'Alive, brave and free. That's what music means to me': Celebrating the diverse voices of a children's hospice community through collaborative songwriting.

Music & Me was a large-scale collaborative songwriting project designed to celebrate the voices of babies, children and young people, families, staff and volunteers from Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS). Cross-disciplinary in nature (music therapy and community music) and with inclusive and rights-based approaches at the heart of the project, Music & Me was designed to be influenced by, and representative of, everyone who took part. This chapter will explore the ways in which the project provided a platform for authentic collaboration between the wide range of participants (including the facilitators). In doing so, it will consider the meaning of genuine ‘voice’ and the use of music as a means of expression and connection for children with life-shortening conditions and those who support them.