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.

It’s not every day you get to workshop with a Grammy award winning musician. Michael League from Snarky Puppy kindly gave up his morning in Glasgow to work with members of Drake Music Scotland’s Digital Orchestra. This group uses all kinds of technologies to compose, play, and perform music: Notion and switches, iPads, synths, and more. Some of the members use Figurenotes, which helps them to compose patterns and ideas, creating a score to aid performance. The members of Digital Orchestra had a brilliant time. The importance of interesting bass lines and how they can change the feel of the music was a big learning point. They also learned a lot about improvisation and cues, as well as how to lead and follow. Leading a band that uses improvisation on a daily basis, this is something Michael is very experienced in. He had some really interesting nuggets of information to pass on. Thanks for a brilliant time, Michael. It was lovely to see such a mix of instruments working so well together. Everyone was really starting to see where their sound could be used within the piece, learning to lead and follow one another. If you haven’t seen Snarky Puppy live yet, pop it on the bucket list. They are phenomenal.