Music Teacher - August 2014

AUGUST 2014 MUSICTEACHERMAGAZINE.CO.UK

MONTHLY £4.95

Plastic & Woodwind Your full Your full guide guide to plastic instruments Single reeds: picking the best for your students Double reeds: should you make your own? Good in theory? TCL vs ABRSM Mind and Body Holistic piano technique Orchestral ‘takeov ‘ takeover’ er’ Scottish students run the RSNO for a day PLUS IDEAS BANK MAKING MUSIC’S PEER-TO-PEER PROGRAMME »

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Vol. Vo l.93 93 No. No.8 8

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Editor Thomas Lydon News Editor Miriam Levenson Resources Editor David Kettle Technology Editor Tim Hallas Head of Design & Production Beck Ward Murphy Designer Hal Bannister

CONTENTS

Production Controller Gordon Wallis Head of Sales Amy Driscoll Advertising Executive Chris Moon-Little Marketing Manager FrancesInnes-Hopkins Managing Director Ciaran Morton Publisher Derek B Smith Printed By Advent Colour Ltd, 19 East Portway Industrial Estate Andover, Hampshire SP10 3LU Distributed by Comag Specialist Division T 01895 433800 Produced by Rhinegold Publishing Ltd, 20 Rugby Street, London WC1N 3QZ Advertising T 020 7333 1719 F 020 7333 1736

5 EDITORIAL

FEATURES

ONLINE RESOURCES

6 LETTERS

PLASTIC AND WOODWIND

Available online at musicteachermagazine.co.uk

16 PL PLASTIC ASTIC FANTASTIC FANTASTIC

7 NEWS

Richard Llewell Llewellyn yn surveys surveys the the synthetic instrument field

13 DIARY

CPD, opportunities and gigs 14 Q&A

Steve Sammut, founder of the Rock and and Pop Pop Foundation Foundation 38 IDEAS BANK

Karen Marsh Marshall all edits edits a toolkit of fresh teachin teachingg ideas ideas from around the UK 54 LUNCH BREAK

Your monthly helping of musical puzzles

Editorial E music.teac music.teacher@rhinegold. [email protected] co.uk

musicteachermagazine.co.uk gazine.co.uk W musicteacherma Music Teacher Subscriptions T 0844 249 0226 T +44 (0) 1795 592 803 (overseas) E musicteacher [email protected] @servicehelpline.co.uk o.uk © Rhinegold Publishing Ltd 2014

Our oboe and bassoon correspondents discuss reedmaking and maintenance 25 BECOME A SINGLE-REED

GURU Reed expert expert Stuart Jame Jamess gives gives us a crash-course 49 OBOE RESOURCES

Geoff Coates gives his product recommendations

58 WORKING WEEK

St Ives Preparatory School choral trainer Rachel Musgrove

Production T 020 7333 1721 F 020 7333 1736

T 07785 613 145

20 DOUBLE REEDS

44

29 GOOD IN THEORY?

Steven Berryman compares and contrasts the ABRSM and TCL courses

This month: » Samba Samba » GCSE GCSE composition composition:: introducing students to harmony and phrase structure » Edexcel Edexcel A2: ‘Contin ‘Continuity uity and Change’ set works 2015, part 2 – Schumann, Schumann, Tippett, Armstrong and Cage Cage 44 PRODUCTS AND REVIEWS

This month: » Turns Turns out out Satie’s Satie’s surreal texts qualify as ‘ Gesamtkunstwerk Gesamtkunstwerk’ » Odyssey Odyssey Premier Premieree saxophones saxophones impress Paul Saunders (mostly) » The The Musical Musical Futures app isis still still awesome

32 USE YOUR BODY

Pianist Harriet Power argues Pianist that finger-centric traditions restrict enjoyment all round 34 OUTREACH TO ORDER

The RSNO has developed an outstanding menu of outreach projects, but they they come at a price 37 PEER TO PEER

Music Mark sets out its stall Music Teacher is interested in articles on all aspects of music education; if you wish to submit one please contact the editor. We reserve the right to edit material for publication. The presence of advertisements in Music Teacher does not imply endorsement. Music Teacher tries to avoid inaccuracies; if readers believe an error has been made they should contact the editor before taking any other action.

29 34 AUGUST 2014 |

MUSIC TEACHER

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137 years of internationally respected music exams

New music syllabuses and publications available now New syllabuses for piano, woodwind, jazz woodwind, electronic keyboard, brass and singing are available now. A range of exciting new supporting publications are also available.

Why Trinity? Our music exams offer the choice and flexibility to allow candidates to play to their strengths, enabling them to gain recognition for their own unique skills as performers. ◗ Our approach to assessment — through our exams we:

examine real musical skills specific to each instrument or voice include options for candidates to improvise and perform original compositions to express their individuality offer precise and specific feedback through a diagnostic mark scheme ◗ Choice and quality of repertoire — we work with a wide range of specialist composers, teachers and musicians to develop varied and diverse repertoire •

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internationally recognised and accredited by education authorities around the world ◗ Our teacher support — we hold events all over the world and offer free teaching resources,

articles, forums and more through our online learning platform ◗ Our examiners — our exams are assessed by a panel of friendly examiners who are rigorously

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» write Music Teacher magazine, Rhinegold Publishing Ltd, Rhinegold House, 20 Rugby Street, London WC1N 3QZ » email [email protected] » tweet @musicteachermag

MT EDITORIAL

New faces So, Michael Gove has gone, shuffled from the Department for Education by a prime minister with his eye on the 2015 election.

WILL NICKY MORGAN SLOW THE RATE OF CHANGE? WILL SHE LISTEN TO TEACHERS?

The ‘blob’, as Gove labelled the mystifyingly unappreciative education sector, has had the last laugh, as there’s little doubt that it was his low popularity that put Gove on tory strategist Lynton Crosby’s hit list. Taking his place will be Nicky Morgan, fresh from the Treasury. The Conservative MP for Loughborough, she retains her additional role as minister for women and has also taken on responsibility for ‘equalities’. So what do we know about her? Well, true to the coalition line, she voted to raise the cap on tuition fees and is a champion of academies and greater autonomy in general for schools. She voted for all of Gove’s education reforms. Her only major break from the Tory majority was when she voted against the same-sex marriage bill last year, leading to the issue being removed from her ‘equalities’ brief. What we really want to know is, firstly, will she give the profession a break? A slower rate of change would go down a storm, thanks. And secondly, will she listen to what teachers want? On an entirely different note, I recently had the honour of introducing the youth orchestras that performed at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on the last day of Music for Youth’s National Festival. It was a humbling experience, witnessing the fruits of so much hard work and enjoying the infectious camaraderie that springs from dedicated ensemble participation. Orchestras performing on the day included the Greater Gwent Youth Orchestra, a band that had its funding pulled last year but has clearly not let standards slip, producing a deeply affecting Gadfly Suite; The Wessex Youth Orchestra, which, if you shut your eyes, would seem to be entirely peopled by adult professionals; and the mighty Birmingham Schools’ Concert Orchestra, which gave an unforgettable performance of Arnold’s Peterloo Overture. Props to the Kirklees Youth Orchestra, two members of which flew back from Malaga especially for the performance (before flying back again), and the refreshingly original Bradford Youth Orchestra, which stopped off in Birmingham on its way back from a tour of the Rhineland. And all credit to Judith Webster and her team for delivering a multi-venue, five-day event involving more than 10,000 students without apparently breaking a sweat. It takes a special talent to get the date of your own event wrong, but in my defence, I did claim in last month’s editorial that my head was ‘spinning’ with the possibilities. The Music Education Expo 2015 takes place on 12 and 13 March next year, not February as stated. The Music Teacher Awards for Excellence 2015 take place on the evening of 12 March and nominations open on 4 August, see page 50 for full details.

Thomas Lydon editor

AMONG THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS Stuart James is a private teacher and saxophone sales manager at Howarth of London. He is currently lead alto in Britain’s Got Talent semifinalists the London Gay Big Band

musicteachermagazine.co.uk

Steven Berryman is a teacher and composer based in London. He completed his PhD in Composition at Cardiff University.

Jem Shuttleworth is the incoming general manager of Music Mark

AUGUST 2014 | MUSIC TEACHER

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MT LETTERS


HAVE YOUR SAY… TO LITERACY AND BEYOND

John Finney’s letter concerning ‘the whole musician’ raises some fascinating issues about the role of improvisation in instrumental learning and assessment. The practices of 18th-century Naples in which young conservatory musicians were taught through partimenti , involving improvisation over a ground bass, do indeed ‘offer an idea’ as John suggests. Through structured improvisation tasks, the orphans of Naples developed the ability to ‘speak the musical language’ of their time in a highly effective way – so I’m sure there’s something for us to learn from their experience! The analogy between music and language has been made many times, but the implications for instrumental teaching are profound. This is because it’s generally accepted that the acquisition of musical skills should follow the same path as that for language learning. In my view, music teaching which focuses primarily on ‘reading aloud’ skills, or the decoding of notation, can limit the development of a student’s aural ability, their ability to think in music and their development of essential

learning strategies. While music some of the most important literacy is important, teaching requirements for mastering the designed to develop ‘the whole musical language of the repertoire musician’ should not just address students will be working on. the students’ ability to reproduce So why isn’t improvisation a notated music in the most accurate part of ABRSM’s graded exams and musical way, but should syllabus? Well, it is! Improvisation is also integrate the development a core element within our Practical of aural and conceptual ways of Musicianship exams and is at the understanding how music works. very heart of the jazz syllabus, Improvisation plays an important where every component includes role in these areas and is, I believe, an element of improvisation. seriously undervalued by many Improvisation also forms part instrumental teachers. of Music Medals assessments Whilst many classical musicians for those at the early stages of rarely, if ever, need to improvise, their musical journey. We’re also gaining fluency in improvisation working on a new syllabus which has a wealth of benefits for all focuses very much on responding developing musicians. It facilitates spontaneously to musical an insight into how music is challenges. For example, there created through enabling the will be tests in extending a melody exploration of musical patterns over given chords, improvising and processes; it broadens the an accompaniment within a musical imagination; it increases given harmonic framework and the connection between the developing a motif to create a short musician and their instrument, piece in a tonal idiom. These tasks allowing them to ‘speak’ more will complement our theory and directly; and it improves aural practical exams. awareness. Developing creativity I’ve always advocated a through playing with music can holistic approach to teaching accelerate and enhance the and learning that integrates acquisition of interpretative skills musicianship with aural and increase sensitivity to the development, musical literacy, expressive aspects of musical technical skills, and stylistic communication. These are awareness. While ABRSM would never endorse a specific teaching method, we do aim to encourage teachers to develop ‘the whole musician’ – just like the teachers of those Neapolitan orphans! Nigel Scaife , ABRSM syllabus director PIANO-SHAPED CEILING?

BY HARRY

VENNING

6

MUSIC TEACHER | AUGUST 2014

Recently, I have attended an interview for a head of music post. The experience was very positive and I received excellent

feedback in all areas except one: the 40-minute piano task, consisting of both prepared and unprepared activities. My feedback went along these lines: ‘You’re an exceptional candidate, the strongest in all areas except as a pianist. We really need someone who is a first-study pianist with strong sight reading skills; if you were able to sight read to that standard, we would be having a very different conversation right now.’ This was, therefore, an immensely frustrating rejection, especially with the implication they would accept lower standards in all other areas for the pursuit of a first study pianist and the fact that it wasn’t mentioned in either the job description or person specification. I have never considered this to be a potential issue for my career progression and so I’m interested in knowing the ‘bigger picture’: how vital is it to be a high quality pianist as a head of music? Is it vital at all, or just a useful feature in a 21st-century music department? Is its importance conditional? Are there heads of music who are not degree-level pianists, and do not find this to be an issue? And, in all honesty, those for whom it is a problem? What would MT readers consider to be the fundamental attributes of a successful head of music? If this includes you being a first-study pianist, not just ‘piano skills’, does this suggest the post is the preserve of pianists and that other instrumentalists/vocalists need not apply? Name and address supplied musicteachermagazine.co.uk

MT NEWS » Edited by Miriam Levenson

CABINET RESHUFFLE: MICHAEL GOVE LEAVES EDUCATION David Cameron’s final cabinet reshuffle before the 2015 election has seen some significant changes. Michael Gove, who had served as education secretary since the 2010 general election, will Out: In: be taking up the position of Commons chief Michael Nicky whip. It’s a pay cut for Gove, but according to Gove Morgan a tweet posted by David Cameron, Gove will now have ‘an enhanced role in campaigning Treasury. Morgan will be retaining her women and doing broadcast media interviews.’ and equalities portfolio alongside her new Replacing Gove is Loughborough MP post as education secretary. Nicky Morgan, who was appointed just three Born in south London, Morgan attended months ago as nancial secretary to the Surbiton High School before studying law at

St Hugh’s College, Oxford. She was elected MP for Loughborough in 2010, appointed assistant whip in 2012 and became economic secretary to the Treasury in 2013. In his time as education secretary Michael Gove has been responsible for the biggest shake-up of England’s school system for decades. He has constantly faced opposition from teaching unions, and general secretary of the National Union of Teachers Christine Blower has stated that the union will be looking for a change of direction from Morgan. www.education.gov.uk

TCL ANNOUNCES FIRST CME CENTRES The first four centres to offer the Certificate for Music Educators (CME) have been approved by Trinity College London. CPD Centre West Midlands and Norfolk Music Service will be open to all learners, with the East Midlands Hub Consortium and the RAF Air Cadets Music Service initially operating as closed centres, offering workforce development programmes. The CME was created following a recommendation in the government’s 2011 National Plan for Music Education. It is designed to help music educators in all contexts and backgrounds to develop their skills, and is assessed practically in the working environment. The Trinity CME is a specially accredited version of the qualication, and any organisation equipped to offer a Trinity CME programme

can apply to become a centre. These organisations include music education hubs, music services, specialist subject associations and other training providers. Christopher Walters, Trinity’s head of qualications for music, commented: ‘It is exciting to see these rst four Trinity CME centres set sail – each with its own distinct offering, but all with the same ultimate purpose of developing and recognising music educators’ skills. These four centres will be the foundation stones of Trinity’s growing network of CME centres, and I look forward to seeing more centres approved over the coming year.’ Prospective learners should contact centres directly for more information. www.trinitycollege.co.uk

MUSIC FOR YOUTH NATIONAL FESTIVAL Central Birmingham rocked with the sounds and atmosphere of Music For Youth’s annual national festival last month. The festival showcased a packed programme of performances by young musicians from across the UK, with the full gamut of musical genres represented during the week. Festival-goers and local residents enjoyed pop-up performances across the city as well as performances on the main stages of Symphony Hall, the Town Hall and Birmingham musicteachermagazine.co.uk

Young musicians enjoy the MFY National Festival in Birmingham

Conservatoire. In the interactive zone at Symphony Hall young people were able to try out all kinds of different (and often brightlycoloured) instruments. Each day featured a new ‘performance by a

pro’ at the festival’s popular Ten Past Two concerts. The festival featured several different genres, and ensembles of all ages from across the UK took part in performances. There were steel pan bands,

choirs, dance bands, chamber groups and full orchestras, as well as rock, pop and urban ensembles. This year’s ‘festival fringe’ at Birmingham Conservatoire featured highenergy creative workshops and masterclasses. The week culminated with a ‘family experience’ on the nal day of the festival, presenting orchestras, jazz combos and big bands alongside a ‘Musical Mayhem’ family workshop – a tting way to end the ve-day celebration of music-making. www.mfy.org.uk AUGUST 2014 |

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MT NEWS

YAMAHA SCHOLARSHIPS: APPLY NOW Music students under the age of 25 who are from the UK and Republic of Ireland are invited to apply now for the chance to win places on the prestigious Yamaha Music Foundation Europe (YMFE) annual scholarship awards programme. Now in its 25th year, the scheme operates in 31 European countries and has provided over 850 scholarships to deserving candidates. The rewarded discipline is rotated annually, with full-time brass and

woodwind students applying this year. Three scholarships, each of €2,000, will be awarded in the UK, with a further €2,000 scholarship in Ireland. Previous Yamaha scholars include saxophonist Amy Dickson, pianists Eduard Kunz and Sasha Grynyuk, and euphonium player David Childs. The deadline for applications is 30 November 2014, with preliminary rounds taking place in early December. Those

CREATIVITY PROJECT SUPPORTS YOUNG COMPOSERS A report has been published by Music4U which examines music provision for young people between the ages of eleven and eighteen in York and the Humber Region. Funded by Youth Music, the Creativity Project is based on hands-on musical exploration as well as research. The report focuses on the issues surrounding young people starting out in the eld of composition. The project began as a series of workshops and short courses which were attended by over 100 young people. All the participants came from communities that have low levels of engagement with music. Professional musicians and composers worked with the young musicians, helping them learn the skills and gain the condence required to create their own music. The musicians leading the workshops were asked to document their experiences, recording their successes as well the challenges they encountered. This rst-hand evaluation was collected and used as the basis of the report, which contains a summary of the project alongside ideas for the development of further creative work in the region. Delma Tomlin, director of the National Centre For Early Music (NCEM), commented: ‘Our aim was to bring together young people, teachers, youth workers and pastoral staff, and professional composers in practical musicmaking sessions. The outcomes have been tremendously varied and inspiring. They include ukulele players in Goole writing pop songs, 8

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AUGUST 2014

2013 Yamaha scholars Daniel Ciobanu and Dinara Klinton

interested in applying must submit a recording of two contrasting pieces of music totalling less than 30 minutes’ duration. To download an application form, visit the YMFE website. www.ymfe.yamaha-europe.com

ESSEX YOUNG MUSICIAN 2014 A young composer takes part in the Creativity Project

young people with special needs in York and Hull improvising and developing new gamelan pieces, special-school students in Scunthorpe producing dubstep and electronica music and young bands in Immingham writing rock songs. The young composers have also made music videos and Pupil Support Units and schools across the region have experimented with technology and different instruments. We wanted to build condence and give freedom to young people to create music in their own time, with groups of friends and in community and youth centres.’ Music Education consultant Richard Hallam said of the report: ‘Much of the recent focus of the National Plan for Music Education has been on active music-making through instrumental and vocal ensemble work. While composing and performing are present in best practice, this is not always the case. This is one of several reasons why this report is so important. It is impossible to make music without someone composing or improvising! ‘The Creativity Project has resulted in a rich resource for everyone. There is much good advice on composing and improvising, in and out of school. There are helpful conclusions and strategic and practical recommendations, as well as 37 new pieces that can be listened to online.’ The report is available to download from the NCEM website. www.ncem.co.uk

Nineteen-year-old clarinettist William Knight has been named Essex Young Musician of the Year 2014. A former pupil of Westcliff High School for Boys, William is a graduate of the National Youth Orchestra and has just completed his first year at the Royal College of Music. The competition’s ve judges also awarded runner-up prizes to Elodie Chousmer-Howelles (violin), Corinna Wilson (soprano) and Irena Klimach (oboe). David Cox and Keenan Ngo, two promising competitors under the age of 19, were also commended. The Essex Young Musician of the Year competition has been running since 1984, and is organised by Ongar Music Club. Previous winners include violinist Anthony Marwood and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor. www.ongarmusicclub.co.uk

Essex Young Musician William Knight (second from left) with all the prizewinners musicteachermagazine.co.uk

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MT NEWS

JAMES RHODES LEADS INSTRUMENT DONATION APPEAL

PROMS DECORATES YOUNG COMPOSERS

This summer Six talented young composers sees the launch have been announced as of James Rhodes’ winners of the BBC Proms Great Instrument Inspire Young Composers’ Amnesty, whereby Competition 2014. The winners, who are aged between 12 and primary schools 18, will have their music performed by the Aurora Orchestra will be able to at the Proms this summer (20 August), with a broadcast on receive free musical BBC Radio 3 (25 August) and gain a further BBC commission. instruments. The entries were judged by a panel comprising composers Stuart The concert MacRae, Anna Meredith, Martin Suckling, Judith Weir and Radio 3 pianist’s ambitious editor Jeremy Evans. Chaired by Fraser Trainer, the judges were on the plan is to encourage lookout for pieces that were original, unique and inspiring. the public to donate The winners of the junior category (12–16 years) are Harry unused instruments Castle’s La Trahison des Images, Rob Durnin’s A Study in Anarchy and that might be Matthew Jackson’s Mirror Mirror . The senior category (17–18 years) ‘languishing in cupboards and attics’ to the cause. These instruments was won by Nathaniel Coxon’s Two Cells, Anna Disley-Simpson’s Underneath and Harry Johnstone’s Dis-Pulsed . There were also ve highly will then be distributed to schools via the dedicated registration website. Rhodes wants to involve state primary schools in every commended entrants at each level. county, to be selected based on need as well as their commitment to Now in its 16th year, this was the third year that the competition making their music education sustainable. offered an opportunity for teachers to take part in the scheme. While ‘Music has become something of a lottery for children – excellent in aspiring young composers were participating in their Composer Labs some schools and simply inadequate in others,’ he said. across the country, a special Teacher’s Lab was set up in Newham, East The project is linked to a three-part series airing on Channel 4 this London, where players from the BBC Concert Orchestra led workshops summer which follows Rhodes as he pilots his amnesty at a primary on how to broaden compositional teaching skills. school in Basildon, Essex, before preparing to roll it out nationwide. Young composers keen to get involved in workshops this summer Those interested in pledging an instrument can drop it off at any will be able to take part in the Inspire Day workshops during this Oxfam shop. summer’s Proms. Fraser Trainer will lead a contemporary composition Schools benetting from the amnesty will be invited to take to the workshop on Sunday 10 August, with Mike Roberts running a session stage at Oxjam, the charity’s music festival, which helps raise money to about electro-acoustic composition on 14 August. Jules Buckley ght poverty around the world. Participating schools will also receive will teach a session about arranging on 20 August, and Judith Weir an education pack from Oxfam, featuring guides and lesson plans. will take a workshop on writing for solo instruments on Saturday www.registermyschool.co.uk 30 August. www.bbc.co.uk/proms James Rhodes with primary school pupils

SUPPORT PROGRAMME FOR KS3 MUSIC TEACHERS Andrea Spain, from Trinity A year-long, fully subsidised programme is on offer as part professional development of ‘Music Excellence London’, an Laban, said creative isolation programme to support Key initiative by the Mayor of London is a problem for many music Stage 3 music teachers in to raise teaching standards in teachers: ‘Music teachers may be London is being launched this schools across the capital. the only music specialist in their summer. 150 places are available school and have little contact Teach Through Music is a on the Teach Through Music with others. As well as helping new partnership led by Trinity programme, and participating develop practical skills, Teach Laban Conservatoire of Music teachers will be offered a series Through Music will support and Dance, alongside Sound of seminars, events and courses. teachers to overcome barriers Connections, Barbican, Guildhall Trained peer mentors will also to more ‘musical’ approaches School of Music & Drama, be on hand to support teachers to teaching, presented by Trinity College London and the making changes in the classroom limited resources and whole University of Greenwich. The and give feedback. school systems that don’t lend musicteachermagazine.co.uk

themselves to musical learning.’ ‘The Teach Through Music training is being devised collaboratively by a partnership of teachers, higher education and specialist music organisations,’ said Philip Flood at Sound Connections. ‘This partnership will draw on the very best music and education expertise, while developing highly practical solutions for the classroom.’ www.teachthroughmusic.org.uk AUGUST 2014 |

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MT REPORT

Nancy Litten (left) and Clare Clements perform at the TCL launch

PIANO SYLLABUS LAUNCHES TRINITY COLLEGE LONDON » words Richard Llewellyn

Trinity College London (TCL) launched its new piano syllabus on 4 July at the 1901 Arts Club near Waterloo. It was like stepping into a Victorian salon room for a piano recital. Different pieces from the new syllabus were played by a variety of eminent pianists while the audience was served cream scones and sandwiches. Following introductions from Sarah Kemp (chief executive), Ben Norbury (business development manager) and Peter Wild (associate chief examiner), Peter then took to the piano to play a few of the new pieces. Peter is the main force behind the new syllabus and it was inspiring to see his joy and passion. He enthused that there was ‘something for everyone’, and what an amazing pianist to prove it! As well as reintroducing some old favourites (including Chopin’s ‘Minute Waltz’ and Ibert’s Petit Ane Blanc ), there are also brand new original compositions in Grades 1 to 7. As announced in the May 2013 edition of MT , composers including Ben Crosland and Kay 12

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AUGUST 2014

Charlton responded to a Trinity composing competition. Just over a year later, a piece of Kay’s entitled Easy Living is now published in the Initial grade book. Well done Trinity for supporting new compositions in such a high prole manner. Throughout the syllabus there is a wide range of styles, from good new Harry Potter arrangements through to the 1610 Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. The new syllabus will run from 1 January 2015 for three years. The books range in price from £3.99 (Initial) to £9.99 (Grade 8) for the main piano books and exercises. Also available are additional resources sets that include the sheet music alongside exercises, teacher’s notes and a CD, which range from £9.99 (Initial) to £26.99 (Grade 8).

ABRSM » words Fiona Lau

This launch was delivered on 3 July by Tim Barratt (examiner, trainer and moderator and co-author of the syllabus), in Yamaha Music London’s Piano Hall, in a marathon couple of sessions covering all the grades between 2pm and 8pm. Yamaha gave the teachers who

attended a voucher towards music purchased on the day and a teacher discount. They also provided some much-needed refreshment in between the two sessions. Tim gave us a whistle-stop tour through all the music in the grade books and some of the alternatives, introducing it as ‘possibly the best we’ve ever done’. Two things to note: the marking criteria for the exams is included in the syllabus booklet and there is an even more international feel to the syllabus now, with Norwegian, Catalan, Lithuanian, Venezuelan and Chinese composers represented. ABRSM examines all over the world and wants this to be reected in the pieces it selects. There are also plenty of well-known favourites, including JS Bach’s Invention No. 1 (Grade 4), Handel’s ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’ (Grade 8) and the Allegro from Clementi’s Sonata in C, Op. 36 No. 1 (Grade 3). There are some fabulous arrangements by Alan Bullard – Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours for Grade 1 and the ‘BirdCatcher’s Song’ from The Magic Flute for Grade 2 – as well as a sumptuous adaptation of Over the Rainbow by Dave Stapleton for Grade 6. As Tim Barratt concluded, there’s something for everyone in this syllabus that will be enjoyed by piano teachers as well as pupils. musicteachermagazine.co.uk


CPD, COURSES & GIGS CPD HIGHLIGHTS MUSIC MARK PEER-TO-PEER September 2014-March 2015 London | Registration deadline 12 September

Music Mark’s Peer-to-Peer is a CPD and networking programme for Key Stage 3 teachers in London, funded by the Department for Education and Mayor of London. It consists of two afternoon CPD courses in term time (26 September and 21 October), followed by a one-day conference in March 2015, alongside a schedule of mentoring sessions and borough- or clusterlevel networking meetings. The programme aims to allow all participants to observe, share and discuss outstanding practice, ‘to begin to inform changes to practice both at a practitioner and school leadership level’.

The morning session on numeracy will cover inventing songs, dances and games for large and small groups, one-to-one and in free play. The afternoon literacy session will also focus on songs and games, adapting them ‘to suit most story-telling sessions’, adding music to traditional stories and incorporating puppets, percussion and props. www.musicforstarters.com

£72 per session

Music For Starters will run two three-hour workshops which promise to help teachers ‘to put across key musical skills and concepts in a fun and engaging way to the very young’. musicteachermagazine.co.uk

CHILDREN’S CLASSIC CONCERTS

November & December | Edinburgh & Glasgow Children’s Classic Concerts has announced two programmes: The Monsters’ Ball (1 November, Glasgow; 2 November, Edinburgh) and Deck the Halls with Owen and Olly (6 December, Glasgow; 7 December, Edinburgh). The concerts are presented by percussionists Oliver Cox and Owen Gunnell and the ‘classic package’ for school groups (£6 per child) includes a 45-minute workshop in the run-up to the concert: call 0141 334 8500 or email [email protected].

www.childrensclassicconcerts.co.uk

12-14 September | Presteigne, Welsh Borders

LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS

£547 inc webinars and follow-up

www.ism.org/events

18 September | Wentworth Children’s Centre, London

LIVE MUSIC

VOCAL PROCESS SINGING TEACHER’S RETREAT

The Vocal Process Singing Teacher’s Retreat is a residential course aimed at experienced practitioners teaching in a range of vocal styles, run by Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher. It will cover pedagogy in different sung genres, suitable for classical teachers INSTRUMENTAL & VOCAL TEACHERS with pupils wanting to sing in different styles SEMINARS, BELFAST and also taking in the Estill model as part of 6 September | MAC, Belfast a ‘more inclusive approach’. It promises to £45 ISM Members and afliates, £60 non-members help with ‘relating to your students’, ‘hitting Paul Harris runs his ‘Virtuoso Teacher’ the diagnostic nail on the head’, ‘knowing seminar in the morning, which will ‘explore a when quick xes are OK (and which ones range of innovative music teaching techniques to use)’, and ‘planning a longer term that will embrace imagination, diligence and training programme’. The price includes practicality’. Sharon Mark-Teggart, director access to webinars on vocal diagnosis and of Northern Ireland-based music education a 30-minute follow-up session either in organisation Evoco, will present a practical London or via Skype. session to ‘provide instrumental and vocal store.vocalprocess.co.uk/ teachers with an insight into how to present SingingTeachersRetreat pre-instrumental learning opportunities’.

USING MUSIC TO SUPPORT NUMERACY & LITERACY

MT DIARY

DIARY DATE: MUSIC EDUCATION EXPO 2015 12 & 13 MARCH | BARBICAN, LONDON

The UK’s largest conference and exhibition for anyone involved in music education, whether a classroom or instrumental teacher, a hub leader or university lecturer. If you would like to present at next year’s conference, the call for papers is open until 18 September.

13 September From £5 Tickets for the Last Night of the Proms are hard to come by. However, the concert will be broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC One and Radio 3, and at the time of going to press tickets were still available for Proms in the Park events across the UK.

www.bbc.co.uk/proms

OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR STUDENTS ACCESS TO MUSIC From September | Centres across England Access to Music offers courses and qualications designed in partnership with Rockschool for school leavers wanting to pursue a career in the music industry, as follows: level one courses roughly equivalent to GCSE grade D–G; level two courses roughly equivalent to GCSE A*–C; level three courses roughly equivalent to A Level; and a level four diploma in artist development. Access to Music also runs undergraduate courses, including the Popular Music Performance degree at the RNCM (application deadline for 2015 is 1 October).

www.accesstomusic.co.uk AUGUST 2014 |

MUSIC TEACHER

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MT INTERVIEW

Q&A The Rock and Pop Foundation advertises itself as the UK’s largest independent music school. How big are we talking? We’re teaching on average nearly 3,000 kids a week. The head office is in Aldershot, and we’re up as far as Boston in Lincolnshire, we’re in Norfolk and Suffolk, and down as far as Bournemouth. We’re operating centrally in London and the home counties, as well as Bedfordshire and Hampshire. MT

Steven Sammut ,

founder of the Rock and Pop Foundation, has some advice for music services

see every part of the operation at any time. Our reporting is all done online and sits in the history on our database. This way we can monitor progress and our office staff can discuss progress with parents. This is important for customer retention. Parents can order extra books over the phone and it gets delivered to their home address the very next day. If you get a good service, you’re going to pay for that service, and that makes it a smooth and sustainable operation for all involved. The answer is always yes! Now what’s the question?

ROCK AND POP FOUNDATION SYLLABUSES To supplement the Rock and Pop Foundation’s own accredited SCAMPS Music and Odd Tourist syllabuses, students study three of the main external boards, as follows: » Guitar: After completing SCAMPS First Auditions, students progress to Rockschool or Trinity College London. Bass guitar students also work from Rockschool syllabuses » Drums: After the SCAMPS First Auditions, all of the Rock and Pop Foundation drum students work from Rockschool syllabuses » Keyboard: All students take the Trinity College London exams » Piano: All students take the ABRSM exams

Do you feel that music services have Furthermore I got very frustrated with the been lacking in t heir feedback? The last thing that music services are set up materials and knew I could write a system to to do is provide a customer experience – this aid group teaching using sports and training was the reason I left the county music setup as a theme to motivate home practice. My 20 years ago. I worked on cruise ships for five reasoning for this was to set a standard years and noticed that everything was done that could be repeatable and delivered by according to customer comment evaluations tutors that covered for me as I set up my own business. This group teaching system has You have never received any public and service. Coming back to work in my first funding. Do you have any advice for teaching position in schools I soon discovered been the core frame of our service. music services that are having their what parents and schools were missing. funding withdrawn? Training was minimal and the service had How do you manage such a big We’re getting a large number of enquiries from no repeatable framework. When I followed operation? music services asking us how we’ve managed teachers on my training period, some were Through a very happy, motivated team! Our it. The most important part is making sure great, some were awful and no-one taught the tutors are licensed and accredited and each that you aren’t admin heavy, because there’s same method. Children would be enrolled into member takes their own responsibility for a danger that a lot of expenses are going into music lessons and turn up to the first class to growing their services in schools in their area. It’s premises and back-end administration. We find that they had no books or instruments. not a franchise and never will be, as musicians have built a programme called Smart School, Four weeks later some of the parents might never have money! They take pride that they which cost around £100,000 to develop. have sourced the teaching equipment, but by can operate their own brand and be rewarded It’s a database that not only runs the whole that stage the children were all at different through a pricing structure in which they receive back end – the office, timetables, rotas, etc. levels. Teachers did not centrally enrol a percentage of the business they develop. It is – but also plugs under the bonnet of Sage students for examinations and when I asked in their interest to teach good-size classes, and Accounting. It produces all the billing and the for time off to be at the exam centre to settle they also receive a percentage on book sales. invoices, and also manages the whole complex the nerves of my students, this wasn’t allowed. We have just secured new head offices web of reporting, timetabling, payrol and in Aldershot and are about to expand to the members area, where our students get encompass further training rooms and THE LAST THING THAT supplemental online lessons. teaching rooms. We are currently a We run our back-end operation with only Rockschool examination centre and the extra MUSIC SERVICES ARE SET UP TO four members of office staff, and the key space will allow us to develop our new interest point here is that everyone, from management in becoming a full-time popular music college. DO IS PROVIDE A CUSTOMER to the secretary, knows every part of the EXPERIENCE www.rockandpopfoundation.com business. Our system allows all of the users to MT

MT

MT

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authentic. innovative. accessible. Our goal has been to create a plastic trumpet – rather than simply recreating a brass trumpet in plastic. We have designed, developed and tested every bend, turn and moving part, including our stunning and innovative fully plastic valve system. pTrumpet is designed in the UK by musicians – for musicians...

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PLASTIC FANTASTIC Richard Llewellyn surveys the educational possibilities of the ourishing plastic instruments scene

Fun, colourful, light-weight, dent-proof, weather-proof and affordable, I don’t believe we should underestimate the potential of plastic instruments. Who wouldn’t want to have a pink trombone? A lot of musicians are buying these plastic instruments purely as novelty items, something fun to have ‘in the boot’, but they do actually work.

RECORDERS

The Yamaha YRS20B Rainbow Series

Plastic musical instruments have been around for a good number of years and we’re beginning to see a range of new models in music shops and an increase in usage within mainstream education. A lot of people will remember seeing old pictures of Charlie Parker on his 1950 breglass Grafton alto sax and possibly remember the original Bakelite recorders. However, with modern technology and developments in materials, nowadays the plastic instrument is beginning to become a viable alternative for mainstream orchestral instruments in education. Now, not only can you buy plastic recorders in a variety of colours but also plastic ocarinas, clarinets, utes, trombones, trumpets, saxophones and guitars – with prototype piccolo trumpets and tubas being shown at the March 2014 Frankfurt Musikmesse. 16

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AUGUST 2014

The humble brown ‘wood-like’ descant recorders are made of ABS plastic and have been in mass production for over 50 years. Made of the same material as Lego bricks, ABS plastic – or Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, to give it its full name – became available in 1948. This was mainly as a result of activities that had taken place during the Second World War in the developments of synthetic rubbers. Plastic descant recorders have since become available for as little as £5. Yamahas ‘Rainbow’ translucent range is very good value for money and is available in three different colours: pink, blue and green. The fact that these recorders all come out of the same ‘machine’ means that the three pieces can be interchanged for an even greater mix of colours – some visually different for your next school concert. Plastic ocarinas from Ocarina Workshop are also available in six different fun colours.

AT £1,395 THE GRENADITTE FLUTE IS IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN 60% of the weight of a metal ute. The curved head joint and mini foot joint make it ideal for young children and the D key is on the main body. Priced at £115.00, this is a good beginner’s ute. It’s available in four colours: black with silver trim and white with either blue, green or pink trim. The Nuvo Student Flute is a full-sized standard student ute that was launched in 2012. It weighs just slightly more than the JFlute at 255g. Priced at £139.00, it is available in black with silver trim, and white with either blue, green or pink trim. Geoffrey Guo started making plastic utes in 2004 and now has a complete range of excellently designed and crafted top-quality plastic utes, including piccolos and bass utes. There are three ranges: at the top end is the Guo Grenaditte (a man-made composite),

Nuvo Student models

FLUTES Nuvo makes two different plastic utes that are completely waterproof and very lightweight. The Nuvo JFlute is a true beginner’s ute with a standard curved head. It weighs just 235g, which is approximately musicteachermagazine.co.uk

the middle range is called New Voice and the student flutes are called the Tocco range. At £1,395 the Grenaditte flute is in a league of its own. Weighing just 300g it is ideal for the professional player who may be challenged with a disability or injury (such as tendonitis). It has a very ‘wood flute’like quality quality and feel. It also comes in a very ver y well-designed lightweight aluminium case. The New Vo Voice ice flu flute te is sli sligh ghtly tly liligh ghter ter tha than n the Grenaditte model and sounds more like a standard metal flute. Priced at £725, it is available in a bronze, grey or white body – all with black keys – and comes in an aluminium case. The Tocc occo o flu flute te is a one one-pi -piece ece mod model el tha thatt costs £450, weighs 235g, and comes in 12 different colours. For an extra extr a £100, the Tocc T occo o Pl Plus us is pro probab bably ly a bett better er flu flute, te, due to be being made of slightly denser material and being a three-piece instrument with a better head joint. It still only weighs 240g and is available in six different colours. Really, these flutes are great ‘holiday’ instruments, but they have been built by a professional flute maker.

CLARINETS It was with the B Clarinet that an instrument made out of ABS plastic first made an accepted foothold into the previously wooden-only market. A high percentage of clarinet players players now always start star t off on a plastic clarinet. Companies like Buffet (B12) and Yamaha (YLC 255) have been making, developing, developin g, and improving these instruments for years and they are now firmly established – so much so that the main examination boards do allow the use of these clarinets throughout all grades. Lighter than a normal clarinet by about a third and coloured to look like a wooden clarinet, these instruments are excellent all-rounders, priced at about £415.

Graham Lyons produced a mass market ‘Lyons Clarinet’ pitched in C more than 20 years ago. This small ABS and Delrin plastic instrument saw a second incarnation in 2009 with a new name, the Nuvo Clarinéo. Priced at £105, £10 5, it has been very successful and weighs less than half a normal nor mal clarinet. It is available in four different colours – a black body with silver trim or a white body with blue, pink or green trim. It comes in a case with a cleaning kit and two plastic reeds, of a size that would fit an E clarinet. The ABRS ABRSM M onl onlyy all allows ows stu studen dents ts to use Lyons or Clarinéo clarinets for Grades 1 to 3.

SAXOPHONES About three years ago, the Vibrato Polycarbonate plastic alto saxophones appeared, and having sold extremely well, they are about to launch their third series very sho shortly rtly.. Thes Thesee saxo saxopho phones nes are mad madee of a mixture of polycarbonate and ABS called ‘Bayer’s Bayblend’ Bayblend’ and are available with keys in many different colours, including including orange, yellow, blue, pink, green, white and gold – usually on a white body, but special limited editions are also available. available. They are certainly cer tainly improving all the time and are known to be extremely reliable. r eliable. However, However, due to the complex manufacturing intricacies of making and assembling the instrument, the price of £399 (for the A1S model, in a cool looking white with orange pads) is still thought of as fairly high when compared to other plastic instruments. The Vibrato sax is really trying to emulate a top end Selmer instrument in plastic. Theree are ofte Ther often n di disap sappoi pointe nted d chi child ldren ren being turned away from taking up the sax due to its weight and size. The weight of the Vibrato Vib rato Al Alto to saxop saxophon honee is ju just st 85 850 0 gram grams, s, less than a third of the weight of a standard

Nuvo’s Clarinéo musicteachermagazine.co.uk

Kelly Mouthpieces

metal alto saxophone. sa xophone. Unfortunately, Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done with the size of the saxophone, so you’d still need a good set of stretchy fingers! For professional players though, looking for a novelty good quality instrument that won’t get dented and is weather proof – they are certainly worth the money. In terms of music exams, ABRSM allows the use of a non-metal saxophone for Grades 1 to 3.

BRASS INSTRUMENT MOUTHPIECES MOUTHPIECES Very colo Very colourful urful pla plasti sticc bras brasss inst instrum rumen entt mouthpieces have been developed for over 30 years, with Jim Kelly Mouthpieces leading leading the way,, offering way offer ing a multitude of different colours and sizes. Made from Lexan polycarbonate resin (the same material as bulletproof glass and safety eyeglass lenses), they are virtually indestructible and won’t scratch or dent if dropped.

TRUMPETS There wil There willl soo soon n be a cho choic icee of thr three ee di differe fferent nt plastic trumpets to choose from! All in an array of colours and at very different prices. The bra brandnd-new new pTrum rumpet pet com comes es from the same place as the hugely successful pBone. As it is so new, the only information available so far is that it will have a fully plastic valve system and a patented polymer lead pipe. Designed in England by Hugh Rashleigh, it is understood that the price will be around the same price as a pBone and it should be in shops by June 2014. Colours will initially be red or blue. It will come with a gig bag and two mouthpieces, a 3c and a 5c. Also, hot off the blocks is the ‘Tromba Trom T rompet’ pet’. It is mad madee from AB ABS S pl plasti asticc bu butt » AUGUST 2014 |

MUSIC TEACHER

17

Tromp T rompa’ a’ss plas plastic tic trum trumpet pet

weighing just 680 grams. Available in red or blue, they cost about £105. As well as a trumpet, Tromba also makes two different trombones: the Tromba Tromba Trom T rombon bonee and the Trom romba ba Jazzb Jazzbone one.. The Trom T romba ba tro tromb mbone one in incor corpor porate atess a met metal al leadpipe inside the plastic instrument and is available in the same colours as the Trompet, in addition to ‘groovy green’, ‘positively purple’ and ‘audacious orange’. Priced at about £120, has a metal leadpipe to aid tone production. it will be in direct competition to the pBone. The Trom romba ba’’s con conven venti tiona onall val valve vess hav havee a The Trom romba ba Jazzb Jazzbone one is a co compl mplete etely ly ne new w THERE WILL SOON BE A plastic core to help keep the weight down instrument and has the marketing slogan CHOICE OF THREE DIFFERENT ‘half the slide, double the fun. This intriguing and are wrapped in stainless steel. The valve trombone has its slide folded in two, making PLASTIC TRUMPETS casing is a brass sleeve, so the metal valves it easier for smaller children to start playing can be maintained in exactly the same way as TO CHOOSE FROM a full B tenor trombone. Priced at about a normal trumpet. It comes with a gig bag, £129, it will be a good starter instrument two mouthpieces, a care kit and a trumpet before stepping up to the ‘real’ thing. Colours stand. It weighs about 500g, so just over 1lb, the newly named and award-winning Jiggs available are the same as the Trompet. and the price will be about £140 (the SRP is Whigha Whi gham m pBo pBone ne has gon gonee on to sel selll ov over er The AB ABRSM RSM onl onlyy all allow ow the use of a pl plasti asticc £167.99). They are initially available in ‘cool 100,000 instruments worldwide and is now blue’, ‘bold black’, ‘raunchy red’, ‘wonderful available in nine different colours (red, blue, trombone for grades 1 to 3, whereas Trinity white’, ‘sunshine yellow’ and a ‘champagne’ yellow,, green, violet, black, white, orange yellow allows the use up to and including Grade 5. unpolished brass brass effect. eff ect. They are also and pink). The slide may feel a bit slow and I feel that any good-quality plastic producing gold-lacquered and silver-l silver-lacquered acquered scratchy at rst but they do ‘run-in’ over instrument that is going to encourage version vers ionss tha thatt rath rather er cu cunn nnin ingly gly loo look k the sam samee time and get a lot smoother, quicker and students to take up music is a good thing. as a normal lacquered or silver trumpet. quieter. The pBone comes with a gig bag and If this means producing fun, colourful, The Tig Tiger er Trum rumpe pett fro from m Warb arburto urton n was a plastic 11c small shank mouthpiece. They lightweightt instruments out of plastic, lightweigh the rst plastic trumpet on the scene, available are affordable, lightweight (1.8 pounds or then great – we shouldn shouldn’t ’t disregard them. in blue or red with yellow slides, or in pink or 816 grams – that’s less than about half the The affor affordab dabilility ity has hel helped ped nu numer merous ous purple with white slides. They also come with weight of a normal brass trombone trombone), ), durable Wid Wider er Opp Opportu ortuni nitie tiess and Firs Firstt Acc Access ess a good plastic Warburton ‘Tiger ‘T iger 3C’ Delrin and fun, and cost about £120. The pBone programmes to engage groups in playing mouthpiece and plastic case. The weight of company is doing a lot within the education melody instruments, which could then be a the trumpet is about 450g (the same as a bag stepping stone to the real thing, for example eld, with workshops and ‘trombone circle’ brass trumpets and wooden clarinets. Good of sugar), and the RRP is £249. It’s made of events. It’s worth keeping an eye on their advice, help and direction is needed from ABS plastic and the valves and valve casing website for updates. sleeves are made of aluminium. It is stressed pBone has also made a smaller pBone Mini music teachers to get students learning the fundamentals, like posture and breathe that you have to use a special ‘Tiger’ valve oil instrument. Aimed at the young beginner, it’s control, but these instruments could be on these valves, a bottle of which comes with a fully functional dual bore E alto trombone. the saviour of traditional instrumental the instrument. To oil the valves you have to It is also made in ABS plastic and glass bre education. unscrew the top nger buttons and bottom and is just as good as its B big brother while cap rst and then push the valve through the bottom cap. A Jiggs Whigham pBone It is worth bearing in mind that at the time of writing, neither ABRSM nor Trinity have made a decision on the use of plastic trumpets in exams. As things stand, they are not allowed, although this may change in the future. MT

TROMBONES In 2010, the world’s rst and best selling plastic trombone, the pBone B tenor instrument, was launched in the UK by Warwick Wa rwick Mu Music sic.. Des Desig igned ned by Hu Hugh gh Rash Rashle leigh igh,, 18

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DOUBLE REEDS Learning how to look after double reeds is an essential part of a student’s development, and making them yourself, although daunting at rst, pays off in the long run OBOE » Words: Geoff Coates When is the right time to learn reed-making? There’s no straightforward answer to this question. Obviously, pupils need to be able to handle knives safely. Beyond this they need enough oboe technique to judge a reed and know when it requires adjustment. These skills can be developed even before the pupil starts making their own reeds, by demonstrating how you adjust their reeds for them, and what difference it makes. How to get started In my rst oboe lesson, I learned how to soak a reed properly and put it away safely. Reed care starts from day one, and skills can be built up as the pupil becomes ready. Reversible techniques like replacing clinglm, wiring reeds and cleaning them can be introduced as soon as pupils have the necessary coordination to do them and the oboistic savvy to know when they’re needed. Adjusting bought reeds before making them from scratch introduces more skills and independence, but it’s easy to spoil a good reed. You can take the pressure off by scraping old reeds or blanks at the start, to learn the effect of the stroke on the cane. This, like any aspect of playing an instrument, is an action to be practised and perfected. Treat it as a bonus if a reed actually works, and be prepared to throw it out if it doesn’t. The most important thing is 20

MUSIC TEACHER |

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when it comes to buying a scraping knife (my personal preference is for a Gregson beveledged knife – it will take and keep a clean edge) and with it you need a sharpening stone, scraping plaque, chopping block and Stanley knife or tip clippers, making the second stage the most expensive. But you can leave the binding thread, beeswax, staples, mandrel, cane and ruler until the pupil is ready to make reeds from scratch.

Resources Views diverge on every aspect of reedmaking and you’re unlikely to nd one resource that for pupils not to depend on making their own exactly replicates your own method. For this reeds before they’re able to do so reliably. A reason I think it’s best to prepare your own good motto is ‘Buy all the reeds you need, set of instructions. You only have to do it then sit down and start making some’. once and it’s there for all your pupils, with the Once the reed becomes another variable advantage that you can show them exactly what you mean at every stage in a lesson. for the pupil to adjust, it’s tempting for them There’s no substitute for demonstration and to treat all problems as reed problems, and reach for the knife at the rst sign of trouble. I hands-on experience, but there are books and think it’s helpful for pupils to get their practice videos to help. Both Sandra Downing’s Making Oboe Reeds done on existing, reliable reeds to start with, is Easy and Evelyn Rothwell’s Guide to Oboe and only get scraping once they’ve done the Reedmaking have step-by-step instructions. day’s practice. Otherwise time that should be spent on technique and music disappears and Downing has more (and colour) pictures – a real bonus since reedmaking needs to be seen everything becomes a reed issue: a recipe for eternal frustration! – but there is less on the range of approaches. Some of the information in Rothwell sounds Economies and false economies dated, though much is timeless, and there is Reedmaking gear can be costly, and buying more detail and range – better, perhaps, for the cheapest rarely pays. Without the the more advanced reedmaker. prospect of immediately playable reeds it can A picture is worth a thousand words and seem like a heavy investment for parents, but a video has 24 per second. Linda Walsh has the load can be spread. produced a thorough and detailed DVD, Oboe Reedmaking , which shows several approaches Initially, a roll of clinglm, a pair of pliers and some reed wire are enough for basic and interviews some leading pros. There is maintenance. However, there’s no skimping an ever-changing and rewarding selection of videos to be found on YouTube ‘Gear can be costly, but buying and online generally. It’s well the cheapest rarely pays’: worth doing a search, but be Geoff Coates’s reed-making kit prepared to vet them quite stringently. If you’re ready for a screen test, why not upload your own? Learning to make reeds is an important skill for the advanced oboe pupil, but it should never restrict musical and technical development. Providing the pupil has time to learn progressively, and doesn’t depend on reeds they can’t yet make, it needn’t cause heart- or headache. It might even be fun. » musicteachermagazine.co.uk

www.oboeshop.co.uk Student Graduate Professional

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instrument. Reed-related injuries are common there is still plenty of scope for adjusting and enough even among procient reed-makers, customising the reed to your tastes. BASSOON so it is crucial to teach reed-making and For novice reed-makers whose creations adjusting in a supervised setting, ideally oneare not yet brought out in public, stick with » Words: Miriam Levenson to-one, so you can watch how they handle the the cheapest cane until they have become Why make reeds? unfamiliar tools for the rst time. Once you comfortable with twisting wires, using pliers Once a student has mastered the early-stage have worked through the initial steps together, and mastering basic scraping skills. Once the challenges of the bassoon – getting to grips the student can then use written guides or casualties are outweighed by the successes, with ngering and making a decent sound – they may nd themselves increasingly YouTube videos to help refresh their memories it’s time to look more closely at the plethora of canes on the market. frustrated with reeds that don’t deliver the when practising at home. Test-drive a few different sorts of cane desired response. While this is likely to be the Buying a basic reed-making kit does before deciding and settling on any one – beginning of a perennial problem (has any require investment in good tools, so it’s perhaps buying half a dozen of each, to allow reed player ever found that elusive perfect advisable not to encourage students (or for small inconsistencies – as they do have reed?), this may be a good time to stop paying their parents!) to fork out the funds until markedly different feels. More advanced for pricey bassoon reeds and start working they know they are serious about continuing students might like to have a couple of varieties with the instrument to a fairly advanced out how to make and adjust reeds that better of cane ‘on the go’ at any given time, to suit level. For younger students, or those who suit their needs. are not yet at that stage, you can still enjoy a range of playing styles. How responsive or When it comes to making reeds, in terms teaching them the rudiments of reed-making resistant a reed is, as well as its dynamic, tone of cost-effectiveness, you have to consider the together – and they will still learn a great deal quality and timbre, can vary considerably from long game. A reasonably good bassoon reed from discovering how reeds are constructed, one cane to another, producing reeds with costs between £8 and £18. A single piece of even if they don’t end up making reeds on a very different personalities. gouged, shaped and proled cane (more on regular basis. this below) will cost in the region of £2. Even Resources taking into account those pieces of cane that Choosing cane In the UK, all the major woodwind instrument don’t quite survive the assembly process, The cheapest cane on the market is tube shops sell reed-making equipment and this amounts to a signicant saving – and the cane. This cane is in its raw tube form and accessories. When buying tools for the rst money invested in a basic reed-making toolkit requires extremely specialised tools to turn it time it’s a good idea to visit a shop to see how will be more than repaid in the long term. different tools feel in your hand before buying From an educational point of view, learning into gouged, shaped and prole cane that’s them. However, once you know what you want how to make their own reeds will take a ready for assembly. These tools are highly it’s generally easier and cheaper to shop online. student to a whole new level of understanding expensive and completely impractical for the An excellent resource is www.crookandstaple. of their instrument. Trying to solve the majority of students. It is also possible to com – a specialist double reed shop based in problems caused by difcult reeds makes you buy gouged cane, and gouged and shaped South Wales that only sells reeds and tools. much more aware of the sound you make cane – but unless you plan to produce reeds The site is easy to use and has lots of guidance and the sound you are striving to make. on a large scale it’s not nancially advisable for beginner reed-makers. Delivery is also free to buy anything other than gouged, shaped Having the freedom to customise your reeds in the UK for orders over £15. and proled (GSP) cane. These pieces of cane to suit your own preferences is an invaluable are still far cheaper than buying the nished Most cane and tools are manufactured advantage for a developing musician – and product (see above), and just need to be put outside of the UK, so when you’ve found ultimately, playing on reeds that are more together before they are ready to play on; your favourite cane(s), check if the suppliers suited to you and your instrument will result have their own website in you being a better player. There where you can order in bulk is also something to be said for directly. Three good suppliers not becoming too reliant on any (all based in Germany) are one favourite make of reed, as www.reedsnstuff.com; www.kreedo.de suppliers come and go. and www.georgrieger.com. All of these companies have an extensive When to start? and up-to-date range of reeds For me, the decision to learn how and reed-making supplies. to make reeds came when bought For general advice and reeds were no longer satisfactory information on reed-making and enough to be worth the money. adjusting, visit www.steesbassoon.com Provided the student is old – the website of Barrick Stees, enough to wield sharp knives assistant principal bassoon of the with care and safety, reed-making ‘Saving money in the long run’: Cleveland Orchestra, who is full of is a necessary skill that’s part Miriam Levenson’s reed-making kit helpful tips! of being accomplished on their MT

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AUGUST 2014


FREEDOM

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Légère synthetic reeds are in a class of their own. Extremely durable and always ready to play in any weather, so your students can focus on their performance.

www.legere.com

Premium Woodwind Reeds

Available at fine music retailers. UK Distributors: Bill Lewington Ltd. & Wind Plus Ltd.

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BECOME A SINGLE-REED GURU Britain’s Got Talent semi-nalist and teacher

Stuart James has been saxophone sales manager

at Howarth of London for more than a decade. He talks, we listen All reeds mentioned are available for saxophone and clarinet, unless otherwise stated

As players and teachers of saxophone and clarinet it’s very easy to be secure with the products that have been seemingly serving us well for years. With hundreds of products on the market the whole topic can seem like a very confusing and indeed costly mineeld. You’re selecting equipment for your pupils and you want to get it right. It can seem like your very reputation hangs on a good reed choice and this feeling is only compounded by the fact that you are often spending someone else’s hard earned money. Over my years of dealing with clients who are teachers and students there are a few pointers I use that will hopefully help to make selecting the right equipment and especially reed for the right student much simpler.

unsupported breath and an undeveloped embouchure. Vandoren Traditional blue box reeds in a soft strength such as a 1.5 are a fantastic place to start. The important point is that they are a professional, mainly classical reed. They are cut to be dark and will hopefully curtail the tendency for the for a cheaper student reed and has produced beginner to make a raucous noise. The other Juno. These reeds are comparatively slightly bonus is that because they are designed for softer; however they are still very good quality THE BASICS professionals they tend to be more consistent. even with the lower price point of £19.50. One Beginners don’t need the cheapest reed on This is especially important when the student of the other bonuses of Vandoren reeds is the market. In fact I’ve found that buying has yet to develop good habits and creates that they are individually sealed, which makes a stable place from which to develop a good supplying your students mush easier. Reeds good quality products from tried-and-tested sound and technique. can be sold singly and are stored hygienically. manufacturers gives students a sense of value This quality does come at a price (£24.55 a The other big reed producer, D’addario, and pride in learning. box) and there are some cheaper yet still very supplies some great options. Rico ‘Orange’ Absolute beginners will need a soft reed good alternatives. Vandoren spotted the need are inexpensive (£17.29 per box) and very that will sound easily with relatively little or popular. They appear to be less consistent than Vandoren but they are still a good option, especially if budget is a concern. If MY FORESTONE ‘BLACK BAMBOO’ HAS BEEN GOING FOR OVER the Rico brand is your preference and you FIVE MONTHS NOW AND HAS SAVED ME LOTS OF MONEY want to consider a slightly higher quality reed » musicteachermagazine.co.uk

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then go for Rico Royals. They are darker, correct strength. In fact Légère reeds even more consistent and used by professionals come in quarter strengths. The main brands worldwide. At the top end, D’addario also to look at would be Légère, Forestone and Fibracell. produces Rico Reserve, for classical payers, Légère can come up quite hard, so and Rico Select Jazz, a firm favourite among jazz saxophone players. probably avoid the ‘Standard’ cut and try Another good option to look out for the ‘Studio’ (for sax only) or ‘Signature’. is Marca ‘Student Select’. Marca is an Légère boasts a number of enthusiastic established manufacturer making reeds for endorsements from performers and many other popular brand names. They know students alike, including West End ‘doubler’ their craft, have many years of experience and Ruth Buxton, who attests to finding them their reeds are cheap to boot at £14.50. consistent in rain, sun, pit and hall alike. It may seem like this is a lot of options for The ‘Signature’ reeds are expensive at £27 an absolute beginner, but remember that they but for the aspiring classical clarinet player are all good and most good music or specialist they will give a dark tone and they are very retailers will sell reeds individually. Play consistent from reed to reed. Forestone around, get your pupils to try a few different ‘Black Bamboo’ reeds are also of special types and to describe the differences in feel interest to clarinettists. They are well priced, and sound. This is a great way to get the look very cool and sound great. I have recently student to pay attention to the sound they are changed to this myself from a Vandoren ZZ producing and give them a sense of control with no looking back. They are quite bright, over their own sound from the start. so may be preferred by jazz students. Mine has been going for over five months now and has saved me lots of money. Forestone start from a very low strength of extra soft, GO PLASTIC so can work well for absolute beginners. The Have you ever thought about plastic reeds? other benefit of plastic reeds is hygiene. They Do! Some of the world’s top players use them can be disinfected and reused, even by other and even through it may go against the grain players. They don’t need soaking or sucking there are some huge benefits. Even though and work right away. If you are doing a testing they can cost up to £27 per reed they will last or instrument day they are, I think, by far the much longer (unless, in my experience, your best option. pupil still decides to chew them). They are easily the best option economically and like cane reeds come in a variety of strengths and ADVISING MORE ADVANCED PUPILS cuts. You would probably still want to go for a soft for a beginner. If you select the right As your pupils develop they will need to think retailer you may be able to allow students about different cuts of reed. Certain cuts to try before they buy, getting exactly the work for a certain style and using the wrong

AS A TEACHER, IT CAN BE HARD TO TEST BEGINNER EQUIPMENT BECAUSE YOU ARE JUST TOO DEVELOPED – LET STUDENTS EXPERIMENT AND TRUST YOUR EARS 26


cut can make getting the desired sound very difficult. This is a large topic but as a rule classical reeds are heavier and darker and are often referred to as a ‘French file’ cut. Jazz reeds tend to be lighter with a thinner tip, creating a brighter or more separated sound (think turning up the treble on your stereo). For a classical sound experiment with Vandoren Traditional, the heavier Vandoren V12 (this is cut from thicker cane), Rico reserve and Hemke (saxophone only). A good starting point for jazz saxophonists is the standard jazz sound of Vandoren ZZ or Rico Select Jazz. Always aim for a strength that allows for easy production of the lower and upper ranges of the instrument. Encourage experimentation with cuts and strength and try to avoid letting your pupils stagnate on an easy-to-blow, softer reed, encouraging them to try to get a good sound from the next halfstrength up until they reach a suitable and stable strength. Mouthpieces are a whole different story, but, in the same way as for reeds, don’t just buy cheap – aim for good quality ( Yamaha or Fobes Debut ) and something suitable to the style being played. Most importantly, as an established player it can be hard to test beginner equipment because you are just too developed to produce a good sound from it. Let students experiment and trust your ears. MT


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addition to the harmonic and melodic modes, unlike ABRSM, which only includes two forms at this level. Transposition at the octave is introduced by both boards for Grade 3. At these earlier grades the boards are fairly similar in their requirements.

GAINING CONFIDENCE (GRADES 4 AND 5)

COMPARATIVE THEORY There’s not much between the two main boards for theory exams, and it’s crucial to know your students’ needs before choosing, says Steven Berryman Music theory is perhaps the least favoured part of music lessons, but thankfully there are plenty of attractive resources to help make the experience more enjoyable. The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and Trinity College London (TCL) offer theory examinations from Grades 1 to 8, with TCL offering diplomas in theory and composition. They are broadly very similar qualications but there are some interesting differences between the two.

GOING BEYOND (GRADES 6 TO 8)

SETTING THE FOUNDATIONS (GRADES 1 TO 3) TCL claims that its theory examinations ‘respond to modern teaching and learning styles, with [our] Theory of Music Workbooks presenting the study of musical theory in bright and practical formats, attractive both to the student and teacher’. The syllabus is very clear and sets out precisely the musical concepts students should be familiar with in these earlier grades. Interestingly, ‘correcting musicteachermagazine.co.uk

ABRSM and TCL introduce two new clefs here; the alto clef at Grade 4 and tenor clef at Grade 5. Candidates are expected to be familiar with the primary triads too. There is no transposition at Grade 4 ABRSM (other than between clefs) though TCL expects understanding of transposing by a perfect 4th/5th at Grade 4. At Grade 5 both boards expect transposition for B and F instruments. TCL introduces the concept of modulation and non-harmony notes at Grade 5 too, whereas this is a more prominent feature in Grades 6 and above for ABRSM. TCL additionally introduces form. TCL has a three-hour examination at Grade 5 compared to the two-hour requirement of ABRSM, and ABRSM, unlike TCL, still requires a pass at this grade to be able to take a practical examination at Grade 6 or above. It’s worth noting that ABRSM will accept a pass in TCL’s Grade 5 theory in this regard, as well as a number of other qualications.

mistakes’ is a question at each grade here. ABRSM has similar expectations in that candidates are expected to be familiar with treble and bass clef and to recognise and write a variety of pitches. Both include musical terminology, including Italian terms. Both boards introduce minor scales at Grade 2 while TCL includes the natural minor in

Interestingly TCL waits until Grade 6 to include writing for SATB in open and closed score (and this style of question continues to feature in their higher grades), something that is part of Grade 5 with the ABRSM. TCL requires knowledge of the aeolian mode at Grade 6 (with the dorian at Grade 7 and mixolydian at Grade 8) and has a focus on Baroque composers, moving to Classical composers for Grade 7 and Romantic for Grade 8. There are few discrepancies at these grades, other than in the nature of the questions. Suspensions are introduced at Grade 7 ABRSM while they are not expected until Grade 8 for TCL, while dominant 7ths are found in ABRSM at Grade 6 but feature earlier with TCL. All theory grades at this level are three hours long for both boards. Bear in mind such an exam is longer than exams students take at A Level, so immense stamina is required, » AUGUST 2014 |

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particularly if the pupil is young. They will need careful teaching to help them cope with the demands of the questions to ensure they keep to time. The analytical expectations of advanced theory examinations often exceed that of A Level music (which rarely involves three part counterpoint, or the ability to complete a piano piece with an expectation that students have a sophisticated grasp of modulation and harmonic progressions, for example). While TCL is very transparent with regards to the content for each grade, particularly relating to style, ABRSM assumes candidates will be familiar with parts I and II of its Guide to Music Theory .

RESOURCES Both boards are furnished with attractive books; ABRSM has updated its earlier grades, but the higher grade volumes are still those written in the nineties, although the covers are now more colourful. The TCL workbooks are more recent and these are clearly pitched at younger candidates, while the ABRSM workbooks seem more suitable for older students (taking into account size of font, etc.). There are plenty of good alternatives to the ABRSM books, as well as options which support them, particularly for very young candidates. Different pupils respond to different books, and older pupils and those in need of a speedy progression through the grades would nd Christopher Dunn’s Take Five and Pass First Time useful. Both boards provide useful resources online for all their examinations and both have discussion forums. Don’t forget too that they publish mark schemes. These are compulsory reading when helping to prepare students. You’ll also nd model answers for both boards, and this is certainly a welcome addition to ABRSM publications. I feel as a teacher that as you approach the highest grades of music theory the books become something of a starting point that require careful teaching; I feel teaching one-on-one rather than in classes is often preferable too.

SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING If a student has not taken A Level Music and discovers a real determination to study 30

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Students work with the ABRSM’s Grade 5 Theory Melody Writer resource

accredited for their examination Grades 6 to 8. Students will get UCAS points for a pass at these grades, but the relevance of such points depends on the institution. Offers for places at university are unlikely to be made on the basis of theory examination results. Choosing whether to tackle ABRSM or TCL theory examinations should always take into the account the needs of the pupil rather than the preference of the teacher. I feel that TCL caters well for pupils from a range of styles (particularly noticeable in its inclusion of modes) but both boards are predominantly rooted in the Western art tradition. ABRSM theory examinations form part of a strong pedigree and I particularly value the skills they develop through study for the higher grades particularly.

music at tertiary level they could prepare by undertaking Grade 8 Theory. From experience this takes time; if you’re doing the three higher grades, and I would recommend doing this to build and consolidate the necessary skills, it might take as much time as doing the A Level. But, it could be a way of securing a place on a music degree course. A student of mine successfully received an offer based on a pass at Grade 8 Theory in addition to her Grade 8 practical. It would be worth contacting admissions tutors to see what they will accept and it should never be taken as a given alternative to A Level Music. Both TCL and ABRSM have been

KEEP IT VALUED Let’s avoid making Grade 5 Theory a stumbling block, and reinforce the idea that signs and systems allow us to communicate effectively and efciently as musicians. Once students are aware of the value of the theoretical constructs of music they may in turn be less reluctant to undertake the various theory activities we thrust upon them, and also they will develop themselves as even better practical musicians. Let us keep alive a valuable notation system that allows a sustained and meaningful engagement with hundreds of years of music. MT


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USE YOUR BODY Harriet Power argues that the nger-centric approach to piano teaching restricts

the enjoyment for both performed and audience ‘The movements of the body have such a detrimental effect on piano-forte playing, that […] all unnecessary movements must be avoided, for every obliquity of position, every grimace, and every useless gesture, have a disadvantageous inuence on the hands and ngers.’ So wrote Carl Czerny in 1839, espousing a viewpoint that carried a huge amount of weight among piano teachers for many years. Today, what is sometimes termed the ‘nger school’ of playing still exerts a lot of 32

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inuence, as seen by the general tendency for piano teachers across the spectrum to focus on hand position and nger technique, rarely considering how to use the rest of the body. This approach to playing worked perfectly well for the clavichord and harpsichord, whose delicate nature discouraged excessive movement. The light action of these instruments also meant that the keys required minimal force to depress. But as the piano developed – as keys became deeper, strings

heavier and the action harder – pianists’ ngers also had to work harder just to play the notes, and the extra strain that this placed on the hand meant an increased chance of injury. Teachers were reluctant to change their methods. Even today, you can nd pianists online advocating the old Victorian trick of placing a coin on the back of your hand to keep it perfectly still, in order to isolate and strengthen the ngers. But in the 19th century, Ludwig Deppe and others started musicteachermagazine.co.uk

to place more emphasis on the use of the body as a whole, considering how the torso, shoulder and arm could all be used to support the ngers. Scientic advances and a greater understanding of human anatomy helped to support their views. But despite such work and later contributions from teachers like Abby Whiteside and Dorothy Taubman, this more holistic approach to piano playing has still failed to gain much currency.

A HOLISTIC APPROACH So this is where things stood when I rst arrived at Royal Holloway to start my music degree, with no awareness of this history, no conscious understanding of technique, and a terrible posture. I was assigned by chance to the piano teacher Cristine MacKie. I did not initially warm to her, as she shoved me from side to side on the piano stool and lectured me about technique in ways that largely went over my head. I couldn’t really see what all the fuss was about. But through two years of piano lessons, Cristine – who happens to be one of the leading advocates in the UK for what she terms the ‘mind-body approach’ to piano performance – eventually converted me to her teachings. As an added bonus she also managed to correct my awful posture, for which I will always be grateful. So what exactly is this more holistic approach? Essentially, it means using the torso, shoulder and arm to support the ngers and take some of the strain and pressure off them. So instead of thinking of the ngers working in isolation, you think of them as being connected to the arm, shoulder and torso like a series of levers. And levers work better when they’re properly aligned. As I was taught by Cristine, in practice this means being much freer in your movements, particularly with regards to the torso: this can follow the shape of the music, swaying to the right for higher passages and to the left for lower ones. So you will end up twisting your forearms and wrists less in order to reach the notes, because the extra movement means that your body will more often be positioned directly behind your hands. This helps to place less stress on the tendons that connect the bones in your ngers to the muscles in your arms. In addition, using more of a grasping, caressing touch – which incorporates movement and musicteachermagazine.co.uk

THINK OF YOUR FINGERS AS BEING CONNECTED TO YOUR ARM, SHOULDER AND TORSO LIKE A SERIES OF LEVERS. AND LEVERS WORK BETTER WHEN THEY’RE PROPERLY ALIGNED support from the arm – rather than a type of percussive action that just involves the ngers, can also help to prevent tendonitis and other injuries. When I was learning, the technique largely went over my head. What converted me was simply the freedom that I felt from using more movement while I played. I felt closer to the notes; I felt like I’d been given a licence to really feel the music with the whole of my body, not just my ngers.

SIGHT AND SOUND Now I appreciate that that last sentence might be greeted with a certain degree of scepticism. In the West there seems to be something of a disconnect between music and movement; perhaps a vague sense that superuous movement is somehow distracting or embarrassing. So it’s interesting to see a number of scientic studies emerging that suggest that movement actually contributes to an audience’s understanding and appreciation of a performance. For example, as part of an experiment published in 2012 by Matthew Rodger et al. in the journal Human Movement Science, subjects were asked to rate performances by novice and expert clarinettists. Their performances consisted of an audio element (a sound recording of their performance) and a visual element (their movements presented as a point-light display). Some of the subjects were shown novice audio matched with novice

movements. But for other subjects, novice audio was coupled with expert movements. And as a result, their performances were deemed to be of a higher quality. In his 2013 paper Sight Over Sound in the Judgement of Music Performance, Chia-Jung Tsay asked both novice and professional musicians to try to guess the winners of a variety of international performance competitions, based on either sound-only or visual-only recordings. Surprisingly, those who were presented with the visual-only recordings consistently did better at guessing the winners. Studies such as these two suggest that visual cues are perhaps a more important part of musical performance than most of us realise; that they can even make your performance seem better. So science is helping to show us that a sense of movement, and a consideration of the whole body, can potentially improve a pianist’s playing on both a technical and expressive level. Admittedly, it could be argued that all of this is a bit high-level for younger students who are just trying to pass Grade 3. But we all know that bad habits start early, and can be very hard to x later on. So I’d like to encourage any teachers reading this to maybe start xating less on the hand and to think more about the rest of the body; to encourage students to loosen up and enjoy moving as they play; and to put the effort into correcting bad posture. Because if those students keep playing, they may well thank you for it one day. MT

FURTHER INFORMATION A couple of other interesting studies looking at the role of movement in per formance are Expressive Performance in Music (William Forde Thompson) and Expressiveness of Musicians’ Body Movements in Performances on Marimba (Soa Dahl and Anders Friberg). The work of Jane Davidson is also worth checking out. The London International Piano Symposium, which will next be held from 12 to 15 February 2015, brings together pianists and academics in the eld of performance science, to share their research with anyone interested in attending. www.londoninternationalpianosymposium.co.uk AUGUST 2014 |

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OUTREACH TO ORDER

RSNO Takeover concert

The RSNO has compiled an outstanding menu of education projects for schools, including an all-out takeover of its central office. David Kettle reports TAKEOVER The Glasgow offices of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) are a sea of iPads, as dozens of teenagers tap away furiously, writing speeches and programme notes, huddling in groups around their glowing screens for intensive discussions on marketing, sponsorship, outreach and programming, and jotting down quick notes in full-team meetings bringing the 40 youngsters together with regular staff. It was a bold move – and a big ask – for the RSNO to invite a gaggle of 16- to 18-year-olds to take over the running of the orchestra for two days in June, and to expect them to look after everything from balancing the books to crashing the cymbals at the right moment in the score. But judging by the smiling faces of youngsters and RSNO staff alike at the closing concert, where young players swelled the ranks of RSNO regulars and two novice 34

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conductors took up the baton on the podium, it was an education for all concerned. The young participants in the RSNO’s twoday Takeover project had come from all over Scotland, many already signed up as RSNO ambassadors – with the role of acting as advocates for classical music in their schools and communities – but others getting their first glimpse of the orchestral world. They’d selected particular areas of the orchestra’s work that they’d most like to sample – whether performing as musicians, or working in planning, development, stage management or any other department – and had picked apart the various threads that combine in the successful staging of a concert, which they hosted at the end of their time.

RSNO ENGAGE FOR SCHOOLS It’s tempting to focus solely on the inaugural RSNO Takeover event’s success. But in

fact, it’s just one element in the orchestra’s quietly radical new approach to education and engagement, which revolves around a scheme aimed squarely at schools, RSNO Engage for Schools. Announced in May, the scheme offers a menu of more than 30 individual projects or workshops for primary and secondary schools, from which teachers can select whatever is most appropriate for their age group and learning level. There are relatively straightforward ideas – an ‘instrument petting zoo’ where RSNO musicians give pupils the chance to examine and try out the tools of their trade, or workshops looking at the different sections of the orchestra. There are themed projects – on war and music, for example, or American works, or even Vikings and Romans – that can tie in with teaching happening elsewhere in the curriculum. And there are more ambitious, longer-term projects – such as adopting an RSNO musician, or establishing a school choir with the help of RSNO Junior Chorus staff – that offer more open-ended possibilities for learning. Flexibility is key, according to RSNO director of learning and engagement Jenn Minchin. ‘Teachers can just get in touch with us, and we’ll have a conversation about what they need and what kind of benefits they’re musicteachermagazine.co.uk

‘An education for all concerned’: students ‘takeover’ the RSNO admin

hoping to achieve,’ she explains. ‘Then we’ll speak to our musicians, find dates that will work for everyone, cost the whole thing out, and go out and work with them. It’s about creating a dialogue between schools and ourselves.’

SCHOOL-LEAD OUTREACH That dialogue was kicked off in the initial planning stages of RSNO Engage for Schools. ‘We did a national survey,’ explains Minchin, ‘and we had around 200 teachers from nursery, primary and secondary schools respond to it. As a national company, I feel we should be doing what the schools want from us, rather than dictating a programme to them. It was quite an in-depth questionnaire, asking what things they would expect from a national orchestra, and what added value we could give.’ The results, she explains, showed that teachers wanted players to go out into their schools, not only for demonstrations of playing techniques and musical concepts, but also to talk about life as a professional musician – a focus on the realities of a working life in music that was mirrored in the orchestra’s Takeover project. ‘I hope it’ll make people think differently about the orchestra – that’s the aim,’ Minchin continues. And it’s a long-term plan for a wholesale change of philosophy. ‘We’re not going to see the impact of what we’re doing for another ten years or so.’

COSTS The one area of teachers’ requests that the orchestra was unable to meet, Minchin admits, was cost. ‘We’ve tried to keep things as low-cost as possible, but we’re not 100 per cent fully funded ourselves, so we do have to charge.’ And for Julia Wilson, musicteachermagazine.co.uk

Student Isla Ratcliffe conducts during the RSNO Takeover day

head of performing arts at North Berwick High School, East Lothian, it’s one of the practicalities that the scheme will encounter on the ground. ‘All of these projects will take money and organisation,’ she admits. ‘We could happily do all of them, but there simply isn’t the money, nor the time for all of the organisation they’ll require.’ But she’s enthusiastic about many of the RSNO’s projects, especially the ‘adopt a musician’ idea. ‘Within a few days of getting the brochure, I was on the phone to the RSNO about it,’ she continues. ‘From the conversation I had with them, it’s up to me as a teacher how we’d use them – it’s as though we can tailor-make the relationship for our school. They could come to a school concert, or work with the orchestra for a day, or even do a masterclass with pupils learning the instrument they play.’ Wilson also points to workshops on improvisation and musical concepts as projects she’d find potentially valuable. ‘To have visiting musicians talking in the language that we’re asking these young people to think in – ostinatos, modulations, perfect cadences – would be a really valuable way for pupils to get to understand the language of music.’ The RSNO’s scheme comes at a significant moment for Scottish education, with new exams – the National 4 and 5 and new Higher and Advanced Higher replacing the wellestablished Standard Grade and previous Highers – and sometimes subtle changes to the content of the music curriculum meaning that teachers are being forced to rethink and reformulate lesson plans and resources. Minchin points out that the RSNO’s plans are not designed specifically to address those areas of the curriculum that have been modified – ‘but,’ she says, ‘I hope that teachers will see this as an added resource they can draw on in a time of change’. And interestingly, the scheme comes at a time of change for the orchestra itself, which is two

years through a three-year pilot continuing professional development programme aimed at expanding and diversifying the skills of musicians and admin staff alike. ‘It’s come at the perfect time,’ says Minchin. ‘If musicians don’t feel like they have the particular skills for a project or could do with some extra support, then we have the funding there to be able to encourage that.’ Another harsh reality is that the RSNO’s Engage for Schools is competing with other groups – and other musical genres. ‘This is great from a classical standpoint,’ says Wilson, ‘but we’re also getting other opportunities from other performing groups, and I’m on the lookout for these kinds of projects for all kinds of music. We’ve had an Argentinian folk duo come in for a day, and also Ghanaian drummers who worked on music and dance.’ For Wilson, though, the scheme’s true value will be in encouraging pupils to engage with classical music on a personal level. ‘I really like the idea of young people developing a relationship with someone in that way, to make things real. Classical music just isn’t part of the life experience of many young people, so getting to know a classical musician who’s passionate about their job can really help.’ Minchin agrees that it’s essential to look at what the RSNO’s scheme can offer in terms of work and career opportunities, whether that is within classical music or not, rather than simply encouraging youngsters to get involved in a rewarding pastime. ‘Our focus is on young people’s employability skills and engagement, and that was really the angle we took in the Takeover project.’ By opening up the orchestra’s resources – sending musicians out to build relationships in schools, inviting youngsters in to run the organisation, and finding flexible and responsive ways of taking musical concepts into schools – she’s aiming to change the RSNO’s whole philosophy. Will it work? Come back and see in ten years. MT

AUGUST 2014 |

MUSIC TEACHER

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THE TEACHING MUSICIAN A VOCATIONAL AND FLEXIBLE POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE/DIPLOMA IN MUSIC EDUCATION PRACTICE

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y h p a r g o t o h p K J ©

Participants in Music Mark’s Peer-to-Peer scheme

MAKING THEIR MARK We invited Music Mark’s new General Manager Jem Shuttleworth to share her goals for the association Over the last few months I’ve been to more and educationally, and dedication to best railway stations and covered more miles progress and highest achievement for all. » Clear and unequivocal support for than ever before and without a doubt spent more on Diet Coke than I would have articulating and enabling the rich and positive thought possible! I’ve also had the privilege impacts that a first-class music education of meeting with and listening to more of our has on schools and their communities. membership than ever before whilst at the same time taking the opportunity to outline the fundamental right that Music Mark, as the PEER-TO-PEER principal music subject association, believes in: the right of a first-class music education for All good stuff, but the challenge is often how all children and young people, in and out of to turn such statements into a reality and how their schools. best to offer support to make a sustainable We call upon key decision makers in central difference on the ground, hence us seizing and local government and all who hold a the opportunity to work with a number of stake in the strategic planning and operational partners and London music services to deliver delivery of music education to support us in Peer-to-Peer as part of the Music Excellence securing an increase in the status and value London programme (musicexcellence.org.uk ), of music in a broad and balanced education which runs through to July 2015 alongside through the following outcomes: our sister programme Teach Through Music » Continuing and enhanced ring-fenced (sound-connections.org.uk/teach-through-music ). government funding for music education Both programmes will be recruiting again in to ensure that the National Plan for Music September. Education can be fully implemented and Peer-to-Peer will support teachers in achieved by 2020. developing the quality of music teaching and learning at Key Stage 3 across London, » Continuing and enhanced support from local authorities and other bodies to alongside enabling school leaders to further exercise their civic responsibilities and own recognise the role that music can have in local decision-making to complement the supporting whole school improvement. national framework for music education. Teachers and school leaders are invited to sit down with their peers – not necessarily people » An unswerving commitment to supporting professional development of they know, but people who share your goals the workforce, especially in the quality of and frustrations. We’re hoping that your expertise might open doors for a colleague on teaching and learning. the other side of London who is facing issues » An increase in the quality of both access that you’ve already dealt with. Maybe it’ll be you and provision across the spectrum – in schools, music services and music who comes away with a clean, fresh approach education hubs. you’d never thought of before. The programme is comprised of six stages of excellence: » The strongest possible focus on the impacts and outcomes for children and » Creating clear criteria for excellent young people: musically, personally, socially teaching and learning built upon Ofsted’s musicteachermagazine.co.uk

subject survey judgements of outstanding effectiveness in music » Identifying music teachers as ‘peer mentors’ to broaden professional development and aid school-to-school support » Sharing good practice through collaborative CPD courses, virtual peer support and classroom-practice-based mentoring alongside building upon sustainable networks » Defining pupils’ musical standards, assessment and progression pathways from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4 » Developing schemes of work and resources, which embed the principles of the London Curriculum, embrace the new National Curriculum and enhance pupils’ wider-curricular opportunities » Delivering support for high-quality subject leadership and management to facilitate school improvement One of the most exciting aspects of the Peer-to-Peer programme is the role of peer mentors and we are often asked why we went with this approach. Being a secondary music teacher with high-pressure day-to-day time commitments and often working in isolation, the opportunity to reflect and learn from colleagues is a challenge. Other subject departments with greater numbers of staff may have established mechanisms in place for encouraging and supporting colleagues in professional dialogue. Where do secondary music teachers go for subject or sector specific advice, knowledge and guidance? Generalised ‘one size fits all’ CPD courses are not always sufficient to address specific curriculum development needs. Peer mentoring, as a professional development tool, recognised within the Teaching Schools agenda, lies at the heart of our Peer-to-Peer programme as a better approach to success for teachers. One of the other questions that we are often asked, entirely understandably as a national organisation, is, ‘why the focus on London?’ It’s a very straightforward one to answer – the funding is provided through the London Schools Excellence Fund and the funders are the Department for Education and the Mayor of London. With these concerns in mind, we’re committed to ‘what happens next’, and asking the question of how, with outcomes having been established in this richly-funded study, the programme can be rolled out across the UK. www.musicmark.org.uk AUGUST 2014 | MUSIC TEACHER

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Edited by Karen Marshall

It’s August and if you haven’t already put pen to paper, or rather fingers to keyboard, you are certainly thinking about lesson planning for September. Whether you are an instrumental or classroom teacher I hope you will find the suggested resources useful to motivate and inspire new cohorts of children or familiar faces for the coming year’s musical challenge! Karen Marshall

Resources for the new term

» The Music Teacher’s Companion, Crozier and Harris, ABRSM, £18. Especially useful to newer teachers or those just wanting to refresh themselves about good instrumental teaching practice. A good general guide and reminder of why we do what we do! » Practice Diaries: The MU’s Paul Harris Practice Diary, Faber, £1.80 or £1 for MU members. The design here empowers students to take responsibility for their practice. My Practice Record, Hal Leonard, 50p. Covers 32 weeks and features staff paper and a music dictionary. Voice memo on your student’s mobile, free! » Teach rhythm Flip a rhythm series, Sheila Nelson, Boosey and Hawkes, from £12.95. These books are packed with progressive rhythm patterns. James O. Froseth Rhythm Flash Cards, GIA publications, approx. £30, includes CD. These have all kind of creative possibilities in the classroom, from rhythm literacy to composition and improvisations. » Go for Bronze, National Youth Choir of Scotland, £30 for ten workbooks. Suitable for Key Stages 2 and 3, these books never fail to entertain at the same time as developing music literacy skills through singing and games, systematically employing different learning styles. Other books are available in the series, with the final level (Gold) •

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Top resource Music Express Online Introductory offer: £25 for the first year Written especially for the new music National Curriculum from early years up to age 11, this online resource supports A&C Black Music’s new Music Express series. It includes: » More than 400 favourite A&C Black classroom songs for all ages and abilities, searchable by age, curriculum link or topic exempting students from ABRSM Grade 5 theory. » Let’s Rock Series, Rockschool, £15 each. Available for drums, bass and guitar, these are brilliant for beginners and could even be used for first access at Key Stage 2 or 3. Do use the one-hour free downloadable audio and video material plus extra tuition and quizzes. » GCSE Music Exam Pack, Rhinegold Education, £35, available for Edexcel, OCR and AQA. A bit of a godsend for my son this summer, these include a study guide, listening tests and a revision guide. Look out for the digital versions, which work well on tablets or desktop computers. Whole class packages are available, just visit www.musicroom.com » The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Hal Leonard, £24.95. A classroom activity and poster pack. This handy resource may be useful for any school doing the BBC Ten Pieces project. » BBC ‘Ten Pieces’ DVD. Do order the BBC’s free DVD of its ten immortal works while stocks last from the corporation’s education website: www.bbc.co.uk/learning » Grade 3 Piano Pieces & Exercises (2015 – 2017), Trinity College, £5.99. This collection is so popular with my students that I’m recommending it as a repertoire book! As straight-talking Ella, aged 12, said: ‘They’ve really sorted themselves out. It’s a big improvement and not like exam pieces. I don’t know what to pick because it’s all my kind of music.’ From a delightful arrangement from Swan Lake to Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’ and an attractive piece of Haydn, it’s all here!

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whole-class instrumental teaching resources » warm-ups and activities to develop basic skills, covering voice, focus, beat, pitch, rhythm and movement. It has been written for the non-specialist music teacher by experienced music educators. Secondary school teachers may even find this useful for Year 7 students. www.musicexpress.co.uk

TEACHER GIVEAWAY We’ve teamed up with the Musicians’ Union and Faber Music to offer a superb collection of Paul Harris’s work – a bundle packed with practical ideas, insightful pupil psychology and teaching philosophies developed for the 21st-century child. This collection includes some of my most used and favourite teaching titles. To enter, email [email protected] with the words Paul Harris Prize Draw in the subject field. This month’s giveaway comprises the following volumes, worth around £100 in total, and which all go to one winner: » 10 x Musicians’ Union Practice Diaries » Musicians’ Union Teacher’s tool kit » Improve Your Teaching! » Improve Your Teaching: Teaching Beginners » The Practice Process » The Virtuoso Teacher » Group Music Teaching in Practice by Leonora Davies and Paul Harris


IMPROVISATION FOR BEGINNER GUITARISTS » Words: Al Morrison This article has been written with the guitarist in mind but can be adapted for other instruments.

STARTING SMALL AND BUILDING It’s best to start improvising with a limited number of notes and chords. This gets students to really think about what they are doing instead of simply playing fast scales. » Step 1: Teach students to play alternating chords of C major and A minor slowly. This simple chord structure can be recorded onto a mobile phone and provided as a backing track. » Step 2: Introduce the C major pentatonic scale (C, D, E, G, A). Slowly familiarise students with the notes and explain that they will be using them to improvise over the accompaniment they have previously learnt. » Step 3: If you are teaching in a group setting, one pupil could start to improvise choosing two notes from the scale above, played on one string, using crotchet notes to start with. The other pupils should play the chordal accompaniment. » Step 4: As pupils start to feel more condent they can move on to two strings and change the note lengths. Eventually they can move on to playing the whole scale using a variety of note lengths, including triplets and dotted notes. This should be done at each individual’s own pace. Then try short melodic ideas with given rhythms. Use ashcards or write out rhythms on a sheet or board (listed in individual rhythm boxes) specic to the ability of each student. » Step 5: Pupils could then choose two or three ideas from the list of rhythms in the boxes and improvise over a C major–A minor chord accompaniment or a C drone, which could be built up to a C and G played together – guitarists may know this as a ‘power’ chord Pupils can come up with their own list of rhythm ideas in boxes. It’s fun to make a 40

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AUGUST 2014

game of it for younger pupils, swapping round the improvisers and accompanists within the group. Online resources » C drone: http://youtu.be/r021EhSJ0gA » Backing track in C major: http://youtu.be/YdZbNix4nJM

EFFECTS TO USE IN IMPROVISATION

» »

Changing note lengths Use of space (taking a rest between phrases) » Dynamics » Staccato/legato » Double-stops » 2/3/4/5 note melodies » Different rhythmic ideas » Vibrato » String bending » Hammer-ons/pull-offs » Strumming » Picking » Fingers/plectrum » Different common scales including: pentatonic, blues, major, minor » C harmonic minor over a C drone » Adding chromatic notes to the melody » Discuss different structures, such as binary, ternary and rondo forms » Change the chordal accompaniment by

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adding other chords related to C major, such as F, G or E minor. Change the style of chordal playing.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL Call and response between the teacher and pupil or between the pupils can be really rewarding – swapping ‘twos’ or ‘fours’ (each person plays a two- or four-bar phrase, taking it in turns). Discuss the structure of your performances and how these relate to existing jazz works, playing examples where possible. You should also investigate modes. Teach or revise the C major scale – simply adding three extra notes to the C pentatonic scale. Then practise playing elements of the C major scale over different drones – this is a great way to hear the avour of different modes. For example, if you play elements of the C major scale over a D drone, you end up with a dorian mode feel; if you play elements of a C major scale over an F drone, you get a jazzy, lydian mode feel. Similarly, try using for your drone a G (mixolydian, bluesy feel), E (phrygian, Spanish feel), A (aeolian, minor) or B (locrian). Discuss with your students the different effect each drone gives. They can then bring together all the elements on this page, choosing their techniques, form and choice of drone. www.facebook.com/AlMorrisonsmusicaleducation musicteachermagazine.co.uk

W E N Rhinegold Education Digital Editions

We are pleased to present digital versions of our best-selling study guides and revision guides for GCSE and A-Level music. These exciting new editions are compatible with PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone and Android tablets and smartphones, for access in the classroom, at home and on the go. These digital books have a host of great features:

• Sold as an annual subscription for a site licence – up to 30 users for just £99 for one year! • Fully searchable text and interactive glossary • Each student has a unique login, and can personalise their copy with notes, highlights and bookmarks which sync to their login details – perfect for setting homework and revision • Dynamic content including score playback, test-yourself quizzes, weblinks and video • Updates and specification changes pushed directly to your devices • Pay by school invoice

Visit www.rhinegoldeducation.co.uk for more information or to register your interest

WESTMINSTER SCHOOL www.westminster.org.uk Up to six music scholarships of 25% of the boarding or day fee are awarded annually to boys who enter the school at 13+. Further assistance up to 100% of the day fees may be available for those in financial need. For more information telephone 020 7963 1017 or email musicoffi[email protected].

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MT REVIEWS

AMONG THIS MONTH’S REVIEWERS Al Summers is a member of the Registry of Guitar Tutors’ Acoustic Guitar Advisory Panel for London College of Music exams, and is author of several books on music education and guitar teaching

Michael Round taught at Trinity College of Music for many years. He is a part-time teacher at Kingston University and an experienced orchestral pianist, accompanist, arranger and music editor

Paul Saunders is an established multiinstrumentalist working in West End theatres, and is a peripatetic woodwind teacher

Miriam Levenson studied in MMY (Jerusalem), Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music. She works as an orchestral bassoonist, piano teacher and music journalist

NEW PRODUCTS H5 HANDHELD RECORDER

Most teachers will be familiar with handheld recorders – great little devices for recording coursework and group pieces in practice rooms. Zoom has introduced a new model, currently in the middle of their range, that can record four tracks simultaneously. It features an included microphone but has additional inputs on the device for the other channels with combination sockets. Pricing to be confirmed www.zoomcorp.co.uk

SESSION HORNS PRO Native Instruments has a distinguished history in instrumental samples and has expanded its range with a highlevel horn section instrument. Featuring three saxes, three trumpets, two trombones and other horns, it allows solo and ensemble playback. For use in coursework, particularly A Level, arrangements are often let down by brass samples and this instrument might improve that. £249 – Retail www.native-instruments.com

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HISTORY SHOWTIME MUSICALS Author Liza Phipps and composer Avril Thompson have now completed four of their historical musicals for use at Key Stage 2, on the following themes: the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Vikings, and the ancient Egyptians. Each show features four original songs and is balanced with activities such as games and craft sessions. £12.99 each www.hachette.co.uk

SHOTGUN MICROPHONES Hardly a month seems to go past without SE Electronics launching a new microphone or two. This month they have entered the market of shotgun microphones for work with video. Easily linked to cameras, the microphones feature back-electret design and very little in the way of bells and whistles, deliberately keeping the sound as pure as possible. Around £99 for the ‘Pro’ mic www.seelectronics.com

BASS BIG MUFF/DELUXE BIG MUFF For those guitarists who are looking for a good ‘fuzz’ sound, you can’t go wrong with the Big Muff (I have one!). EHX has now launched two new models under the moniker, with one for bass that is just a smaller version of the classic bass version. The Deluxe version features a mid-boost switch to allow solos to cut through a mix a little better. Pricing to be confirmed www.ehx.com


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MT REVIEWS

ADVANCED PIANO MUSIC PIANO CONCERTO IN E , WOO4 BEETHOVEN HENLE URTEXT HN 567, £11.50

PIANO CONCERTOS NO. 1 IN C (BA 9021-90, £19) AND NO. 2 IN B (BA 9022-90, £21) BEETHOVEN BÄRENREITER

INTRODUCTION AND ALLEGRO APPASSIONATO, OP. 92 (HN 1141, £13.99); CONCERT ALLEGRO WITH INTRODUCTION, OP. 134 (HN 1139, £13.50) SCHUMANN HENLE URTEXT

SCHERZO IN E MINOR, OP. 4 BRAHMS HENLE URTEXT HN 569, £6.50

AVANT-DERNIÈRES PENSÉES SATIE HENLE URTEXT HN 1181, £5.50

SONATA IN C, K159 (HN 1220, £3.99); SONATA IN D MINOR, K141 (HN 1221, £4.50) SCARLATTI HENLE URTEXT

SONATA NO. 1 IN F MINOR, OP. 6 SCRIABIN HENLE URTEXT HN 1107, £13.50

These new Urtext editions, designed for the scholar and musicologist, may also provide everything for the performer too – though not always. Take, for instance, the least-known Beethoven concerto of all, the juvenile (1784) E major (WoO4). Buy the new Henle, and you may be disappointed that there is no orchestral reduction for second piano, but this is outside the Urtext remit. What Henle prints is the convention of the time, namely the solo part, without cadenzas, and with orchestral cues only when the soloist has bars’ rest. (This format persisted until Chopin’s time if not beyond.) For this particular work, no original full score survives anyway: to find out what

prefaces and critical notes (included in the cover price) supply valuable background. Brahms tweaked his Op. 4 Scherzo to minimise its resemblance to the Chopin B flat minor Scherzo Op. 31, and, as if there weren’t already enough notes – pencilled-in some double thirds in bars 584–5. This was his first solo piece, and it’s thought he may have deliberately ended his last, the E Rhapsody Op. 119 No. 4 in the the orchestra might have done beneath the tonic minor so as to close his solo piano output soloist, consult the Eulenberg score (ETP 1281) in the key in which it began. Satie editor Ulrich Krämer credits his containing a conjectural (and anachronistic) subject with hitherto unsuspected depth of completion by Willy Hess, or Alba Music Press for a more plausible one by Ronald Brautigam. thought, postulating a gesamtkunstwerk (‘total art’) inspiration behind those surreal texts The new Bärenreiters cover far more superimposed on the music. The Avantfamiliar ground. Helpfully for page-turndernières Pensées were dedicated to Debussy, phobes, the usual two-piano format is Dukas and Roussel, though you’d never guess rejected: each solo part (with full cadenzas, by listening. Each of them has an unvarying hooray! – and continuo figured bass in ostinato in one hand – perfect for secondthe tutti s) is in one book, a second-piano orchestral reduction in another. A competitive study pianists struggling with two staves at £19 or £21 secures you both books, but guard once, though very easy for anyone else. them carefully: you cannot buy replacements The two Scarlattis are drawn from parent separately. Matching full scores and sets of volumes HN 395 and 451. The C major is much orchestral parts are available. Editor Jonathan anthologised – it starts with a high-pitched Del Mar (and who better?) has made 17 horn call in 6/8. To its credit Henle resists the corrections to the text of No. 1 alone, but they temptation to alter bars 56 to 58 to match the are not listed in any endnotes: for details of rising high notes of equivalent bars 17 to 19. them you must pay an extra £41, no less, for The generalised introduction (common to both the critical commentary. these offprints) fails to confirm how to play Schumann complained about the absence this particular work’s grace-notes: at £3.99 for just 63 bars of music, it might have done. The of concertante works at less than full length, and plugged the gap with these two new Henle companion 158-bar D minor sonata (the one titles, the better of them being the Introduction starting with six bars of repeated right hand semiquavers in 3/8) is better value. Tricky but and Allegro Appassionato in G, Op. 92. manageable, unlike perhaps the fiendish Op. They’re in the normal two-piano format, and the Introduction harmlessly breaks several bars 6 Scriabin sonata, composed in an emotional turmoil which Scriabin felt best expressed in over two systems to save space. The D minor extreme stretches for each hand. The sense Concert Allegro with Introduction Op. 134 is of effort certainly enhances the effect in one of Schumann’s last ‘fading talents’ works, performance, but beware – Scriabin then had and is dedicated to Brahms, who helped to to compose the left-hand pieces Op. 9, having see it through the press. Clara Schumann strained his right! actually preferred it to Op. 92, though few modern musicians agree with her. These are Henle is good if you want just this work, good new editions, restoring – among much but potential buyers should not overlook else – Schumann’s careful distinctions between Bärenreiter’s rival album (BA 9616, £30, staccato dots and dashes. reviewed in August 2012), far dearer but The other Henles are useful reminders containing the first three numbered sonatas of less familiar repertoire pieces, and their plus two earlier ones and sundry fragments.

Reviewed by Michael Round 46

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SAXOPHONE REVIEWS: ODYSSEY PREMIERE MODELS WWW.JHS.CO.UK/ODYSSEYPREMIERE.HTML

B TENOR SAXOPHONE OTS800 £659

The Odyssey Premier tenor saxophone is a beautiful looking instrument that plays with a very even sound and comes with a sturdy but lightweight case. There has clearly been a lot of time invested in making this instrument look great and work properly, and it has certainly paid dividends. The example I was sent looked well constructed and was fitted with good (presumably) leather pads. The mechanism was very well set up and the bottom of the instrument was a joy to play, with all the lowest notes readily available at all dynamics. This was also achieved with the bonus of a ‘readily available’ convincing tenor sound. I actually found myself checking that this was a budget instrument! At this price though, you can’t have everything and it’s as you go to the top register that the instrument starts to show signs of weakness, as intonation becomes harder to control.

ALTO SAXOPHONE OAS130 £429

Once again, this is a beautiful looking sax that played every note without any difficulty. It’s a free blowing instrument that would suit anybody wanting to start learning the saxophone. Intonation is very much better than the tenor but on the example I was sent I felt the mechanism let the instrument down. The placing of the left hand pads seemed very high, but more of a distraction was the unevenness of the spring strength, noticeably the bottom E and fork F , which were stiff! This may appear like nit-picking but a youngster would have trouble depressing some of those keys and perhaps be deterred from using them, thereby hindering progress. That said, I believe (as with the tenor) it is basically a solid instrument. I was able to

‘Undoubtedly a fantastic budget machine’: the Odyssey Premiere B flat tenor

All of the palm keys are set too high for my liking and this affects the venting of these keys, which in turn affects the intonation. This can be adjusted of course, but it certainly didn’t help the intonation problems that

generate a pleasing sound on it and, for the price, it offers a very affordable starter option. As a general point it’s probably worth mentioning that budget instruments vastly improved in the last decade or so, making it perfectly possible to obtain a viable instrument as a beginner. Add to that a little professional guidance on mechanism adjustment and possibly a new mouthpiece, and the probability of getting a bargain increases tenfold. Having now tried two of these saxophones I would certainly advise getting them checked out by a professional before purchase. The instruments themselves I believe are sound but, possibly due to the budget price, they need that final check.

this particular instrument had and I wonder whether it could be completely cured. Working with a tuning machine I was able to very easily monitor blowing a quarter of a tone sharp on high E and F. F went even further. That said, with a session of adjustments in a woodwind repair shop this is undoubtedly a fantastic budget machine. It inevitably lacks the tonal colours and subtleties that a professional instrument can offer, but it does provide the player with ample scope for creating music to an intermediate level. I imagine one of the areas where savings have been made is the metal from which it is constructed, and it’s noticeably heavier than my own saxophone (Selmer SA80 Series 2). However it certainly looks and sounds like a tenor saxophone and would do for any school or anyone wanting a starter instrument. Having only played it for one day I can’t really comment on its build quality in terms of longevity so I will stick with first impressions, which are extremely favourable. Incidentally, the mouthpiece that came with it, although unmarked, was excellent.

‘A very affordable starter option’: Odyssey Premier’s alto model

Reviewed by Paul Saunders musicteachermagazine.co.uk

AUGUST 2014 |

MUSIC TEACHER

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Michael Jackson | Ed Sheeran | James Brown David Bowie | Coldplay | Bruno Mars Plan B | Led Zeppelin - & many more PLUS Fact files: band and artist background information with recommended listening Backing tracks: high quality recordings for you to sing along to in your exam Downloadable audio: use your download card for easy access to your audio Vocal scores: easy-to-follow separate vocals scores Piano and guitar parts: piano notation and guitar chords included to help with your practice Learn more at www.rockschool.co.uk/2014vocals Rockschool, the Rockschool logo and all other Rockschool products or service names are trade marks of Rock School Ltd © 2014 Rock School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Company number: 2610574 VAT number: 928122629

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SHEET MUSIC & BOOKS choice of quality guitar books of Mozart arrangements; this is the best I know. Reviewed by Al Summers

MUSIC THEORY FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS GRADE 5

MOZART FOR GUITAR

YING YING NG

SCHOTT

ALFRED, £4.50

£12.99

With a minimal amount of refreshingly plain text, this book explains and tests the elements of ABRSM Grade 5 theory in 70 attractive pages. The publisher misses a trick here in aiming this at very young musicians, as there are plenty of adult learners who would enjoy, and benefit from, this format. The pictures are supposed to assist children with new musical concepts. Being a not-particularly-visual person, I see no link between the pastel shaded cartoons of giraffes, space ships or the Eiffel Tower and the musical ideas that appear on the same pages. More to the point, the publisher surely would have many more sales across the age ranges, simply by keeping the excellent print quality and very calming creamy paper with the same mixture of colour and black-andwhite print (helping to break up as well as clarify the subject matter), but dropping the pre-school style decorations. This is an ideal alternative to Christopher Dunn’s established and superb Take Five for those who prefer something less dry and concise. Ng’s book runs to half the length again in a slightly larger format and offers rather more in the way of friendly tests and challenges. There is almost nothing to disappoint in this welcome addition to theory tuition support. As a footnote, it is remarkable that practical theory literature so rarely advocates relating examples and results to actual sound, or trying to improve the ear by hearing them internally. How even more positive books like this could be! Reviewed by Al Summers musicteachermagazine.co.uk

MARTIN HEGEL

Prefaced with a succinct explanation of why CINEMA CLASSICS: ALTO SAX and how Mozart’s music can work well for guitar, 26 of the 32 transcriptions in this book VAHID MATEJKO ALFRED are by Martin Hegel, with six by well-known 19th-century guitarist composers forming the £12.50 central section of the book. I love TV and film themes and upon receiving The proof reading is happily far better this book couldn’t wait to play the enclosed than some recent Schott guitar volumes; CD and let it loose on my students for a fun customary quality and Schott’s usual excellent lesson. The trouble is, the arrangements are creamy stock and clear print make reading often too slow or in a different style, and that through these attractive and well-chosen means that they become nothing more than pieces a joy. cover versions of the original. The fashion for excessive courtesy Over the Rainbow clearly couldn’t use accidentals (perhaps encouraged by software Judy Garland, but to set it as a ‘bossa’ is such as Sibelius now automatically providing not really staying true to the original. In the so many of these) is sometimes displayed, and book’s defence the foreword does mention worse: an A major piece, containing no altered ‘unique interpretations’ when referring to the Bs, bizarrely has a B natural accidental. musicians used but surely a book with this Artificial harmonics, used to good effect title should offer more recognizable versions. in Ave Verum Corpus, give some indication The version of ‘In Dreams’ from Lord of The Rings is perhaps closest to the original but of the general level required. While some pieces could be played by intermediate tracks such as ‘Gonna Fly Now’ (Rocky ), and guitarists, many need higher grade technique the main theme from Star Wars sound to me and musicianship. Fingering is given, in some like cocktail music. pieces very minimally. Others are surprisingly Overall, considering the number of heavily marked, including a charmingly fussy musicians involved I would certainly expect (and effective) ossia in K331’s third movement some more brass playing to assist with the James Bond /Star Wars element. The most ‘sax (Alla turca). Such attention to detail gives some idea of heavy’ theme in the book (The Pink Panther ) Martin Hegel’s care in preparation. Footnotes consists of just the first 12 bars of the theme identify each piece’s origin, an informative – no middle section. It’s really no more than a touch too often forgotten. Nine pieces employ nod of the head to this jazz classic. a common scordatura (bottom E to D). Some Finally, the demos are performed with little inevitable thinning out is managed well. There attention to intonation from the alto sax player are also transpositions; none of the resultant making them (for some) very hard to listen to. keys will inflict pain upon guitarists. Reviewed by Paul Saunders Surprisingly perhaps, there is no huge AUGUST 2014 |

MUSIC TEACHER

53

A winning solution will be drawn at random on 11 August, and will receive an MT tailor-made goody bag. Email your solutions to [email protected]

LUNCH BREAK

CROSSWORD set by Fustis ACROSS

DOWN

1

2 3 4 5

10 11 12 13 14 16 19 20 22 25 27 28 29

Prison ofcer’s number in Britten’s DIY opera (4,2,3,5) See below (or hear) (5) The Soldiers Chorus tells of their immortal glory (9) Maintaining frequency (7) Meant as composer (7) Hamlet puts on such a disposition (5) Play the Field at 18 (9) Composer of Robert le diable (9) Instrument produces a swell sound (5) Latches slip to open scorekeeper (7) Bohemian soprano must eat mutates (7) Give version of (9) Eric Gill statue for BBC (5) Rimsky-Korsakov’s KFC? (6,8)

Ghastly, disturbing us nightly (9) Portuguese Christmas (5) Scent of crumpled rag in France (9) What Colline does with his overcoat (5) 6 Prolonged lay out of notes to us (9) 7 Or had girl’s name changed? (5) 8 Drinking song (7) 9 MacMillan ballet with score by Poulenc (6) 15 He pulls orchestra together (9) 17, 26 Chemicals actor arranged in semitones (9,5) 18 The right time for kissin’ (5,4) 19 Covering up for Verdi’s ball (7) 21 Almost included in an early music concert (6) 23 Aggregate (could be of 17 and 26) (5) 24 Tenor like Pavarotti or Tauber (5) 26 See 17 (5)

QUIZ

JULY SOLUTION

Whose last completed work’s title roughly translates as ‘Flashes of the beyond’? Whose work did Schoenberg plunder for his concerto for string quartet and orchestra? Which two well-known musical namesakes are separated by the middle names Towner and Christopher? 4 What links Fly Fishing by JR Hartley with Mozart’s rst symphony? 5 Which two musical Hs are connected to Brook St in Mayfair? 6 Which overture has been performed 253 times at the Proms, including seven times in the 1922 season alone? 7 Which tenor wrote a DPhil thesis on witchcraft? 8 Which unusual instrument features in Penderecki’s opera Ubu Rex and Enescu’s Œdipe? 9 Which superstar violinist had the pictured villa built? 10 What did Tamás Vásáry and Iván Fischer share from 1979 to 1982? 1 2 3

a i n o f n i S n r e h t r o N e h t 1 . l l u 8 . e f o p i h s r o t c e r i d c i t s i t r a e h T 0 B e l O 9 . w a s l a c i s u M g d i r t s o B n a I 7 . o r a g i F f o e g a i r r a M e h T 6 . y l e v i t c e p s e r t S k o o r B 3 2 d n a 5 2 t a d e v i l x i r d n e H i m i J d n a l e d n a H 5 r . e t t a l e h t d e s o p m o c ) y l b i s s o p ( t r a z o M e r e h w , t r u o C l i c e C n o d e m l  t r e v d a s e g a P w o l l e Y a n i d e r u t a e f 1 : S R E W S N A à l e d - u a ’ l r u s s r i a l c É r e m r o f e h T 4 . ) y l e v i t c e p s e r t s i r a t i u g d n a r e s o p m o c m l  ( s m a i l l i W n h o J 3 . s ’ l e d n a H 2 . ) … ( n e a i s s e M

54

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AUGUST 2014


MT REVIEWS

APP REVIEWS MUSICAL FUTURES IOS AND ANDROID

of links to resources and examples of how to deliver this approach WWW.MUSICALFUTURES.ORG effectively and it does this in a really clear and concise way. The Key Stage 3 lessons I had Issue 2: Classroom at school had no impact on my Workshopping musical education; everything I learned about music came from As the app says, ‘Classroom outside the classroom, with workshopping is the process of friends or in ensemble rehearsals. followed by articles, videos and large group composing’. This Musical Futures aims to change audio from teachers, students, issue clearly maps out five steps this, bringing informal approaches academics and other experts, that you can take to introduce into the classroom and making giving a real insight into the this approach. It also has some music lessons as relevant and Musical Futures classroom. great articles from people like musical as possible. Over the Issue 1: Informal Learning Sean Gregory, director of creative years the Musical Futures website This issue covers the area of learning at the Barbican and has grown full of resources and Musical Futures that most will be music teacher Martin Said, which information, so much so that it familiar with, particularly if, like I really enjoyed. me, you took the original resources Issue 3: Find Your Voice can be overwhelming. This app and used them as a scheme of This issue covers the most solves this problem. It works work. Eight years on, the app recently developed Musical exactly like a digital magazine and Futures approach: teaching comes in three issues, covering has made me refocus on the core students to use their voices to different approaches. Each principles of ‘informal learning’ follows the same structure, with and I have realised that as an NQT recreate vocally any type of music an ‘in a nutshell’ introduction I’d kind of missed the point! It’s full in an a cappella style. Technology FREE

is a key (but optional) part of this as it aims to take advantage of the range of mobile devices that students bring into the classroom. It has lots of links to great video resources with loads of warm-up ideas and some awesome beat-boxing tutorials by the unbelievably talented musician Shlomo. The app is visually superb and content rich. I like that concepts are explained in brief but then there are lots of links to more information and resources. I would recommend this app for all musicians working in education, whether you’re a trainee teacher searching for ideas to engage your classes or an experienced musician revisiting musical futures again. Reviewed by Stephen Jackman

WHOLE WORLD BAND IOS – OTHER PLATFORMS IN DEVELOPMENT FREE HTTP://WHOLEWORLDBAND.COM

Whole World Band is a new app that has the potential to be a really useful resource for the classroom. Founded by Kevin Godley of 10cc this online app enables you to collaborate with anyone, anywhere in the world, in a virtual studio. Imagine internationally partnered schools collaborating online! You can also collaborate with some major artists, such as Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones), Stewart Copeland (The Police) and Dave Stewart (Eurythmics). Once you’ve downloaded the app, you can either create your own ‘seed session’ or add to one that already exists. A seed musicteachermagazine.co.uk

session is a performance of a piece of music in any form that is recorded and videoed using the camera and microphone on your device. Once recorded, you can edit and then release it online. You can currently add up to six simultaneous tracks, which are displayed as separate small video mosaic tiles on your device. Once your seed session is uploaded, other musicians can add to your track and vice versa. One of the things I really like about this app is how easy it is to share the results directly on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and SoundCloud. Within the app is a sophisticated digital rights management system that enables you to get paid for your

music. There is an automated system that protects and sets up all official royalty contracts when you create a seed session and/or contribute to someone else’s track. This means that anyone contributing to your music or music that you have contributed to can pay you for the privilege. With major artists already uploading seed sessions, this gives you the chance to potentially play on a hit record. When you first download the

app you get 8,000 tokens, worth £8 in total, to use on projects. When you have created a new seed session you control how many tokens you are going to charge an ‘end user’ who wishes to use or contribute to your track. This is an extremely good app that could be used in school in a variety of ways, including creating your own class pop song or video, or using the app as part of a student’s digital portfolio. It also helps when talking about the music business, as it covers a lot of the units required on various curriculums, e.g. promotion, sales and performing rights management. Reviewed by Richard Llewellyn AUGUST 2014 | MUSIC TEACHER

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Plastic & Woodwind

Good in theory? We compare the theory offerings of TCL and ABRSM Mind and Body Holistic piano technique Orchestral ‘takeover’ Scottish students run the RSNO for a day

Your full guide to plastic instruments Single reeds: Picking the best for your students Double reeds: Should you make your own? Instrument reviews

SUPPLE MEN TS

KS3 KS 5 Harriet Power

is a freelance editor and writer with particularinterests inmusiceducation andworldmusic. Shepreviously worked as an editorforRhinegold Education.

»

»

KS5 KS 5

by Harriet Power

INTRODUCTION Marketing and self-promotion are vitalto the succ ess of any musician, no matter what gen re they’re performing in. In fact, it’s often said that when you’re starting out, marketing is more important than content creation. Some even say that you should spend 80% of your time marketing and just 20% creating. Given its importance, it’s arguably something that should be considered more often in the classroom, and it’s a great way to learn about the music industry as a whole. Working out how to market a product requires critical

SimonRushby is director of musicatReigate GrammarSchool inSurrey,and author of numerous books,articlesand resourcesonmusic education. He is an ABRSM and A Levelexaminer, and a successful songwriterand composer.

Edexcel A2 ‘Continuity and Change’ set works 2015: part 1 – Corelli, Haydn and Beethoven By Simon Rushby Edexcelhas, as ever, set seven instrumental set works for Section C of the A2 examination in the summer of 2015, and these include examples from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th-century periods of music. We have examples of chamber music, solo piano music and music fo r string orchestra, as wellas an iconic moment in the history of jazz. We also have to get to grips with the avant-garde work of John Cage and the prepared piano. In this first part of our look at these set works, I willcover the first three works, allof w hich are examples of chamber music, or music for smallensembles. We start with the fourth, final movement of Corelli’s Trio Sonata in D, Op. 3 No. 2, which is written for two violins and continuo, and representsthe bright sound of the 18thcentury Baroque Italian instrumentalstyle. The other two works in this article are from the Classicalperiod, beginning with the last movement of Haydn’s String Quartet in E flat, known as the ‘Joke’, and ending with the

and creative thinking. In addition, being able to market and promote yourself is a valuable life skillfor anyone,

first movement of Beethoven’s monumentalSeptet in E flat, which has also been an instrumentalset work in

not just budding musicians.

2014.

This resource starts by looking at why marketing is so important – including a brief overviewof changes in the

Rhinegold’s EdexcelA2 Music Study Guide provides a lot of detailon these works, content which I willnot

music industry – and presents a run-down of ideas for how to market yourself as a musician. This is followed

repeat in this article. The angle o f analysis here willbe from each different element of music, specifically

by four project ideas that, with a bit of adapting, could be slotted into almost any scheme of work (although the

melody, rhythm, harmony and tonality, texture, instrumentation and structure. Edexcelalso produces

last two are more specific to classicaland world music respectively).

analyses of the set works, available from their website. Section Cof the Unit 6 paper gives candidates a cho ice of two questions. They have to write one essay, worth

M O N THL Y M AG AZINE PLUS IDEAS BANK MAKING MUSIC’S PEER-TO-PEER PROGRAMME

Marketing music

WHY IS MARKETING IMPORTANT? (A BRIEF HISTORY)

36 marks (out of 90 for the unit), and about 45–50 minutes should be spent on this question. In allof the papers

The obvious answer to the question ‘Why is marketing important?’is that if no-one knows about your product,

The focus of study iscontinuity and change of musicalstyle over time, from the point of viewof the elements

to date, each question has asked students to compare and contrast three of the seven set works, from the point of viewof two or three elements.

they’re not going to buy or experience it, even if it’s the best product in the world. But self-promotion is

listed above – howmusicalstyle has changed from one work to another, and common features the works might

something that has become increasingly important for musicians over the past couple of decades. Why?

share. It follows that most of the questions willbe asking students to co mpare and contrast the works.

T E AC HIN G RES OURC ES

In the recent past (around the 1950s to the 1980s), record labels used to do most of the work. The process

Edexcelpublishes the mark scheme for this paper each year, and indicates that more than 18 good po ints

essentially looked something like this:

need to be made, along with detailed references to support each point, in order to get top marks. Students

1.

Make a demo

have access to an unmarked copy of theNewAnthology of Music in the exam.

2.

Get signed to a record label

3.

Make a record

4.

The record labelpromotes your music (primarily through trying to get radio airplay for it)

on Applied Music). It only makes a smalldifference to the mark arrived at, but it is stillsignificant, as examiners

5.

This sells records

willconsider it when arriving at their finalmark, maybe moving the mark to the top or bottom of the relevant

Quality of written communication (QWC) is assessed in both this section and section Bo f the paper (which is

band according to how wellthe can didate has expressed their answer. While grammar, punctuation and

Record labels would act as an intermediary between artists and their fans, doing most of the musician’s

spelling are part of this, a significant factor is the clarity and structure of the essay.

marketing for them. But with developments as recorded music moves from being a physicalto a digital product, and the advent of the internet (which means you no longerneed the middleman, as it’s much easier

Key words allied to the elements of music willbe highlighted inbold text.

to communicate directly with your fans), record labels are struggling. They’re nowmuch more ca utious about

signing unknown musicians, which means that you already need to have built up a fanbase before a labelis likely to take you on.

If you want to learn more about the historyofmarketing music, the book Music 3.0: A SurvivalGuidefor MakingMusicin the Internet Age by BobbyOwsinskiis an excellent place t t r t.

Arcangelo Corelli (1653–17 13): TrioSonatain D, Op. 3No. 2(fourthmoveme nt)

But even once they’re signed, artists today are stillexpected to market themselves, partly because selling music has become that much harder, and partly because fans appreciate and expect the direct communication. So

Whenthismovementwasan AS setwork in2012, I madea shortrevisionvideowhichcanbe found here.I have deliberatelyused the structure of thatvideointhisanalysissothat, if studentswish, they canuse the resourcesinconjunction.

nowthe process looks something like this: 1.

Gain a following

2.

Get signed to a record label

3.

Continue to self-promote your music

4.

Make most of your income through touring and added-value items (see below) rather than sales of the i c ti

BAROQUEINSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

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Email a 700-word account, arranged into days, with a high-resolution photo to [email protected]. Published articles will win £100

WORKING WEEK Monday I went in to school early today to glue the school orchestra together with some exceptionally unambiguous piano chords. Helen Maxwell, our ute teacher, beats time without quite making physical contact. I catch Scarlett at the end of the rehearsal and squeeze in a few minutes to go through her Grade 1 ute exam pieces, which I am accompanying. With just a few days to go, I still nd myself singing with gusto: ‘Greentwo-three-sleeves’. I let Scarlett into my backof-the-knee twitching counting method to try and lighten the mood, but she just stares at me like a rabbit in the headlights. A pleasant afternoon is spent on the JW Pepper website sourcing new songs for a competition in June against other schools under the United Learning umbrella. In the evening a young violinist about to take Grade 8 is sent over by my friend and fellow freelancer, Sarah Wormell Evans, for an intensive aural training session.

Tuesday A whole school rehearsal for the Spring Concert is sabotaged by sports whisking children away for a swimming gala, grrr. Back home I focus on Harlequin Chamber Choir, my lovely new a cappella group. Now I’ve got [Sing for Pleasure chief executive and Cranleigh Prep head of music] Catherine Beddison on board as music director I can beaver away on publicity for our forthcoming concert, on recruiting the nal, so-far elusive alto (any takers?), on correspondence for wedding bookings, and on writing choral arrangements. When I get to the Harlequin 58

MUSIC TEACHER |

AUGUST 2014

Rachel Musgrove is a choral trainer at St Ives Preparatory School in Haslemere and founder of Harlequin Chamber Choir

rehearsal a singer is missing. I fret throughout the rehearsal and afterwards into a second glass of wine at the Richard Onslow, where the measures are large, that it’s all falling apart. There’s something of the knife-edge about working with such a small group. A text message tells us our elusive singer is hospitalised with a kidney stone, and in a heartless sort of way I cheer up.

Wednesday The morning after. At 8am there’s the Arnold Dolmetsch Ensemble, AKA age seven and eight recorder club. Is there a god? I think not. Rehearsals for the spring concert are upon us. Chamber choir gets three-part harmony right for the rst time in The Rhythm of a Life; Alice, star pupil in Reception, has a total meltdown because others are not following her Kodály hand signs in Doe a deer ; senior choir sings Greg Gilpin’s cheesy Why We Sing with such emotion some break down in tears; Year 5’s music lesson is sabotaged by a tennis xture – grrr. The spring concert, which we have put our hearts into since Christmas, is over in 45 minutes. There are no reception creep-outs, as threatened earlier in the week due to the late start time. (I am a master of the raised eyebrow).

our summer music-drama holiday club. At 3pm I meet Scarlett at Holy Trinity in Guildford for her Grade 1. I nd myself counting ‘Green-two-three-sleeves’ as I play and feel a rush of satisfaction when she follows suit. Back at St Ives School there’s an Oliver rehearsal. I am at loggerheads with the drama teacher over which score to use – the new one, which is written for the adult stage production, or the child-friendly one, which I’m insisting on. The evening is taken up with my regular piano pupils and a singing group of ve young people, who can’t decide whether to style themselves ‘Proclamation’ or ‘Ellipsis’, and are preparing for a gig.

Friday A full teaching day at St Ives. The upper school focuses on Oliver and the forthcoming competition, and for the lower school it’s a great time for me to instil basic vocal technique using unaccompanied rounds from Sing For Pleasure’s invaluable Junior Songbook Pack .

Saturday Harlequin is booked for a 60th wedding anniversary celebration. We sing Whitacre’s This Marriage, Tallis’s If ye love me and Moses Hogan’s I’m gonna sing ‘til the Spirit moves in my heart . A beautiful, inspirational day.

Thursday My daytime piano pupils come for their chat and cuppa. Betty hasn’t made any progress this week, but there are many reasons, which she tells me all about. I pop in to St Joseph’s school in Cranleigh to meet drama teacher Liz Lickiss and we plan

Sunday Sundays are very formulaic: we go to Guildford Cathedral for our chorister daughter’s practice and then the morning service is followed by a big family roast. musicteachermagazine.co.uk

For musicians who teach

The MU has a department of specialist officials to advise you on the specific issues that you may face whilst teaching. We have joint membership arrangements with the NUT and the EIS.

We also have a partnership with the UK’s largest online database of instrumental teachers: MusicTeachers.co.uk Plus:

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Music Teacher - August 2014

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