Instrument Guides

Find your instrument in the list below.

You’ll find setup guides for a whole range of instruments, including visual guides, videos, and articles. Scroll to the bottom for blogs on each instrument.

If you are struggling with any particular instrument, please email us at figurenotes@drakemusicscotland.org.

You can also join our private Facebook group: Figurenotes – Let’s Make Music, which helps teachers and music practitioners connect, share ideas, and support one another.”

Blowing the Trumpet for Brass

This mini-series started with strings, worked with woodwind, and now we are blowing the trumpet for brass! There are Figurenoters doing some brilliant things with brass. Take a look at Favela Brass in Brazil as a prime example of what can be achieved. We are in no way dictatorial about how you use Figurenotes with […]

Daring to Drum

From banging out some beats on the drum kit, to beautiful marimba solos, Figurenotes works brilliantly with percussion. After all, rhythm is at the heart of the Figurenotes way.  Figurenotes is perfectly suited to playing in a band. We pride ourselves on creating a rock band in a very short time, which we nearly always do on […]

Getting to Grips with Guitars

So you want to be a rock star? Start a Figurenotes band! Beginners can start playing together very quickly. This is shown brilliantly by our instant Figurenotes bands on training days. There are many ways to learn guitar using Figurenotes. The route you choose will depend on the style of music you want to play, whether you […]

Prioritising the Piano

Figurenotes is perfectly suited to the piano. By placing stickers on the white notes, we make it much easier to see the repeating pattern of notes that the piano has. Each note has a colour and each octave has a shape. You can see the relationship between notes, while still seeing them as different. Match the note […]

Starting with Strings

We have had a few requests for blogs focusing on using Figurenotes with different instruments. I’d like to start, as a violinist, with strings. There was a wonderful pilot project, when Figurenotes first came over to Scotland, at Greenmill Primary School. This research project was a joint venture between Drake Music Scotland, RSAMD (now RCS), […]

Top Tips in New Tutorials

If you follow our Facebook page, you may have noticed our new series of video tutorials. Commissioned by The Space, we have launched a series of ‘How To’ videos giving step-by-step guidance through many aspects of learning to play music with Figurenotes. Each video tutorial features a different expert from Drake Music Scotland, showcasing plenty […]

Working with Woodwind

For the second instalment of our mini-series on how to use Figurenotes with different instruments, we will focus on woodwind.  In the last blog, we covered strings and how to get started. This focused on violin, but can be applied to viola, cello, and double bass. If you have any thoughts or questions, please let us know. […]