7 Steps to outstanding Musical Futures Lessons

To challenge them we must first challenge ourselves

Anna Gower March 2013

Make sure you read up on MF

Teacher Pack

Free Training

Champion Schools

Website www.musicalfutures.org

Twitter @musicalfutures

Anna Gower March 2013

Understand the pedagogy

Variety of non-formal and informal teaching and learning approaches grounded in secure pedagogy

Practical work on instruments/voice, authentic musical experiences

Aural learning, that integrates listening with practical music making, improvising and composing

Students are motivated and engaged by music they value and that is relevant to them, before moving onto other musical and learning styles

Technique, notation and other forms of written instruction part of process but developed through playing

Teachers and practitioners act as facilitators, through showing rather than telling, and through guiding and modelling

Develops skills and confidence in teachers enabling them to deliver high quality MF approaches

Anna Gower March 2013

Select your Resources

Aural learning: they need to hear the original tracks!

CD Players

Jam Hubs (or other silent work stations)

Small to large jack cables and amps

Portable speakers

Anna Gower March 2013

Improvise (you not them)

Start with your best class, try, fail, reflect, improve

Choose one approach to try first

Talk with them about it

Set them off

Watch, listen, stand back, then help as appropriate

Get to know individuals musically

Flex, change, adapt, experiment

Make mistakes but stick with it

Anna Gower March 2013

Collect Evidence

Video and audio from start to finish

NUMU

Create a blog

Student voice

4 areas of progress: data, lesson obs, work scrutiny, ask students

Anna Gower March 2013

Compelling Evidence!

I am finding music really interesting, in each lesson I learn I am finding out new things which I can practice and learn on my acoustic guitar and I always look forward to the next lesson I learn to find out even more things and I feel that I am more enthusiastic each day to learn

this past 14 weeks have taught me a thing or two about being in a band sometimes there are great times but there are also times you want to bang your head against the wall. I’ve been on the drums for all this time and it has been great and i have enjoyed all of it and miss gower is still the best, so very happy where I am in music right now :)

The first few weeks of Music have been great fun! I have learned most of 'The Passenger' lyrics, found the right pitch to match my voice to the song and have enjoyed myself! My first few weeks of music have been excellent

Today my group managed to do more by swapping around a few instruments. Thankfully we weren't disturbed like last time! I figured I am better at playing a lower note than a higher!

The lesson was great fun!

In music we've been doing a song by Iggy pop called the Passenger. I quite like the song but at first I thought it was pretty annoying. I do kind of think that playing the bass kind of hurts my fingers, but obviously it would because i've never played one before. In the first few weeks of music, all we did was play some games involving rhythm and beat. Overall, I do like Music so far. It's a lot better than it was at my primary school, all we did there was play glockenspiel and draw pictures of what we imagined when we listened to certain music.

I am really enjoying my music lessons they are one of my favourite lessons. I think that if we keep the beat steady and use a nice rhythm we should have a really nice tune. We just need to put everything together and Im sure we can win!

Anna Gower March 2013

Assessment

Play the game

Assess as you normally would

Use holistic statements don’t break down into performing, composing, listening etc

Assess mid project so targets can be acted on

Talk over the approach with SLT so they know what to expect

Anna Gower March 2013

Laugh

Learn with your students

Be a musician in your classroom

Get to know them better

Anna Gower March 2013

Make Music Lessons...

“If there’s no music in it it probably isn’t a music lesson” Mark Philips HMI Ofsted Jan 2013