This paper discusses new empirical evidence for a positive relationship between musical learning and desistance from crime. On investigating the learning processes occurring within a Javanese gamelan project in a young offender's institution, parallels between musical learning processes and the development of certain attributes linked to desistance from crime emerged. The desistance paradigm centres on changing a criminal identity through the development of social and personal attributes, which resonate with recent research on the transformative effects of music and how musical identity can be changed positively through active and successful music-making. The research was carried out in a UK Young Offender's Institution involving 19 young people between the ages of 18 and 24 over a period of eight weeks. Participant observation was used as the main research tool. This paper presents two participant stories to illustrate the personal development and the social development that can be gained as a result of the project. These are discussed in the context of successful musical learning and the suggestion is made that musical learning and developing the attributes essential for inspiring desistance from crime arise from shared learning processes.
The Good Vibrations Javanese gamelan projectGood Vibrations is a charity that works with prisons, young offenders' institutions, secure hospitals and ex-offenders in the community to develop life and work skills (www.goodvibrations.org.uk). A Good Vibrations project typically lasts for one week, offering an intensive musical experience for between 15 and 20 people. During the project, participants engage in creative activities, through improvisation and composition, as well as performance activities related to learning traditional Javanese gamelan pieces and exploring dance, puppetry and wider Javanese culture. The Good Vibrations curriculum is carefully designed so that participants gradually build their music-making skills through the week, whilst fostering social development through team-building and group-work activities. A typical Good Vibrations module plan is shown in Appendix 1. As the week progresses, the module plan becomes more flexible to allow for choice as to what the participants work on and participants are fully involved in the decisions made during the week as to the content of the sessions. *