“Inspiring, Engaging, Informative, Fun.”

“Wonderful training. Thank you!”

“I’m feeling so inspired!”

Trainees from the Scottish Borders

We had an outrageous amount of fun last week delivering training. It was week 2 of our brilliant online course, Figurenotes: Developing Your Practice, which is always a delight. Alongside this, we whizzed down to the Scottish Borders to deliver in-person training to a lovely group, organised by their YMI coordinator.

There was a mix of roles in the room, which always leads to interesting discussion. We also had some very experienced Figurenoters alongside people brand new to this way of working. Some tutors deliver 6-week projects, while others are classroom-based and much more focused on supporting the classroom learning objectives.

We spent a portion of the day creating Figurenotes compositions and it was fascinating to see the different ways that the tasks were approached depending on the setting people were working in. We always feel very privileged to have these conversations and understand the ways in which people are working. It helps us to create resources and training that will be useful.

The Ever-Popular Sound Stories

By far the most popular aspect of the day was our sound story, working to build skills in composition, turn-taking, listening, and performance. We explored leitmotif using the Gingerbread Man as our inspiration. We ended up with a lovely twinkly gingerbread man motif, full of energy and speed. The old couple at the start of the story couldn’t have been more different – they do say opposites attract. The reaction to these activities is always so good! I’m sure the students in the Scottish Borders will be having a great time in their upcoming lessons with these newly-inspired staff members.

We’ll be sure to create some more sound story resources and pop them up on the Hub. If you have your own successful resources, then do remember that you can share these with your fellow Figurenoters on the Hub’s community library. People working in the music education sector can often feel a little isolated, so a big part of the Hub is community, sharing, and supporting each other.

Thank you to everyone at the training day. We had an absolute blast!

If you are interested in training in accessible music practices and Figurenotes, either online or in-person, please get in touch via email at Figurenotes@DrakeMusicScotland.org.

We are partnering with Early Years Music Scotland to deliver free Figurenotes training. This is part of their year-long programme of free, high-quality, creative and inspiring continuous professional development for musicians working with children in the early years across Scotland, supported by Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative.

Come and join us for a fun, interactive online session on Mon 11th September 2023, 10am-11:30am. Book your place on Eventbrite. If you’re outside Scotland you can still join, but a fee will apply. You can choose a ticket to attend live or to receive a recording of the session.

We’ll be offering unmissable discounts on our First Figurenotes pack to attendees, so you can hit the ground running.

Explore how Figurenotes notation can help support your learners to unleash their creativity, build independence, and increase confidence. Places are limited to book early to avoid disappointment. See you there!

The Scottish musicians and teachers among you will likely know the Youth Music Initiative well. This music education initiative, funded by the Scottish Government through Creative Scotland, has made so many projects possible over the last 20 years. It is a vital source of funding for the work that so many of us deliver. Drake Music Scotland, the charity behind Figurenotes.org, delivers an extensive schools programme supported in part by YMI funding. 

To celebrate 20 years of this programme Creative Scotland hosted a special industry event on 2^nd March, bringing the youth music sector together. The theme for the event was #YMusicMatters – can you see what they did there?

Come and Try

Figurenotes was invited to exhibit at the event as part of ‘Come and Try’, alongside other wonderful organisations doing brilliant work across Scotland. Soundplay Projects had their projections and fun installations bringing the room to life. The Sound Lab were recording in the corner, treating us all to some wonderful sounds. North Edinburgh Arts were showcasing some fantastic tracks made within their workshops. We were there to showcase Figurenotes with a range of instruments, from keyboards to adapted guitars, notation software to Thumbjam on the iPad. It was a buzzing room and great fun to be a part of.  

“I’m gobsmacked to be honest.

I would have been SUCH a pro if I had this when I was trying to learn” 

Excited event attendee on trying Figurenotes notation to play chimes

The common refrain we hear at events is ‘oh no, I’m not musical’. The shock and joy they experience when they realise they can do it without much help at all is so lovely to see. It just shows the immediacy possible in learning music when you break down some of the barriers. Everyone should be able to experience the thrill of making music, the confidence that stems from that, and the desire to try again and again. This form of expression should be available to all. That is #YMusicMatters to us.  

Thank you to artist Katie Forbes who was live-drawing the event. She gifted us a wonderful piece of art as a thank you for giving her the opportunity to play music with us.

Thank you to Creative Scotland, all the YMI staff, and everyone at the event for an interesting, inspiring day.  

Find us on social media to let us know #YMusicMatters to you.  

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