We’ll be discussing how to develop creativity and musical confidence in an accessible way within Early Years music-making. You’ll learn how to harness the power of imagination and enable it to grow using Figurenotes as a tool. Discover how to help young musicians take their first steps in choosing sounds, creating music, and feeling ownership.
Early Years Music Scotland is delivering a year-long programme of free, high-quality, creative and inspiring continuous professional learning and development for musicians working with children in the early years across Scotland, supported by Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative. We are thrilled to be a part of their programme once again.
We have been delighted to have Figurenotes on board as a partner for the past 2 years. Feedback from attendees of the Figurenotes workshop said that they found the session informative, inspiring and inclusive, and that the content was educational and progressive. We are looking forward to offering our next Figurenotes workshop as part of the Early Years Music Scotland programme on 31st March.
Yvonne Wyroslawska, EYMS
This engaging workshop is free-of-charge to musicians living in Scotland and working with children in the early years (0-5yrs). Non-Scottish residents and non-musicians may purchase a ticket. The workshop will be recorded and available to view for one month following the event. If you are unable to attend live, you can select a ‘session recording’ ticket.
Calling all MuseScore users. Are you up-to-date with MuseScore 4? Have you also updated your Figurenotes plugins?
There are 2 plugins for Figurenotes. The first creates coloured noteheads in Figurenotes colours with just one click.
An example of the Figurenotes Colours plugin
The second creates shaped noteheads with Figurenotes colours for a slightly easier transition into reading stage 3.
An example of the Figurenotes Colours and Shapes plugin
Both plugins have been updated to use with MuseScore 4. You can access them via the FAM Hub or the MuseScore plugin library, where they are helpfully bundled into one package.
We’ve made a little video to help you install your plugin, in case this is new to you. Once installed, it will appear within MuseScore, ready for you to apply to your scores.
You can create stage 1 and 2 scores in our Notate programme. The plugins help you to create stage 3 scores. If you need a refresher on the different stages of Figurenotes, take a look at our Progression pages. We have lots of games in the Hub to help you transition from one stage to the next, moving towards reading standard notation, if that is your goal.
After feedback that our current training clashes with the school run (we see you, jugglers) we need your help to refine our options.
We want to hear from you. What time of year is best? Which days work with your workload? Which times make life easiest for you? Let us know your thoughts and we will build our training around you. The survey below has 4 simple questions, is totally anonymous, and will only take a minute to complete.
Our current Figurenotes: Developing Your Practice course runs over 3 weeks. We deliver a 2-hour session once a week on Zoom, with homework activities between sessions. An individual follow-up session with course leaders can be booked at a time to suit you.
The interactive nature of this course means that being present, working in the small groups we deliver to, and sharing ideas are a huge part of the learning process. We feel that access to recordings won’t give the same benefit with this style of course, so we are keen to make sure people can attend live.
If you have any thoughts on other types of training you’d like then please send us an email at Figurenotes@DrakeMusicScotland.org. We’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Pre-recorded videos, modular workbooks, in-person training – whatever you would like to see, let us know.
As a thank you, we’re offering 10% off resources in our online shop, including training! https://figurenotes.org/shop/ Just complete the form below. Thank you.
Fiona Sharp of F Sharp Music Practicehas had great success with her online music sessions during 2020 and into the new year. As many musicians worried about their future work opportunities, Fiona has continued to provide high quality sessions for many organisations including PAMIS and Drake Music Scotland. She has also delivered training sessions on how to get the most from online delivery, including advising on a new online project for schools with the RSNO. Here she gives us a brief insight into her practice.
Fiona Sharp of F Sharp Music Practice (above)
I was concerned like many music teachers, practitioners and specialists at the start of lockdown how music tuition could be achieved solely on an online basis, especially when working with pupils who have Additional Support Needs. Over the past few months I have been astounded at the level of development made with many of my clients and pupils and in particular their progress with Figurenotes.
I have tried various ways of using Figurenotes online and I have detailed below the activities and methods I have found to work particularly well.
Something I have found to work well when using Figurenotes online for teaching is emailing sheets of Figurenotes notes for the pupils to print and cut out so they are able to make up their own songs, unless the pupils already have their own Figurenotes magnets. I usually start my online sessions asking the pupil to choose 10-15 cut out notes, either showing me the note or telling me what colour and shape it is. They can either lay the notes out in front of them, or as I tend to do, I put the Figurenotes magnets on a board, which I then hold up to the screen for them to see.
To vary the exercises I sometimes change the shapes they have chosen and get them to play the squares with their left hand, and the circles and triangles with their right hand. I also do chord work using the magnets/cut outs as well as exercises focusing on hands separately and hands together.
Themes can be fun to make the sessions a bit more interesting, for example themes about the sea, weather and emotions are popular ones, then finding songs or making up musical activities to go along with that theme.
The sea is always a good theme. You can get pupils to put lentils or rice in a plastic tub with a lid and slowly rock it from side to side so it sounds like the waves. Try the ocean drum tutorial in the video below. You can make up a short sea shanty using the Figurenotes magnets or cuts outs, and there are plenty of sea-themed songs which you can play using Figurenotes:
My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
Bobby Shaftoe
Row Your Boat
Skye Boat Song
Overall, my experience so far working online has been positive. I have noticed I am having to describe and communicate a lot more than I would normally in a music session, but I have been very surprised by the level of development my pupils have had since teaching online. I have come to the conclusion that it could be due to fewer distractions. For pupils on the Autistic Spectrum this has been particularly evident, and I have been quite amazed at the level of concentration and engagement they have during their session. I feel many of my pupils have achieved a lot more in a half hour session than they would normally with me sitting next to them. I have also noticed they have to work things out for themselves more than normal as I am not there to physically support them or show them what to do. I have been very impressed and pleasantly surprised by the level of development made with each pupil through online music sessions.
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 music sessions in the classroom.
Created in conjunction with Drake Music Scotland, these resources and supporting videos are aimed at sensory groups of all ages and could perhaps fill the gap whilst visiting specialists may not yet be permitted to access your settings. For those of you that have previously had a visit from a Drake Music Scotland musician, some of these tunes may be familiar to you, like this one below.
Familiarity is great for our young people transitioning back into formal education settings. Something familiar and achievable can encourage your young people to feel safe, nurtured and sets them up for success after a long and sometimes worrying break from routine. You can pop these songs on whilst singing is not allowed, use the Figurenotes parts to play along or use the Powerpoint presentations for lesson inspiration.
You can find these resources and more under the Lesson Plans tab on our Resource Base. For new customers, visit the Figurenotes website where you can sign up to our Resource Base for just £23.99 a year (that’s less than £2 per month). For those returning, we will be adding more to the lesson plans tab so keep coming back to check them out.
Not a sentence that many people in the UK have uttered in the last week, but we have been extremely lucky with the weather! Why? Emma, Pete, and Lauren just managed to get out of the country before all flights were cancelled.
Boston played host to the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) Conference 2018. Drake Music Scotland and Figurenotes took to the stage, presenting on Figurenotes notation, technology, and inclusive music practice. We had been invited to present following the work of one Boston teacher fighting to improve provision for students with additional support needs. There are brilliant things happening in Scotland in this field, and Massachusetts’ teachers were keen to get ideas to take into their classrooms and propose to their decision makers.
“I wish I’d had this when I was learning”
“As a person with Dyslexia, it is a big deal for me to be a music major. We tend to get weeded out of music programmes. [Figurenotes] would include us!”
“This is just the best thing I’ve seen.”
“That progression makes total sense. So we can get all the kids playing and reading? That’s amazing.”
The wonderful feedback we received and the enthusiastic response from teachers made the long trip worthwhile. Some music education focuses attention on the most ‘gifted and talented’ pupils, often those who have already had the privilege of private music lessons. Making classroom music more accessible will include students who are often left behind or not given the chance to learn, as well as increasing engagement in the extra-curricular music activities within the school. Increased confidence from quick success makes motivating your class much easier, with no pupil left behind. It was wonderful to see the ‘lightbulb moment’ as these teachers understood what would now be possible in their classrooms. That was definitely worth travelling over 3000 miles for!
If you want advice on how Figurenotes could be used in your school, get in touch. Our next Music Teacher’s Toolbox training event will take place on Saturday, 24th March 2018. Take a look at the programme and book your place today.
