The Charitable Guitar Workshop

A community based project to help people make and play their own guitars and ukuleles. It's primarily for people with special needs, but also for members of the local community who feel they can offer mutual well-being through making and playing guitars and ukeleles.  We cater for males and females, from young adults, to pensioners. The Nine Acre Drop-In began more than 10 years ago as a Drop-In for the mutual support of, & run by people who have experienced mental ill health. We meet on a Tuesday Morning between 10.30-12.30 occupying ourselves with arts & crafts activities & informal socialising. We do not have any regular funding, so we rely on donations & applying to organisations like yours for grants. In recent years we have begun customising & assembling Guitars & Ukuleles from kits. To help with integrating our members within the community we have had local residents who are either retired or unemployed join us & help to make the guitars & ukuleles. When the instruments are finished those who can play help those who can't to play & jam with each other. We have a wide range of members people who have had mental illness or special needs, ages 20-80, male & female, semi- professional musicians to complete novices.The customising & personalising of the guitars includes, carving the bodies in light relief, making & engraving pickguards & cover plates, painting, & embellishing with Tibetan silver charms, to produce a one of a kind instrument, for each person.The idea behind The Charitable Guitar Workshop is that a person who has suffered from a mental illness & has had their mental health stabilised can have a lot of time on their own. If they become bored then they can fall into the same rut that led them to become ill in the first place. Having too much time on their hands can also be a problem for retired people. If they have a guitar or ukulele, it will give them something to occupy their time playing. When made, they can practice playing during the week what they were shown on the previous Tuesday.

West Midlands | Birmingham