Live Music Now musicians are selected through a careful process of recruitment and trained to work effectively and sensitively in the contexts and settings that we operate in.
Stage 1 – Pipeline
- Identify potential musicians through open recruitment.
- Develop partnerships with organisations across the music sector to reach new musicians.
- Partner with specialist organisations to create bespoke partnership placements for musicians who experience barriers to their professional success.
- Currently focused on recruiting Disabled musicians and those with non-formal routes into the profession.
Stage 2 – Recruitment
- Open Recruitment: Recruitment workshops take place nationally each year across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Workshops aim to offer value to all musicians participating regardless of whether or not they join our workforce.
- Partnership Placements: Recruitment via partner placements
- Referral/decline: Referrals to other sector organisations that might be more appropriate to musicians’ career progression
Stage 3 – Induction & Basic Training
- Induction: a practical overview of our audiences, the common values underpinning the breadth of our work, presentation skills.
- Introduction to specific audiences with training sessions on working with children & young people with additional needs, older people in care and in hospital and healthcare settings.
- Introduction to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness for Life to ensure resilience and self-care is built into musicians’ practice from the outset.
Stage 4 – Probationary work deployment
- Participatory Concerts based on own repertoire, with mentor support.
- Placement projects with wrap-around support.
- Introduced to basics of reflective practice.
- Probation Period Ends – retain, refer or exit
Stage 5 – Level 1 Training and deployment
- Continuing to build confidence and skills to deliver sessions and concerts
- Working alongside Lead Musicians in creative music projects
- Use of reflective practice journals
- Inspire and Live Music in Care Level 1 training completed
Stage 6 – Level 2
- Our ambition is that almost all musicians will reach Stage 6 with Live Music Now.
- Developing skills to lead extended creative projects (6-12 weeks) with mentor support.
- Inspire and Live Music in Care Level 2 training completed
- Competent in reflective practice
- Work-offer specific training (ie. collaborative songwriting with
Stage 7 – Level 3 Fellowship
- Confident and skilled inclusive music leaders, including use of Sounds of Intent Framework, assistive technology, and creative music-making; supporting workforces to use music in their professions.
- Year-long (or longer) residencies or Embedded in Place musicians.
- Lead musicians supporting Level 1 trainees.
- Fluent in reflective practice and able to support with wider/longer-term evaluation and strategic outcomes.
- Contextual understanding of sector landscape and the environments in which musicians are working.
Stage 8 – Mentoring & Training
- Formalised partnership with Live Music Now to train and mentor musicians across Levels 1-3
- Leading evaluation projects and supporting reflective practice for all musicians
- Supporting emotional and professional resilience in others
- Leading contextual understanding of sector landscape and the environments musicians are working in
- Creative project development or research programme development
- Embedded in Place or National project lead.