An explosion of music is being reborn in Edinburgh.
Earlier this year, Ed Sheeran surprised a community centre in Edinburgh with a performance of his hit “Bad Habits,” joining the capital-based Tinderbox Collective. This vibrant community project creates new music with young people cutting across social and economic divides, and is set to release a new EP with the affiliated Tinderbox Orchestra, featuring local poet Hannah McCooke, a former manager at Craigmillar Library.
The current single, “Echoes of Creation,” was written in collaboration with McCooke, who drew inspiration from local activist Dr Helen Crummy, MBE, and her historic fight for equal access to the arts.
Reflecting on her role, McCooke said: “As a community librarian, my mission was to tackle poverty and scarcity in all its forms—intellectual or social. I never saw being a librarian as just slinging books. I wanted to do the best possible job for a community that needed a lot from me. There’s a statue of Helen outside the library – I know it sounds odd, but I’d sit and talk to the statue, thinking about how I could embody some of what she did for this community. Reading her book, Let The People Sing, I learned how she increased cultural and artistic access here during the 1970s and ’80s, even as the arts were pushed aside by the image Edinburgh wanted to project.”
The Tinderbox Collective’s work supports the ‘We Make Music’ Instrument Libraries initiative. McCooke said: “I’ve seen the power of this work at Craigmillar Library. We were creatively aligned, and when I mentioned my poetry background, we decided to write ‘Echoes of Creation.’ We also toured public libraries across the UK and Ireland. In every place, the mix of poetry and the orchestra brought something powerful and unique.”
Simple goal
The project’s goal is simple: to make musical instruments as accessible as books in public libraries. It especially aims to reach children and young people who might otherwise lack access to music-making and the sense of community it brings. “If you don’t have money, the world of classical or orchestral music is usually out of reach. We have free tuition in Scotland, which is rare and only started in 2021″. The partnership between Tinderbox and ‘We Make Music’ has created a valuable shift in Edinburgh’s public libraries, including Craigmillar, Drumbrae, Moredun, Muirhouse, and Wester Hailes, where instruments are now free at the point of access.
“There’s also a package of workshops and educational opportunities,” McCooke adds. “What drew me in was how meaningful this work is. Teenagers have a lot of anger, and I get it – if you know Edinburgh, the wealth disparity is huge. These kids see what others have and feel understandably angry. Making music gives them an incredible outlet – maybe they learn guitar, form a punk band, and scream into the abyss. That’s a lot better than some of the alternatives.”
Irvine Welsh
Local author Irvine Welsh, who used Muirhouse Library growing up, and former Heart of Midlothian chairwoman, Ann Budge, both hail from the West Pilton area. How important is it to amplify stories like theirs? “It’s crucial, but there also needs to be tangible ways for others to follow in their footsteps. We need to understand how they did it and create environments where creativity can flourish. Edinburgh is an inside-out city, with working-class areas pushed to the outskirts. There’s a lot of investment in youth work to challenge the lack of identity that separates the city centre from its outlying areas. Grassroots venues and libraries provide a vital ‘third space’ for poets and creatives to perform and the chance to work with a local tutor”.
Many parents “want security for their kids,” adds McCooke, “so they often steer them away from the arts- especially orchestral music, which can seem exclusive to the upper classes. That means we miss out on a diversity of voices that could make art more interesting. Investing in working-class talent isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s what keeps art vibrant and relevant”.
Ed Sheeran’s visit was a significant experience for many children and young people in Muirhouse. Visibility from musicians and creatives such as Sheeran is essential. “We’re lucky to have incredible advocates for this project. Ed Sheeran visited Muirhouse in January and performed with young musicians. He’s invested considerable time and money in supporting instrument libraries and campaigning for music education in schools”. Projects like these are helping to change the face of music and culture in Edinburgh’s communities, letting the people sing once more.
