Scores Of People, a brand new project by Cornwall-based arts organisation Moogie Wonderland, aims to get children and young people creating, sharing and performing graphic scores.

Rocks by Alice Mahoney

In a graphic score, symbols, pictures and colours give clues about the music. They can be clues about pitch, speed, time, structure, style of playing, feeling, or anything the composer wants to get across. The scores can take the form of anything from drawings, text, collages and paintings to photographs, animations or even sculptures.

An extension of the acclaimed co:noise participatory experimental music project, and funded by Arts Council England, Scores Of People invites participants to create, share and perform their own scores that reflect their thoughts and the world around them – be that from a personal perspective, or as a response to current global issues such as the climate emergency or the Black Lives Matter movement. A number of artists — among them six who are learning disabled — are on hand to provide inspiration, ideas and online tutorials, including Rhys Edwards (Gwenno, OND), Matt Ashdown (Mildred Maude), Sarah Gatter, Alice Mahoney (Disco Rococo), SJ Blackmore (Disco Rococo), Martin Pease (Hockeysmith), Elizabeth Haven, Eddie Callis, Rory Bray Harper, Kate Perry, Kyle Coleman and Oliver Goulding.

“Graphic scores can help to remove barriers for anyone who might find it difficult to read traditional notation, whether due to cost of lessons, or due to learning styles”, says Moogie Wonderland director Matt Ashdown. “Composing music like this means that many young people can express ideas in their preferred way.”

Untitled 1 by Oliver Goulding

It’s easy to get involved – simply visit moogiewonderland.co.uk and upload a score, or post it on Instagram using the #ScoresOfPeople hashtag and tagging @MoogieWonderland.

Anyone can have a go at playing the scores – they don’t even need their own instruments, and can use everyday objects or visit the Build Your Own Instrument tutorials on moogiewonderland.co.uk for ideas on how to make affordable instruments. They can play their own score, or perform someone else’s – browse the #ScoresOfPeople hashtag on Instagram, or look on the website.

Anyone who makes a recording of their own graphic score is encouraged to upload it to the BBC Introducing website, mentioning that it is part of the #ScoresOfPeople project.