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In Episode 118, Patrick chats to composer Rilla Paterson about her compositions for young voices, designed to help children with sight-reading; plus the importance of notation.

Julian Whittaker introduces the MTA’s free ‘Mock Interview’ service, for members applying for a new job, to have a practice interview with an experienced Head of Music.

Plus, Jack Laidlaw, James Tuck, and Dustin Ragland explain the range of products and services provided by Ableton, including Live, Push, and Move. 

Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.

http://rillapaterson.com

https://childofthefuture.com

https://www.musicteachers.org

https://www.ableton.com

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In Episode 117, Patrick chats to Dr Jonathan Savage about significant changes in the world of Music Education, the relationship of Music Hubs with schools, and new BBC Bitesize resources.

And the MTA’s Head of Growth and Operations, Caroline Robinson introduces the 2025 MTA conference, including the CPD sessions, the mentoring and training, the keynote speakers, and details of tickets.

Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.

https://www.ucanplay.org.uk/

https://tinyurl.com/JonathanSavage

https://www.musicteachers.org/events/mta-conference-2025/

#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects 

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In Episode 116, Patrick is joined by Maria Thomas from The Music Workshop Company, to find out about their range of schools workshops, including historical music, and a very interesting workshop using cutlery!

Editor of Gramophone Magazine, Martin Cullingford, tells Patrick all about the Survey ‘Growing Musicians, Shaping Lives’, aiming to find out about music teachers’ day-to-day lives in the profession.

And Mark Aitchison tells Patrick all about the European Day of Music in Schools, which enables teachers to watch videos of music-making from schools all over Europe.

Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.

https://www.music-workshop.co.uk

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8151878/Growing-Musicians-2025-survey

https://eas-music.org/eudamus/

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~ 2025 MUSC & DRAMA EXPO SPECIAL ~

In Episode 115, Patrick visits the 2025 Music & Drama Expo, to attend CDP sessions, and chat to exhibitors about new Music Education products. 

Ifeanyichukwu Ezinmadu introduces SymphoMe, which uses AI to help give students detailed feedback on their performances in between lessons. (1:08)

Award-winning Jazz pianist, composer and educator Nikki Yeoh shares some of her steps to teaching improvisation, and to help students (and teachers!) overcome the fear! (5:28)

Dr June Fileti, MD of the International School of Musicians, chats about their new approach to performance assessment, allowing students to choose their own repertoire. (16:40)

Rachel Hawker, Director of Education at Rocksteady Music School, chats about her CPD session, ‘The Power of Games to Supercharge Children’s Musicality’. (25:21)

And, Heart FM presenter Simon Beale chats about the Music & Drama Education Awards, which he hosted, and about his love for 80s music. (36:17)

Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.

https://symphome.com

https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/staff/nikki-yeoh

https://www.internationalschoolofmusicians.org

https://www.rocksteadymusicschool.com

https://www.heart.co.uk/radio/shows-presenters/simon-beale/

http://musicanddramaeducationexpo.co.uk

https://musicdramaedawards.com/MDEA2025/en/page/home-page

#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects 

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In Episode 114, Patrick chats to Music Teacher Dylan McCaig about being a recent ECT, and about Early Music both within the curriculum, and as part of co-curricular activities.

MTA Operations Manager Laura Bendy shares details of her new role at the MTA, as well as an important announcement.

And looking towards the Music and Drama Education Expo, Patrick meets Thomas Gregory, to find out why we all need more chaos in our classrooms!

Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.

www.instagram.com/dylanmccaigmusic
https://www.musicteachers.org/events/mta-conference-2025/
http://thomasgregory.co.uk
http://musicanddramaeducationexpo.co.uk

#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects 

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In Episode 113, Patrick catches up with ‘That Music Improv Teacher’, Mike Wright, to find out about Mike’s on-going work to promote improvisation as a standard part of music teaching (01:01).

Professor Derek Aviss OBE discusses the psychology of performance, including overriding the brain’s natural reaction to the fear and stress of performance, with details of a forthcoming webinar from the Royal Society of Musicians (20:28).

And MTA President Catherine Barker explains the huge amount of work that the MTA does for music educators everywhere, including much behind the scenes (31:33).

Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.

https://mwrightmusic-education.com
https://www.rsmgb.org/whats-on/healthy-teachers
http://www.musicteachers.org

#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects #thatmusicimprovteacher

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In Episode 112, Patrick meets singer, teacher, and vocal health expert, Dr Jenevora Williams, to discuss ways to recognise, manage, and prevent any issues with students’ – or teachers’ – vocal health (0:34).

Plus, conductor Nic Chalmers introduces ways of engaging young people with opera, including some of his work with the Royal Opera House, and chats about his marathon Christmas Carolling at the Royal Albert Hall with the National Youth Choir (12:11).

Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.

https://www.nicholaschalmers.com
https://jenevorawilliams.com
https://linktr.ee/jenevorawilliams
https://www.musicanddramaeducationexpo.co.uk/speakers/jenevora-williams

#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects

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In Episode 111, Patrick chats to Alex Aitken about GCSE and A Level composition and set works, including ways to teach them, their place within a course, and the barriers faced by teachers and students (00:53).

Editor of Music Teacher magazine, Phil Croydon introduces the forthcoming Music & Drama Education Expo and Awards, to be held in January 2025 (17:19).

And singer, song-writer and New England fiddler Lissa Schneckenburger discusses the importance of aural awareness, ways to teach it, and her online course ‘Learning By Ear’ (29:06).

Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.

https://alexaitken.co.uk
https://masteringalevelmusic.co.uk
https://www.musicanddramaeducationexpo.co.uk
https://musicdramaedawards.com
https://lissafiddle.com

#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects

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In Episode 110, Patrick chats to Aileen Douthwaite from the Music Publishers’ Association, about the Every Copy Counts campaign, highlighting the legality of photocopying music in copyright, and logging it to help publishers, authors and composers (00:45).

Alex Parsons and Liz Dunbar offer some Composition Hacks for students struggling to get going with a new piece, in extracts from their recent MTA webinar (11:35).

And choral conductor and singer Edward Caswell chats to Patrick about rounds and canons, and SingCircle, a new book containing 111 of these perfect miniatures, which he has co-authored. He explains the book’s origins, how to teach rounds and canons effectively, and just why they are perfect for students of all ages and experience (19:59).

Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.

https://everycopycounts.co.uk
https://mpaonline.org.uk
https://www.musicteachers.org/online-events/
oxford.ly/3AAnnvt

 #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects

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In Episode 109, Patrick chats to BBC Radio 3 presenter Linton Stephens about the BBC’s new Ten Pieces, each of which has been written by a female composer (0:55).

Alex Parsons introduces a new series of webinars from the MTA, providing crucial CPD for teachers (09:06).

And Si Tew from Digit Learning explains the range of products they offer, including their joystick-driven instrument, CMPSR, their notation system Arrow Notes, plus Global Sound Culture (13:38).

Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ten-pieces
https://www.musicteachers.org/online-events/
https://digitlearning.co.uk

#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects

© Music Teachers' Association 
www.musicteachers.org