Tech Army, Assemble! We’ve never responded to an offer of help so quickly. Scottish Tech Army got in touch to say Drake Music Scotland had been chosen by one of their corporate partners for a day of volunteering. This isn’t your usual volunteering. A team of highly skilled tech folk swoop in and give you […]
Keep an eye out for the postie if you’ve made an order with us recently. Figurenoters receiving stickers, magnets, and tune packs may notice a wee extra in their parcel. We’ve been gradually improving the environmental impact of our packaging, from compostable ‘plastic’ envelopes, to limiting the amount of paper included in each parcel. Our […]
What better way to spend the last few weeks of term than get a whole class band going! In the run up to the winter holidays, Caitlin and Rebecca from the Figurenotes team spent three weeks at Prestonfield Primary School with the Primary 4 class. Focusing on rhythm and composition, we played and created music […]
Come and join us for award-winning CPD for music practitioners and educators. Do you want your pupils to learn to play and read music quickly and to their full potential? Develop your teaching practice with Figurenotes, a form of notation that uses colour and shape to aid the first steps of learning music, progressing to […]
Tis the season to play jingle bells more times than you care to mention! Yup, that’s right, the festive season is upon us. You might be rushed of your feet with festive concerts and sharing events, or maybe you are counting down the days until you can eat an enormous amount of chocolate in your […]
That’s a wrap on the latest Figurenotes training course Figurenotes: Developing Your Practice with a fabulous group of musicians and educators. We had three weekly sessions, each progressing to a different topic. Here’s what we got up to. Week 1 – Figurenotes Rhythm Our first week was spent learning a little about each other and […]
Summerhall opened its doors to a whole load of local legends on Friday night when it hosted the 10th Annual Creative Edinburgh Awards. “2022’s Awards programme will continue to amplify and unite Edinburgh’s resilient creative ecosystem as we celebrate a decade of hosting the Awards in the City. Combined with our Birthday Bash, we want […]
What did you do last week? Anything exciting? We did! Drake Music Scotland are back from an exciting trip to New York, sharing practice with students and practitioners at NYU and University of Bridgeport. Armed with our new digital products, we flew over the Atlantic for a short knowledge exchange with our US partners. We […]
New improved software you can access from any internet enabled device. Our Figurenotes software has undergone a much needed makeover. You can now access your Figurenotes tunes from any device with an internet connection! You are no longer tied to one computer, and there is a boat load of cool new features to boot. Plus, […]
Learning is a journey, and we are here for it! Our new segment Figurenotes Journeys is all about highlighting the fantastic work you Figurenotes Champions are doing, and showing how Figurenotes can help anyone access music. Our first story comes from a Figurenotes expert and all round wonderful teacher, Jill Henderson. A Figurenotes Learning Journey […]
We are looking for companies with experience in developing music software to help us take Figurenotes to the next level. An exciting opportunity has arisen to help us modernise our Figurenotes software as part of our programme: Figurenotes – Everyone Can Play! Drake Music Scotland welcomes bids from qualified organisations and individuals to transform our […]
Ten years ago today, Drake Music Scotland unveiled the prototype Figurenotes software at their ‘I Can Play Music’ conference at Glasgow City Halls. Drake Music Scotland look back at some of the highlights of this momentous day… The I Can Play Music Conference on 26 November 2010 at Glasgow City Halls was the biggest and […]
In our latest guest blog, Emmeline McCracken shows us how she uses Figurenotes in her work as a music therapist. Hello everyone, My name is Emmeline and I am a music therapist. I work for my own company, ELM Music Therapy, primarily with children who have profound and multiple learning difficulties and those with terminal […]
How can Figurenotes help music sessions happen as Primary School returns? Educators all over the world are either in preparations or currently navigating the return of our young people to formal education. There are so many factors to consider, and when it comes to music it’s no different. Figurenotes have some great resources designed to […]
How can Figurenotes help as schools plan to return next week? Teachers, pupil support assistants and practitioners do incredible work all year round supporting our young people’s learning. We know that things will look very different when schools return next week, so at Figurenotes HQ we have been putting together some useful resources for delivering […]
How can Figurenotes help as we plan to return to our settings? Today the Scottish Government released guidance on returning to early years settings. Many practitioners in Scotland and all over the world will be wondering how music is going to fit in to the “new normal”. Here at Figurenotes HQ, we want to help […]
Rhythm is so intuitive with Figurenotes – the note is as long as it looks! So how does it all fit together? Our newest #FigurenotesChallenge aims to help you/your students understand the relationship between different rhythms through this gentle movement activity. This is the first in a series of videos designed to develop rhythmic skills […]
Figurenotes HQ would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who took part in our first #FigurenotesChallenge. It was great to see you all showing your support for our #FrontlineWorkers by sharing your renditions of Somewhere Over The Rainbow alongside a huge number of young people all over Scotland. Here are just some […]
On Thursday 30th April at 8pm, musicians all over Scotland are going to pick up their instruments and show their appreciation for our NHS and other frontline workers by having a great big play-along! This national event named the Over The Rainbow Project has been organised by MEPG (The Music Education Partnership Group) and will […]
Staying home comes with some challenges, but one HUGE positive is we can still make music. You might even have more time on your hands to practise! This is a great time to pick up that new instrument, learn a new piece, or finally nail that beast of a drum fill you have always dreamed […]
ThumbJam is undoubtedly one of the greatest apps of all time! This much has always been known amongst music botherers. With over 40 exclusive real instrument samples and hundreds of ready-to-load scales, the flexibility and sensitivity of the app allow for a level of musical expression equal to a traditional instrument. Perfect for beginners and […]
As we wrap up our final Music Teachers Toolbox Training Day of 2019, one of our favourite things to do here at Figurenotes HQ is to read the lovely feedback we receive from our participants! It was wonderful! The facility is amazing in terms of the equipment and all the staff were kind and inspiring! […]
“I’ve been using Figurenotes with ASN pupil since earlier this year & love it. Was great to hear a bit more from Drake Music Scotland at #sameconf23. Will now expand my use of this excellent resource with pupils to stop ASN being a barrier to learning & participating in music.” It’s statements like this one […]
The 2019 Ten Pieces are here! Looking for some inspiration for the new school year? Well, look no further. The new BBC Ten Pieces Trailblazers are designed to help challenge the way young people think about orchestral music and 2019’s list features composers that led the way in introducing new cultures and sonic delights to […]
Figurenotes Collect @ Craigmarloch School The final leg of Figurenotes Collect is over! This collecting exercise culminated in visiting Craigmarloch School in Inverclyde. Craigmarloch is an exceptional facility born of the amalgamation of the former Lilybank and Glenbank Schools. The school is one of three in the New Port Glasgow Community Campus, working closely with […]
Another leg of #figurenotescollect done! And what a day it was! This time around Rebecca visited the lovely Parklands School in Helensburgh. Parklands opened in 1993, a purpose-built school for pupils with Complex Special Educational Needs. Since then the range of provision has been extended and the school now meets the needs of pupils from […]
As some of you may already know, we are in the process of applying to update the current Figurenotes Software. A part of the application requires us to estimate our reach i.e how many people are using Figurenotes. With this in mind, we have launched our new project Figurenotes Collect! We are delighted to announce […]
“Great course, thank you! So many ideas for new functional musical activities.” “Could we have more please!!!” What a day! Big thanks to everyone that came along to our Music Teachers Toolbox training event on Saturday at Drake Music Scotland. We could not be more delighted by the feedback from our participants. Quotes like these really […]
Hello Figurenoters! We are thrilled to announce the programme for our upcoming Music Teachers Toolbox on Saturday 23rd March 2019. First Figurenotes & BBC Ten Pieces This time around, we will be focusing on Creative Sessions involving Early Years/Primary/ASN and how best to support your participants brand new to Figurenotes in a variety of engaging […]
Welcome back Figurenoters! We hope you had a lovely Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Here at Figurenotes HQ we are thrilled to be back and to welcome the newest addition to the team, Rebecca Di Rollo. Rebecca will be taking over as Figurenotes Officer (Maternity Cover) as of January 2019. Rebecca is […]