The Figurenotes team will host online drop-in sessions throughout 2026. These will take place every few months over the course of the year, and will usually take place in the first week of the month.
Each 30min sessions will provide a space to ask questions and gain guidance on all things Figurenotes. Some will be more general and open sessions, whilst others may have a particular focus, such as using Notate or working with a specific group.
Come along and ask questions, gain insight or just bounce ideas off the Figurenotes team and the wider community.
The first is a general drop-in session and takes place on Wed 4th February at 4pm.
Did you miss out on our online course in November? Secure your spot for the next one and enjoy a discounted price with the early bird rate.
After lots of enquiries about when the next Figurenotes: Developing Your Practice course will take place, you can now book your place on our May 2026 course. Our early bird rate of £99.99 will be available until 20th Feb. Places are limited, so book quickly to avoid disappointment.
You’ll learn how to use Figurenotes as a tool, working through the fundamentals of music. We’ll focus on rhythm, composition and creative play, as well as working with mixed-ability groups and ensembles. Each interactive session will be delivered in a small group.
Between sessions you’ll create resources that work for you, getting feedback and ideas from the rest of the group and course leaders. A follow-up 1-to-1 gives you the opportunity to go deeper, with course leaders focused entirely on you and your work.
We have updated our free bundle of resources for 2025. Anyone who receives our email newsletter can get the new ‘Starter Pack’, so if you haven’t signed up already, you can do so here.
The songs and activities can be used in group and 1:1 settings, with options to adapt and extend for more creativity.
We’re thrilled to be launching this set of resources, available free to anyone with an email address. It is especially lovely to feature musicians from Drake Music Scotland’s Singing Group in the recordings. To learn more about the charity behind Figurenotes, take a peek at Drake Music Scotland’s website.
Did you miss out on our online course in May? Secure your spot for the next one and enjoy a discounted price with the early bird rate.
After lots of enquiries about when the next Figurenotes: Developing Your Practice course will take place, we’re launching it early! You can now book your place on the November course. Our early bird rate of £99.99 will be available until 25th July. Places are limited, so book quickly to avoid disappointment.
You’ll learn how to use Figurenotes as a tool, working through the fundamentals of music. We’ll focus on rhythm, composition and creative play, as well as working with mixed-ability groups and ensembles. Each interactive session will be delivered in a small group.
Between sessions you’ll create resources that work for you, getting feedback and ideas from the rest of the group and course leaders. A follow-up 1-to-1 gives you the opportunity to go deeper, with course leaders focused entirely on you and your work.
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.
Wednesday mornings have never felt so good. We were sad to come to the end of the latest Developing Your Practice course. Luckily, all participants get an individual follow-up session, so we will see their lovely, enthusiastic faces again.
“Really loved this training and will be recommending it to others. Lovely tutors who really engaged with us well and modelled all the tasks.”
The ideas that came from this cohort were absolutely brilliant. We had minibeasts helping us learn rhythm, fruity Figurenotes for percussion, and atmospheric stormy songs. There were rainy walks, art extravaganzas, and nature exploration. These topics helped us create resources and lessons that develop rhythmic skills, creative play, and composition.
As ever, we brought all the elements together in the final week with a group activity that is always full of fun.
“You’ve just ignited that passion within me to get working with this resource. It is so valuable. I understood its value in special schools, but this also needs to be in mainstream”
“The workshops have been inspirational”
Do you want to improve your practice? We’ll be training the next cohort in November. Get the Early Bird price of £99 by booking before 24th July.
There are funding options available at Scottish Music Centre through the YMI CPD Fund, as well as other funds across the UK and further afield. Full time students can claim a discount by emailing us at Figurenotes@DrakeMusicScotland.org.
Tech Army, Assemble! We’ve never responded to an offer of help so quickly. Scottish Tech Army got in touch to say Drake Music Scotland had been chosen by one of their corporate partners for a day of volunteering. This isn’t your usual volunteering. A team of highly skilled tech folk swoop in and give you a full day of their time (and then some) to help solve a tech issue.
Scottish Tech Army are a catalyst for a step change in the application of technology for public good in the UK. Their highly-engaged volunteer community works in partnership with the technology ecosystem of the UK to deliver scalable, impactful solutions.
As a non-profit, we rely on funding and offers of support. Such is the nature of working in the third sector (and the arts!) This way of working means progress is never linear, so anything that gets us closer to our goals is welcomed with open arms.
PWC linked up with Scottish Tech Army for ‘One Firm, One Day’. The UK contingent worked on 3 projects across Edinburgh, Manchester, and London. We were lucky enough to be chosen by the Edinburgh team.
With offices in 151 countries and more than 364,000 people, PWC are among the leading professional services networks in the world. They help organisations and individuals create the value they are looking for, by delivering quality in Assurance, Tax and Advisory services.
One Firm One Day is described as an “annual firm-wide fundraising and volunteering event, where staff across the UK and Channel Islands are encouraged to join together and take part in giving something back to our local communities.”
The Edinburgh team worked tirelessly and we are incredibly grateful. Thank you to Scottish Tech Army for setting this up, PWC for choosing our project, and the volunteers for being so welcoming and working so hard.
Keep an eye out for the postie if you’ve made an order with us recently. Figurenoters receiving stickers, magnets, and tune packs may notice a wee extra in their parcel.
We’ve been gradually improving the environmental impact of our packaging, from compostable ‘plastic’ envelopes, to limiting the amount of paper included in each parcel. Our latest endeavour is blooming beautiful!
Feast your eyes on these little seeded beauties.
Scan the QR code to get support and information on anything Figurenotes related. You can bookmark the Linktree page for the future.
Break your card up into small pieces
Place them in soil and water them lightly
Treat those little seeds well and you’ll be rewarded with some wonderful wildflowers! They’d be perfect for a classroom project.
For more instructions on planting your card, see this blog from the company that creates them.
We’ll be following up with some music resources inspired by nature, so keep an eye on the Hub and our newsletter. Remember that you can upload your own resources to the Hub to share with other teachers too. Let’s build a global network of accessible music educators and facilitators sharing what works; sowing the seeds of inspiration and watching them bloom.
Booking is now open for our ever-popular course for music educators and facilitators. Read on for more information, including funding pots and new discount for full-time students.
Figurenotes: Developing Your Practice
Come and join us for award-winning CPD for music practitioners and educators. Do you want your pupils to learn to play and read music quickly and to their full potential? Develop your teaching practice with Figurenotes, a form of notation that uses colour and shape to aid the first steps of learning music, progressing to standard notation in 3 simple steps.
Figurenotes: Developing Your Practice takes place over 3 interactive group sessions via Zoom, building your skills in Figurenotes and accessible music practices. Consolidate your work with homework activities between sessions. Follow up with a 1:1 session with course leaders to answer any further questions you have, get advice on specific aspects of your work, or for more general queries.
You’ll be guided through Figurenotes, from how it works, to its many applications. We will focus each session on one of the fundamentals of music-making:
Rhythm
All musicians need to develop a solid sense of pulse. Through rhythm games and challenges, learn how to make learning rhythm fun and engaging. Figurenotes notation shows rhythm in a very logical way, which then transitions easily to standard notation.
Creative Composition
We’ll explore a range of composition tools you can use in different settings. You’ll learn how to build and adapt an idea in an accessible way, enabling success across a range of abilities and additional support needs.
Ensembles and Differentiation
Learn how to use Figurenotes on almost any instrument in a variety of settings. From one to one learning, full class activities, and varying ensembles, you’ll be able to get your pupils playing together quickly and easily.
1:1 Follow-up Session
This is an opportunity for you to work 1:1 with course leaders after the main sessions have been completed. The content of these sessions is entirely up to you. We can work with you on resources, help develop ideas, troubleshoot, or help with specific questions you may have.
We can tailor the day to those coming, so the earlier you book, the more we can accommodate your questions. Use your booking form to give us a heads up of what you’d like to learn.
Here’s what some of our recent trainees had to say.
Funding and Discounts
To improve access to our courses, we are offering £50 off for full-time students. Please email us at Figurenotes@DrakeMusicScotland.org with your institution and course-name. We’ll authorise the discount and send you a code to use at checkout.
The end of November saw the Figurenotes team heading down to Southampton to present at the Music Mark Conference 2023. After the complimentary tea and caramel wafer on the tiny plane, we were set up nicely for a day of inspiring talks. The day started with a key note on Learning to Thrive in a Generative AI world, which was fascinating and started some lively debate. The conference was themed around ‘Dynamism’ and there was a particular focus on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. This was a fantastically forward-thinking conference and we were thrilled to be a part of it.
Photo Credit: Rachel Cherry. Provided by Music Mark.
As Music Mark was celebrating their 10 year anniversary, the inaugural Music Mark Awards took place in the evening. Some brilliant projects and people were highlighted in the shortlists, with emotional judges speeches that really brought the meaning of our work home. Congratulations to all the worthy winners.
Our session was titled ‘Building Rhythm Confidence with Figurenotes’ and highlighted the ease with which this accessible notation shows rhythm. We had everyone stomping, clapping, tapping, and clicking. By bringing out the iPads with Garageband and Thumbjam (our favourite app!) we had chords and solos. Adding chimes and vocals into the mix gave us a full band.
We had settled on Don’t Worry, Be Happy as our featured tune, because it always brings a lot of joy into the room. It felt good to bring some movement and energy at the end of a long day of sessions, and we were rewarded with lots of keen teachers hoping to use Figurenotes in their projects. We can’t wait to see what people do with Figurenotes as a result of this session. We’ll be putting the Don’t Worry, Be Happy parts up on the Hub soon, so keep an eye out for them there.
It was also lovely to meet up with our friends at Charanga, ABRSM, Open Up Music, DIGIT, MiSST, and many more organisations. What a lovely community there is in the music education world. We hope to be back at this invigorating event next year.
Photo Credit: Rachel Cherry. Provided by Music Mark.
