Darryl Smith, the founder of M.I.D.L., began mentoring music artists in 2003.  He’s not a musician or a singer although he’s a 3rd generation music professional.  He comes from a family of musicians and singers, and has seen the good, the bad and the ugly in the business of music. 

He has worked in the music industry as a Manager, Consultant, Agent, Promoter, Event Coordinator and Executive Producer.  Through it all he has held close to his heart, zeal to help those that aspire to succeed in music. He understands that you must have a firm foundation in life skills; he has never stopped in his pursuit to help inspiring music professionals.  M.I.D.L. is an extension of this helping hand that helps find Music Mentors for those that need mentoring and have a desire to improve their life through music and knowledge.

The following information is taken from the Youth Music Mentors Handbook for mentors.

What does Music/Life Mentoring mean?

Music mentoring is using music as a common ground and shared interest to develop a relationship with a mentee in order to support them in making significant changes in knowledge, behavior and thinking.  Through this process, the music mentors the individual in music/life knowledge in order to achieve on a music as well as social level.

Role of the Music Mentor

The role of the mentor is to find out what the mentee wants to achieve musically/life and try to assess what they may want/need to achieve socially. It is important that a mentor’s role is defined so that you are clear on your aims in the relationship. A mentor should;

·         Build a constructive relationship with a young person

·         Provide practical i/e signposting and emotional support to mentees

·         Commit to regular meetings with a mentee

·         Assist mentees in identifying and working towards achievable goals

·         Meet with the mentee on a regular basis to build their confidence and move towards agreed goals

·         Liaise with appropriate professionals alongside the program to monitor progress of mentee (ie…any referral agencies)

·         Regularly update project manager on progress of the mentoring relationship

·         Encourage mentees to explore routes to challenge themselves and develop potential

·         To attend any relevant training and supervision required

·         To be involved in reflecting on the mentoring process as part of monitoring and evaluation requirements

The mentoring relationship

Most mentoring relationships center around one common interest that is often activity based such as football or basketball; in this case it is music. While working with your mentee on the music knowledge it gives you an opportunity not only to increase their skills in these areas but it also gives you time to understand your mentee socially and help them develop in this way too.

What is the difference between a mentor and a friend?

Friendship or befriending is a process whereby two or more people come together with the aim of establishing and developing an informal and casual relationship.  Mentoring is a one-to-one, non-judgmental relationship in which an individual gives time to support and encourage another. This is typically developed at a time of transition in the mentee’s life, and lasts for a significant and sustained period of time.  The difference is that mentoring tends to focus more on goal-setting and is time limited work. Befriending is more likely to be ongoing and is not focused on goal-setting.

Core principles for Music Mentoring

·         A positive relationship should be established

·         There should be social and personal development

·         It should be linked to structured, progressive music knowledge

Stage one

The first 3-4 meetings with a mentee are crucial to developing a relationship.  Careful planning such as where and when the session will take place will have a dramatic impact on the success of the relationship. The mentor should prepare some open ended questions which will encourage the mentee to talk about their interests. Ensure that the mentor knows any relevant referral information about the young person and that the meeting takes place in a safe location. The mentee should be encouraged to explore what they hope to get out of the mentoring sessions and this should be documented.  Ground rules and boundaries should be established early on so that the mentee is clear. Please refer to the Music Mentors Code of Conduct.

Stage Two

Once a positive relationship has been established and goals identified it provides a framework against which to measure and review progress during the mentoring sessions. Remember that you are considering both musical and social development of the mentee. 

Stage Three

Planning for and ending the mentoring relationship is extremely important. The mentee should already have known that the mentoring would be time limited and when the final session would be taking place. If the ending is not planned well it can potentially undo all the good work that has been achieved. The final session should include a positive summary of what has been achieved together. It might be a good idea to celebrate the achievements in some way, such as a performance or showcase. Ensure that notes are captured and that the mentee has the chance to reflect on their development and learning.  It is important to have some ideas about where to signpost the mentee after their engagement based on their interests. Progression routes may be something that is considered early on in the setting of goals.