In today’s guest blog we look at why Figurenotes has been so successful in additional needs settings. Iain Macleod works in Kaimes School, a wonderful specialist school in Edinburgh. They have had projects from Drake Music Scotland for many years, alongside their regular music lessons. Iain explains his reasoning for using Figurenotes in the classroom.

My name is Iain and I’m a music teacher. After starting my career as a peripatetic guitar teacher, I started teaching general music in primary schools in London. I qualified as a secondary music teacher in 2012, but have spent most of the time since working in Additional Needs settings.  

I first came across Figurenotes when I was working at a residential school where all the students had experienced significant early years trauma. This meant they had struggled with mainstream school because of challenging behaviour and were now in a more nurture-focused environment. All these kids were amazing as people and had bucket loads of energy and enthusiasm, but they also had very low self-esteem and would quickly give up on something if they felt they would get it wrong. Basically, they hated school and would go to extreme lengths to avoid ‘work’.  

I eventually realised that the less time I spent talking and explaining stuff, the better the lessons went! This is why Figurenotes was a huge hit with the students – they didn’t need any explanation as to how it worked. They could straight away just start following the music and playing on the keyboards! All I had to do was figure out easy versions of songs that they liked and print them off. Everyone was happy! Once they could play something they liked and had chosen, they were much more open to trying other activities and/or instruments. Engagement in music lessons was much better across the whole school. 

I am now teaching in a school for ASD students, and they love Figurenotes too. I think it is the best thing for introducing notation and getting people playing straight away. I think if it was used in all schools (mainstream and specialist) a lot more people would be motivated to learn instruments and get involved with music.

Thanks for sharing, Iain. You can check out Iain’s music on his website.

If you have a story you’d like to share with us at Figurenotes, please email us at Figurenotes@DrakeMusicScotland.org. If you’d prefer a chat, we can set one up via 0131 659 4766.

“I thought you’d like to hear this story” is always an intriguing start to an email.

We LOVE hearing your anecdotes and this is such a lovely one. Jill Henderson, at Craigmarloch School in Inverclyde, Scotland, sent us this wonderful story from her lessons and kindly let us share it with you all. Both Jill and Criagmarloch have been using Figurenotes for a long time now and their work is fantastic.

“During Lockdown I am working at the Craigmarloch Hub with a group of P5 children. One wee boy is very musical and has really taken to Figurenotes. He has got perfect pitch and can sing familiar songs (his favourite is Mary Had a Little Lamb) by colour and letter name. We always begin the day playing tunes on the glockenspiel.

Yesterday, I brought a selection of ‘name that tune’ for him to try, in second stage Figurenotes.  Within 5 mins he had played and identified them all then asked me why Mary had a little lamb was not there.  I said I’d write it for him for next week then got on with the morning routine.  

Next thing I knew, he had written out the song himself (first stage Fgn)!  As you can see, the note names, colours and even note lengths are accurate.  I had not explicitly taught this, he had clearly absorbed the knowledge by himself.

This is why Figurenotes is so great – it is clear and makes sense to beginners and those like this pupil, who are bright but like to learn in ways that are accessible and appealing. Figurenotes helps him do what he wants to do, which is play and sing music! Much of the time he refuses to engage in learning and shuts himself away in a quiet room to pursue his own interests, often to draw. 

I just had to share that with someone who would understand and appreciate how wonderful this is.”

Thank you for brightening our day, Jill. We’ve shared it in the hope that it brightens all of yours too.

Do you have similar stories? We would love to hear from you! Drop us an email at figurenotes@drakemusicscitland.org or join our Facebook group Figurenotes – Let’s Make Music!

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: