Episode 95.
2024 MUSIC & DRAMA EXPO SPECIAL
Interviews with exhibitors Take It Away, and Darbar Academy; seminar presenters Deirdre Waller-Box (Brass Bands England) and Tim Bennett-Hart (RSL Awards); winner of the Music Education Lifetime Achievement Award Sally Daunt; and Awards presenter, Cerrie Burnell.
Episode 94.
Liz Stafford chats about some of the big issues in Music Education today, and gives an overview the Music Education Solutions Conference; Gill Davies announces the MTA’s Annual Conference to be held in May, including details of Key Note speakers and how to get tickets; and Lesley Tyler previews her Music and Drama Education Expo seminar “A thematic enquiry curriculum for KS3”, discussing innovative ways to link all Key Stage 3 subjects in schools with a common theme.
Episode 93.
Sarah McWatt from Amp (formerly NYMAZ), and Vic Holmes from Note Weavers discuss the work they do for primary music in the North of England, and introduce their joint Early Years Music Conference; and Vanessa Wilson-Best explores “exclusivity at GCSE”, and technology as the great leveller.
Episode 92.
Francesca Christmas and Toby Davies from Trinity College London chat about their Awards and Certificates in Musical Development, Digital Theory Exams, AI, and more; David Gray talks about his primary curriculum, his online resources, training for primary music specialists, and makes the case for ukuleles; and Dr Robin Harrison, director of The Maestro Online, introduces their masterclasses, practicing resources, and the new Pop Piano grades.
Episode 91.
Janet Fischer gives an overview of the excellent work done by Live Music Now; Dr Anna Mariguddi discusses her recent research into informal music learning in primary schools; and Keith Sykes from Lewisham Music chats about their award-winning project connecting music and young people’s mental health, Front Line Young Minds.
Episode 90.
Zac Moxon, Winner of the 2023 Outstanding New Teacher of the Year at the Pearson National Teaching Awards, chats about his curriculum and department, including how they manage to put on over 50 concerts per year. Sarah MacDonald, Director of Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge, discusses Christmas carols: composing, arranging, and writing descants, plus barriers faced by female composers, choral directors and organists.
Episode 89.
Dr Kirsty Devaney discusses her research into barriers faced by female composers, and young people’s perception of what it means to be a composer; and Jimmy Rotheram chats about primary music education, with guidance for non-specialist teachers, including dos and don’ts.
Episode 88.
Jason Poulton introduces his resource, Music Homework, Sophia Allen from Britten-Pears Arts introduces their newly-commissioned songs as part of Friday Afternoons; and Randye Jones discusses Spirituals: their origins, difficult terminology, dialect, and their place in the Music Classroom.
Episode 87.
Paul McCreesh chats about the next Gabrieli Roar project, and about singing and repertoire for young people; James Manwaring previews the next Music Teacher Monday webinar; and composer Paul Clark introduces the composition resource, Ear Opener, discussing how to start a composition, and the power of arranging in the compositional process.
Episode 86.
MTA president Catherine Barker previews the new edition of the MTA’s Ensemble magazine; Joe Hastings talks about the 24/7 counselling service for musicians and music teachers, Music Minds Matter; and Ali Bowen-Davies and Lincoln Abbotts from the ABRSM discuss the development and creation of new syllabuses for instrumental and vocal exams.
Episode 85.
Teacher and blogger Dice Wood explores how to say No to excess workload, how to reduce time spent marking homework, and the message that homework sends to students; Laura Hailstone from Music Mark introduces their annual conference; and Paul Blaylock discusses his highly successful approach to the KS3 curriculum, offering tips and insights.
Episode 84.
Alex Aitken introduces his enormous new resource, Mastering A Level Music, focussing on the Edexcel course; Lauren Elliott from Music Monsters chats about the wonderful work they do with very young pianists; and film and TV composer George Fenton looks at this year’s GCSE Film Music Composition Briefs and offers insights into the art of film composition, giving tips for aspiring film composers.
Episode 83.
Rachel Shapey introduces her new book, co-authored with Nate Holder, Listen and Celebrate, written to help teachers to enrich and diversify music at Key Stage 3; Leanne Sedin and Adam Saunders introduce The Music Teachers’ Choir, set up to get music teachers to sing together; and Dan Francis chats about the relationship between what’s learnt in the music classroom, and what’s learnt in instrumental/vocal lessons, and how the two can overlap more.
Episode 82.
Rob Reich-Storer introduces his music resource website, Rhythmstix, and Katy Thomson explains the background to Ground:Ed, which offers workshops to help harness creativity, and self-confidence. MTA President Catherine Barker, reflects on the 2022-23 academic year, addresses some current issues in music education, and looks ahead to what’s in store from the MTA for 2023-24.
Episode 81.
Niels Bastrup and Hans Jakobsen introduce a new feature from Ear Master, designed to help students with the aural tests in ABRSM exams; Mark Aitchison shares his planning for the next academic year; and Dr Rebecca Berkley discusses music training for primary teachers, looking at specific problems and possible solutions.
Episode 80.
Prof Nate Holder introduces the forthcoming “Why Music Festival”, a one-day online festival; Olivia Sparkhall presents her new book, “A Young Person’s Guide to Vocal Health”, and Christopher Stevens HMI, subject lead for Music at Ofsted, answers questions about assessment within music education.
Episode 79.
Pianist and composer Melanie Spanswick introduces her graded anthology of piano books, Women Composers, exclusively featuring music by female composers.
From the 2023 RiME conference, Cynthia Stephens-Himonides (Kingston University) and Meggie Young (Ohio State University) discuss their research into music teachers’ self-identity when it comes to the use of technology in the classroom, both in the UK and the USA.
And Jazz pianist and educator Darius Brubeck offers some insights into teaching Jazz, improvisation, and Jazz composition.
Episode 78.
MTA CONFERENCE SPECIAL
Greg Coughlin discusses non-traditional routes to GCSE Music, Lisa Coley introduces the range of microphones available from Sontronics, Rebecca Arnold chats about her experiences at her first MTA Conference, and Charles Price explains how to demystify the composition process, especially at Key Stage 4.
Finally, outgoing president Don Gillthorpe reflects on the last two years, and incoming president Catherine Barker looks ahead to the future.
Episode 77.
Cynthia Stephens-Himonides and Maria Mendonça talk about incorporating Gamelan into curricula, particularly as a way of including disengaged young people; sneak previews of two of the 2020 MTA Conference sessions, with Mark Wilderspin (‘How to take student compositions from good to great’) and Lucinda Geoghegan (‘The Kodály Approach’); and Naomi McCarthy from the ISM, discusses their new campaign Save Our Subjects.
Episode 76.
Vanessa Wilson-Best discusses current matters in music education, and gives an overview of the forthcoming Great Escape Festival’s Music Education Conference; composer-in-association with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Gavin Higgins, introduces the BBC’s Young Composer Competition; and Dr Anthony Anderson explores his recent RiME presentation, looking at the ‘telescoping’ of KS3 curricula down from three years to two.
Episode 75.
Amelia Parker, co-producer of BBC Radio 4’s “Rethinking Music” series on music education, chats about the making of the series; Simon Toyne, Sophie Taylor-Denton and Caius Lee talk about the Rodolfus Foundation’s Choral Courses for young singers; and Dr Anna Mariguddi gives a preview of her RiME presentation, looking at Dr Lucy Green’s model of informal learning in the current music education landscape.
Episode 74.
Kwame Bakoji-Hume on West African Drumming, and misconceptions about the music; Judith Weir with compositional tips (from Music Teacher Mondays); and Mark Aitchison looking at long-term changes to classroom practice following the pandemic.
Episode 73.
2023 MUSIC AND DRAMA EXPO AND AWARDS SPECIAL
Two of the speakers from this year’s Expo: Jessica Yuen on ‘Exploring the Pentatonic’, and Jazz pianist Richard Michael on ‘Ingenious improvisation and arrangement techniques’. Plus, Nathaniel Dye, Music Leader at Nelson Primary School in East Ham, winners of the 2023 Music Department of the Year at the Awards, talks about the school’s music provision.
Episode 72.
MUSIC EXPO PREVIEW: “No Practice? No Problem!” Violinist and teacher Georgina Leach discusses the initial (un)importance of practising an instrument, questioning whether it is a form of exclusion, and looks at basic introduction to improvisation for non-specialists. And pianist Stephen Marquiss talks about The Anti-Racist Music Studio, and unconscious prejudice within our teaching.
Episode 71.
Matt Beale and Tom Rayner from the ORA Singers, introduce the annual Young Composers’ Scheme; Michelle Buckman from the Musiq Group talks about the One Great Piano project, to get high-quality pianos into every school; and, Dr Steven Berryman explains the benefits of joining the Chartered College of Teaching, how to become a Chartered Teacher, and talks about music education today.
Episode 70.
Letty Stott and Rebecca Celebuski from Gender And the Large and Shiny Instruments (GALSI) talk about the imbalance of female and non-binary musicians performing brass and percussion; Chris Hoban introduces a potential new national song, A Song of England; and Ross Garrod discusses the ‘Missing Myelination Link’, and the effect of regular musical practice on the brain’s development.
Episode 69.
Learning Director of Aurora Orchestra Rebecca Barnett introduces their new online resource for Early Years and KS1, The Magical Toy Box; and composer Bob Chilcott chats about Christmas Carols, including composition tips about melody and structure.
Episode 68.
Ollie Tunmer introduces Beat Goes On’s Body Percussion Scheme of Work for key stages 1–4; Suzzie Vango and Lucy Hollins chat about their new book, “How to Make Your Choir Sound Awesome”, focusing on warm-ups; and co-chair of @JazzInEdUK, Simon Purcell discusses the role of improvisation within the classroom, and the role that Jazz pedagogy can play.
Episode 67.
Alex Parsons discusses approaches to melodic dictation at KS3 and KS4, as well as ways to develop greater aural awareness; and Ofsted’s National Lead for Music, and Senior HMI, Christopher Stevens, answers questions about curriculum design, and assessment in KS3 Music.
Episode 66.
Rebecca Ledgard and Sarah Batten from Ex Cathedra, introduce their various educational resources, including Choir Maker, designed to embed a love of singing with Year 7s; and Paul McCreesh gives some tips for running choir rehearsals, Early Music in schools, and current and future Gabrieli Roar projects.
Episode 65.
OCR’s Lead Subject Advisor for music, Marie Bessant, describes the processes an exam board goes through to create GCSE Music exams; from a recent Hibbins Series webinar, Rachel Leach offers some ways to kick-start classroom compositions, and relate them to orchestral music; and Chief Executive of Music Mark, Bridget Whyte, gives details of their annual conference in cities across the UK and online.
Episode 64.
Shivani Rattan chats about her new Indian Celebration Songs, designed to help young singers incorporate Indian celebrations into their choral experience; and Haim Kairy introduces the Arcana Strum, an instrument especially designed for musicians with limited mobility and disability.
Episode 63.
Nate Holder chats about the music of West Africa, and Why Music’s new book, “Where Are All the Instruments? West Africa”; Dr Matt Lawson, Senior Lecturer in Music, Oxford Brookes University, share his passion for Film Music, and talks about his schools’ workshops on Film Music; and Emma Wild, Associate Director, Standards for Design, Development and Evaluation of General Qualifications for Ofqual, answers questions about the creation of GCSE exams, and Ofqual’s role in these.
Episode 62.
Chris Hoban chats about Folk Music; Don Gillthorpe on ways to prepare KS3 students for KS4; And Dr Jennie Henley discussing recurrent barriers to music education.
Episode 61.
Patrick reports on the recent MTA Connect day, with Lewis Edney and Alicia Johnson, and Alex Parsons introduces a great homework activity for KS3 students. Plus, Don Gillthorpe reflects on the academic year.
Episode 60.
In Episode 60, Patrick talks to two of the panel of experts, who helped to shape the new National Plan for Music Education, “The Power of Music to Change Lives”: Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and Catherine Barker.
Episode 59.
Stephen O’Regan from the Ukraine Music Hub explains the great work they’re doing to provide free music tuition to Ukrainians, recently arrived in the UK; an extract from Music Teacher Mondays, led by James Manwaring and Liz Dunbar; and Bridget Whyte introduces Music Mark’s ‘Talk into Action’ movement, to support organisations in their EDI journey.
Episode 58.
In this episode, Executive Director of the ABRSM, Lincoln Abbotts, introduces their latest resource, Classroom 200; Dr Kirsty Devaney discusses her research into the teaching of composition in schools, including surprising perceptions amongst students, and some myths; And Ofsted’s National Lead for Music, Christopher Stevens, answers teachers’ questions.
Episode 57.
MTA CONFERENCE SPECIAL
Andy Stott, Head of Popular Music at the RNCM, introduces the RNCM’s new Young Artists’ programme; Michael Hamilton introduces the Real Music Video Company, and what they can do for music departments; And saxophonist YolanDa Brown chats about her keynote speech, and her approach to music education.
Episode 56.
David Ryan from Furlong Solutions, introduces their new app; Emily Crowhurst explains what ‘tuning’ a curriculum is, and the simple steps we can all take to help develop new Schemes of Work; Michelle James from Sing Up talks about their work, and introduces a new programme for primary schools; And professional drummer, Felix Higginbottom, on how to support students who want to go into the music industry.
Episode 55.
In Episode 55, author, educator and musician Andrew Gant tells Patrick about his new book, Five Straight Lines, covering the entire history of Western music; Liz Dunbar offers some excellent, detailed advice about job applications, interviews and interview lessons; and MTA committee member Mark Aitchison introduces a new mock-interview service provided by the MTA.
Episode 54.
Patrick interviews two of the winners at the recent Music & Drama Education Awards: Nick Thorne from Orchestras for All, and Mary-Alice Stack from the Inclusive Music Consortium. Plus, Prof. Nate Holder gives an overview of the forthcoming free ‘Why Music’ CPD, looking at topics such as Rap, Music & Islam, Electronic Music & Hip Hop, Trinbagonian Culture & the Steel Pan, and the Roots of Blues.
Episode 53.
Harriet Clifford gives a preview of the Music & Drama Education Awards; Dr Steven Berryman introduces the new MTA Composing Club, in collaboration with NMC Recordings, using contemporary classical music to stimulate students’ compositions; and Anna Gower and Steve Jackman chat about their use of Musical Futures in their lessons in Thailand, and beyond.
Episode 52.
In Episode 52, Natalie Wild tells Patrick all about her new book, ‘The Symphony from Mannheim to Mahler’; and Ofsted’s new National Lead for Music, Christopher Stevens chats about inspections, demonstrations of progress, challenges facing music education, and the place of staff notation in the classroom.
Episode 51.
Dr Phil Mullen talks about the new series of webinars provided by MAC Makes Music, promoting inclusivity; Stephanie Bissell and Natalie Wild chat about wonderful work done by the Music in Secondary Schools Trust (MiSST); and Dr Liz Stafford chats about curricula past, present, and future, with details of a forthcoming curriculum conference.