Inside the Jail
We have taught music inside the Worcester County House of Correction since 2018, in partnership with the Worcester County Sheriff's Office, and have worked with more than 150 people there.
Classes run weekly and include songwriting, music fundamentals on guitar, piano, and percussion, and beat making and production. Participants write original material and produce their own tracks. Each session ends with a concert for family, friends, and facility staff.
Sessions are structured so people can work at their own level and say what they mean. For many participants, writing and performing original music is the first thing inside that belongs to them.
How it Works
INCENTIVIZE. Participants want to keep their spot. Continued enrollment depends on conduct between sessions, which gives people a concrete reason to stay out of trouble and gives staff a lever that doesn't rely on discipline.
COLLABORATE. Music requires listening, dividing work, and making decisions as a group. Over a 12-week course, participants build original material together, practicing those habits every week.
ENGAGE. Classes are built for participation, not observation. People write, play, and produce rather than sit through instruction.
REHABILITATE. Songwriting gives participants a way to work through what happened and what comes next, in a form that is honest, structured, and theirs to keep.