Music Fund

Music Fund, a non-profit organisation has been collecting musical instruments and organising training on instrument repair in developing countries and conflict areas since 2005.

Music Fund is the result of work between Oxfam Solidarity Belgium, and the Ictus Ensemble.

The first collection of instruments took place in 2005, one year after the creation of Music Fund, and more than 500 instruments of all kinds were collected. Several months later, in December 2005, the first shipment was organised and the instruments were transported to Palestine and Israel. This operation was a huge success, following which it was decided to do it again, this time to Congo (Kinshasa) and Mozambique (Maputo).

Some training is provided locally, within the partner schools, through training sessions or workshops. Some students obtain a grant and are then sent for a lengthy period in a specialised school, where they follow an internship in the workshops of experts affiliated with Music Fund in Europe.

References

Music

Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound and silence. The common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics (loudness and softness), and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture (which are sometimes termed the "color" of a musical sound). Different styles or types of music may emphasize, de-emphasize or omit some of these elements. Music is performed with a vast range of instruments and with vocal techniques ranging from singing to rapping, and there are solely instrumental pieces, solely vocal pieces and pieces that combine singing and instruments. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike; "art of the Muses"). In its most general form, the activities describing music as an art form include the production of works of music (songs, tunes, symphonies, and so on), the criticism of music, the study of the history of music, and the aesthetic examination of music. Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "the harmony of the spheres" and "it is music to my ears" point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, only sound."