can join in

  It’s melodic, not just rhythmic, providing rich opportunities for musical development

We often include other art forms, such as shadow puppetry, dance and adapted technology. This allows us to create multi-sensory experiences that particularly engage young participants, and those with disabilities, sensory integration issues, and autism.

Why our approach works

Since 2003 we have built a reputation for excellence and for being effective working with very marginalised people who can find it hard to engage.

  Facilitators are sensitive to individual needs and create safe, non-judgemental space to take creative risks in

  Participants learn by doing and create their own music together

  Social dynamics are explored through the safe lens of music, with a focus is on shared responsibility and shared success

  At the end of a project, participants perform in front of an audience which gives a great sense of pride

  And receive a professionally-produced recording of their music to share with family and friends

Our approach is beautifully captured in a piece of research, entitled, Good Vibrations Facilitation: Creating Spaces for Dissonance and Harmonyby Dr Jennie Henley from the Royal College of Music.

You can read further independent academic research into our work at the Arts Evidence Library

Find out more

Get on our playthrough mailing list so you can experience a project performance yourself

Find out about our approach and impact

if gamelan is unfamiliar to you we have a selection of recordings from our projects

and why not?

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© 2024 Good Vibrations. All Rights Reserved. Good Vibrations is a registered charity in England and Wales (number 1126493) and in Scotland (number SC048860). Thank you for visiting.
Photography by Toby Madden/The Independent, Osman Deen/South London Press, Camilla Panufnik, Elspeth Van Der Hole, GDA Design, Gigi Chiying Lam, G. Bland, Alan Bryden, Mark Carlin, Rachel Cherry, Francois Boutemy, Andy Hollingworth, Rebaz Yassin, and Guy Smallman.

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