“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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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 that we have been getting out and about in the Figurenotes Community, visiting projects, school, concerts and meeting some Figurenotes users.

Teens+

Rebecca was lucky enough to visit Teens + Ravenscroft, a unique service providing further education, life and social skills, transition to ownership of tenancies and lifelong learning, to young people who, due to their needs, would ordinarily be excluded from accessing any form of further education once they have left school.

Rebecca visited one of our Associate Musicians, Fi Sharp. Fi leads a small group of young adults with a variety of needs, in their quest to learn and play music.

It was fantastic to see these young adults interacting with Figurenotes in different ways to suit their stage and it was a real treat to experience people of differing ages and musical abilities playing together.

Big thanks to Fi and everyone at Teen+ for allowing me to come along.

If you are using Figurenotes in your school/council/community project we want to hear from you!

Contact Rebecca at rebeccadirollo@drakemusicscotland.org for more information or to arrange a visit. 

“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.