Hello, Music Teaching Pro!
My start as a teacher
When I first became a teacher, I was leaving freelance sound engineering behind. There was a lot to do and a lot to take on board. I refused a training place at a very prestigious teaching university because of their attitude alone, which came across to me as “only conservatoire-level musicians were worthy of teaching music”. This narrow definition of what being a successful music-maker is flies in the face of inclusivity and creativity, and I’m sure becomes reflected in the young musicians we work with day-to-day.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom. My in-school mentor on the SCITT programme that I landed on was fantastic—a true guiding light through the ups and downs of teaching. My colleague in the department was a level head in the chaos and a great sounding board.
But the true learning started when I landed my first job. I was let loose as the only music teacher in a school. The learning curve was huge. Lots worked; lots didn’t work. CPD at my first school was non-existent. They wanted what I saw as the elitist way of teaching, which I wasn’t going to give them. It was my own work ethic that led me to improve my practice and work out a way of teaching music that worked for all students.
Over the years I developed a method that delivered the knowledge to access university without the need for saturday music school. A set of guiding principles in curriculum design and lesson planning that helped disadvantaged students the most. In a lot of ways, a no-nonsense, cut-the-crap method of teaching that is frowned on by some teachers.
The birth of MusicTeaching.Pro
Why is working late at night and at the weekends something that is held up as a gold standard in teaching? Something to aspire towards? I’ll save my energy for the classroom, thanks. Show up and be my best version for an hour.
Now I want to share these ideas that allow me to do this and empower the other teachers in my department to do the same. This is where MusicTeaching.Pro comes in. I now want to help other teachers beyond my own school to take back their time and still be the best music teacher they can be.
I had the idea of this website and blog and resource-sharing platform for a while, but then I had the kick I needed to finally do it. My work in my school was recognised by being awarded “Lead School” in our London borough as part of the National Plan for Music Education. This external confirmation that the work we were doing was meaningful, and the time I am afforded by my school to fulfil the role, has given me the push to get things started!
What’s the plan?
So, we’ll start with a blog. Some informal posts, such as this, just to lay the groundwork. Some academic-style posts that explore concepts in depth. Some just basic pedagogical ideas (it’s always good to have a refresher!). Some things for the HODs or CLs out there that are steering the good ship music in their own settings.
Then, over time, I’ll start adding resources—the things I use day in and day out in the classroom and that work for the students. For all students. True grab-and-go style lesson materials that make planning a lesson a 30-second job.
I’ll share my curriculum designing principles and everything that goes into making the curriculum lead to double national average GCSE uptake. That makes kids leave the music lesson with a smile on their face despite being worked hard for 60 minutes. That makes them come and share music with me in the corridor. That has the hardest, meanest, grumpiest 13-year-old boy walk out of my room humming an Edvard Grieg piece.
One blog. Some resources. And all guided by three ideas:
To inspire teachers
To save teachers' sanity and time
To promote best teaching practices
Sign up to the mailing list today to find out when all the new bits get released, and join me on this little journey of mine. And please do feel free to contact me. I’d love to hear from you about your school and your story and how this site might be able to help.
