YOUNG musicians have started writing music that they will take to the streets of Durham at the weekend.

A three-day school began yesterday in Durham Town Hall for players aged eight to 18.

They will form the Free Range Music Carnival Scratch Band that will play their own compositions as they parade through the city on Saturday.

Musically, they started from scratch, working up the sounds at the summer school, sponsored by the Youth Music Foundation.

Robert Guest, of Durham Arts, said it was a "fantastic way'' for young musicians to work in a team and learn the journey a song makes "from the page to the stage''.

The parade on Saturday will begin at 10.30am from Market Place and pass through the Prince Bishops and Milburngate shopping centres.