“Really great to see everyone’s ideas and the range of different minds from all over the world – great for inspiration!”

We had a fantastic time delivering our new online course designed to help people explore Figurenotes within their own teaching settings. Running 2 small groups across 3 weeks of training, we’ve really enjoyed getting to know more about the people involved and how they work.

Thank you to all our participants for engaging so well with this course. The activities and ideas created by your homework tasks were phenomenal and have such potential. We can’t wait to hear what you achieve in your lessons.

I have learnt how to use the Figurenotes system itself, but also some great ideas about planning, differentiation and different ways into composing.

Trainee 2021

Each week had a different focus, which was consolidated in the homework activity. Week 1 was an introduction to Figurenotes with particular emphasis on rhythm. Week 2 explored the world of creative play and composition. Week 3 focused on groups, ensembles, and differentiation.

As always, the creative composition task had the most wide-ranging results. The opportunities are endless when working with colour and shape. We have had everything from Kandinsky to puppets, train journeys to braille Bananagrams, Moomins to holiday snaps – and everything inbetween! What a creative bunch.

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Our in-person training nearly always has a visitor to Scotland from another country, but with online delivery we can reach so many more people who could benefit from this training. With participants from Hong Kong, Greece, USA, and the UK this time around, we hope to reach even more countries with our next course date.

If you are interested in attending this course in the future, please get in touch, as we are currently working out dates and timings for the next run. With so many timezones to consider, it is helpful to know what works best for you.

The information was presented really well and you are both super knowledgable about teaching to diverse groups. It was great to get your insight.

Trainee 2021

The world’s first online Figurenotes training programme has launched!

Figurenotes Online: Developing Your Practice

This new interactive course is suitable for all music educators and practitioners; enabling you to begin or further your work in an accessible, inclusive way.

You will take part in 3 interactive sessions with expert course leaders and small groups of your peers. Each session will guide you through new ways to approach the fundamentals of music-making; creating and tailoring resources that fit your working practices. To help get the most from the course, you’ll be given activities to do between sessions to help you apply this training directly to your own work, with valuable feedback from course leaders and participants.

If you’re looking for a new tool to add to your toolbox, or want to take a deeper look at the way you work, join us for this fun and engaging course. You’ll receive a copy of the latest Figurenotes software as part of your attendance, allowing you to fully engage in the content and activities within the course.

You can find more information on our training pages, including the booking form. If you have any questions, please get in touch at figurenotes@drakemusicscotland.org.

£149.99 – includes Figurenotes software and 3-week training course.

Thursdays – April 22nd, 29th, and May 6th 2021. Morning and afternoon options available.

See what people had to say after our last Music Teacher’s Toolbox training day:

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 all of our customers continue to provide their vital contributions to the development of young people. We have teamed up with Drake Music Scotland‘s Associate Musician Fi Sharp to provide some useful resources which enable practitioners to carry out music sessions for their young people.

Fi has made these super handy videos which help to plan activities from our First Figurenotes pack. You can find these handy resources and supporting videos under the Lesson Plan tab on our Resource Base. There is something for everyone including emotion stories, movement activities, Figurenotes parts and fun-filled cross curricular activities like this one.

Whether you are new to Figurenotes or a distinguished #FigurenotesChampion, we have something for everyone on our Resource Base. Subscription is £23.99 a year (less than £2 per month) and is full of useful resources, tunes, lesson plans and much much more.

Brand new customer? You can get everything you need to get started with our Early Years Value Bundle!

Visit our online shop and grab your First Figurenotes pack today.

Happy Figurenoting!

Our ever-popular training for music teachers and practitioners returns on Saturday 21st March, 2020.

Come and develop your knowledge of creating a more inclusive music classroom. Whether you work in a mainstream setting, as a private teacher, in a specialist environment, or any other music-making context, you’ll learn how to realise your pupil’s potential.

You’ll be using ideas from BBC Ten Pieces to create some mind-bending compositions. Figurenotes is SQA approved, so you can use ideas like this in your composition modules.

We’ll get your blood pumping with some group rhythm work. Learn how to develop a sense of pulse and use Figurenotes to build rhythmic complexity quickly and confidently.

The most fun session of every MTT is our big play-together. We get you playing an array of instruments, including some accessible tech (such as iPads), using Figurenotes. You’ll get tips and tricks on how to introduce Figurenotes on different instruments and how to build an ensemble in no time! We’ve got some cracking new tunes for this session and can’t wait to play them with you.

This is just the start of what you can learn from one of our training days. We tailor each day to our participants, so the earlier you book, the more we can cater to what you want to learn.

Edinburgh, EH16 4NT

10am – 4pm

£69.99 – Resource Base members can use RB2020 at checkout for 10% off

Find out more on our ‘Current Training’ page

“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 that makes the 6am starts worthwhile. We got off to a sleepy start on Thursday and headed off to Stirling University for the 23rd annual SAME Conference (Scottish Association of Music Educators). What a joy to be surrounded by esteemed colleagues in the exhibitor hall and to meet so many current and new Figurenotes users over the two day conference. We even dusted out the old floor piano for a bit of fun with the delegates.

Whilst Rebecca and Emma were mingling behind the Figurenotes stall in the exhibitors lounge, Pete was leading a session on Figurenotes and other inclusive techniques called Everybody Plays – Inclusion Ideas for the Classroom.

Events like these are such a great way to reconnect with colleagues and share good practice. Teachers can often experience isolation and just having the opportunity to bounce ideas off each other and refresh really can help inform your practice. We collected some great stories from Teachers using Figurenotes and how it has helped them in the classroom.

Would you like to share your Figurenotes story with us? Join the group Figurenotes – Let’s Make Music or email us at figurenotes@drakemusicscotland.org

We would like to thank the organisers, all the delegates and exhibitors for taking the time to chat with us. We look forward to the next SAME Conference in 2020.

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“Great course, thank you! So many ideas for new functional musical activities.”

“Could we have more please!!!”

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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 make all the hard work worthwhile. Just seeing these fantastic teachers and practitioners enjoying themselves, playing music together using Figurenotes and swapping creative ideas is what CPD is all about. But don’t just take our word for it, check out what some of our participants had to say.

 

 

 

 

Our sessions focused on First Figurenotes and how best to introduce Figurenotes to new users. We held creative composition sessions inspired by BBC Ten Pieces, using pieces of modern art as stimuli.  We played games and told an interactive story about Mr. Whale. All of this fun culminated in a huge Play Together session where we paid tribute to the Ben E. King classic ‘Stand By Me’.

Thanks again to everyone involved and we cannot wait to do it all over again on the 23rd of November 2019! Keep an eye on the Figurenotes website for more information and updates on the next Music Teachers Toolbox. You can also sign up to our mailing list to get regular updates on all things Figurenotes.

We understand how isolating it can be as a teacher or practitioner and hope these events help to form new ideas for using Figurenotes and facilitating music making in general.

If you are looking for somewhere to share your ideas, check out the Facebook page Figurenotes – Let’s Make Music where you can chat to colleagues and get general advice from other Figurenotes users.

Alternatively, drop me an email at figurenotes@drakemusicscotland.org or rebeccadirollo@drakemusicscotland.org with any Figurenotes queries.

Rebecca

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“Today’s training has been a fantastic experience. Fantastic course and people! Thank you very much!”

“Music Teacher’s Toolbox has given me a new way to approach teaching, making music easier to understand and play. Everything was fantastic! I got a very comprehensive understanding of Figurenotes. I’ll be back for the next one!”

“Really brilliant! I learned a lot and had a good time. Keep it up!”

You can see why we love running our Figurenotes training days. We consistently get this feedback and it is brilliant to see people ending the day brimming with enthusiasm and inspiration.

Our next Music Teacher’s Toolbox will be announced after Christmas, when our new Figurenotes Officer starts their role. Make sure you sign up to the mailing list for updates. In the meantime, join our Facebook group, ‘Figurenotes – Let’s Make Music’, to network with other teachers and musicians. Let us know what you’d like to see at the next training day by posting within the group.

The group of trainees were brilliantly enthusiastic and got stuck in with all the activities. We worked on building pulse, rhythm, matching skills (inspired by UNO!), and ensemble skills. With Thumbjam solos on the iPad within our Figurenotes band, everyone got stuck into some Blondie at the end of the day.

Thank you to everyone that came for such a fun-filled day. We can’t wait for the next one!

Sign up to the mailing list here to be the first to know about the next Music Teacher’s Toolbox.

Our award-winning training is back!

Due to a flurry of recent training enquiries, we thought we should open booking for November’s Music Teacher’s Toolbox. This time around, Resource Base members get exclusive access to pre-sale booking. Only a limited amount of places will be released, so make sure you grab yours early.

All members of the Resource Base will be sent an email on 25th May containing a link to the online booking form. Complete this form to reserve your training place. Payments can be made when places go on general release on 1st June. Contact Lauren if you don’t receive an email and feel you should have; please remember to check your junk folders first.

You can also use your Resource Base members’ discount code, RB2017, to get 10% off.

The programme is still being finalised, so if there is anything you’d like to see then please let us know in the booking form. We love to tailor these days to the people coming along, so get in early to get the most out of this award-winning CPD.

Not a Resource Base member? You can sign up here, getting access to our library of downloadable resources, discounts, and access to pre-sale booking.

We can’t wait to see you for some more Figurenotes fun!

You booked it – we made it bigger! Due to a rush of bookings, we have decided to release more places for our Music Teacher’s Toolbox on 25th March. Get in quick before we run out of space again. You’ll get expert guidance on using Figurenotes with different instruments and in different scenarios. You’ll learn how to get your students to progress to reading standard notation. Whatever your teaching situation, there’s a way for your music lessons to incorporate inclusive, cross-curricular learning using Figurenotes. Want to create your own resources? You’ll be guided through the software, allowing you to tailor your resources to your pupils’ needs. With warm up ideas, games, and personalised advice, you’ll leave inspired and ready to shake up your teaching. It is also a great chance to network and share good practice. Take a look at the full programme and complete the booking form, so that we can tailor our sessions according to your needs. You can also pay online or request an invoice at checkout. Get in touch if you need to send a purchase order. We’d love to have you there, but you’ll need to book soon, as we always get fully booked!