• Dispelling or furthering myths?

    ‘Myths are of great significance to those in the music business and music education. Our thinking is guided by: the relationships and dynamics between artists, writers, and producers; those who market, deliver, and distribute music, such as the record companies and publishers; the consumers and fans of music, who ultimately pay for it all; and…

  • Cypher (2011) for Orchestra

    Listen to a recording of my piece for orchestra here on SoundCloud:

  • Tate Modern – Sehgal

    Seeing ‘Philadelphia, Here I come’ (Donmar Warehouse) preceded by ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ (National Theatre) the day before encouraged me to ask lots of questions about theatre. Nothing too esoteric, but after seeing plenty of theatre over the past few years I could see how much boundaries are negated in…

  • Challenging conceptions

    On to the first chapter of Burnard’s book (2012). ‘For most of us, ‘musicla creativity’ refers to a particular type of practice, perhaps that of the Great Composers’, rather than to multiple possibilities’ (7) strikes me as odd as I have never considered that to be the case, and wonder where such a claim comes…

  • Why shy away from dots and lines?

    I, like probably every other classroom music educator, find myself regularly contemplating the importance of Western musical notation. Why bother teaching it? Is it of any use? Yes, I think it is. And yes, I should bother to teach it. Seeing posts about how pupils ‘forget’ the teaching they have received on notation and it…

  • Why differentiate?

    I heard an excellent speaker at an INSET organised at my previous school. I remember vividly his response to a colleague’s question about differentiation: “F**k differentiation. Teach everyone the same.” Hmm. I ponder this a great deal. What it boils down to for me is differentiation is not about differentiating what you teach, but the…

  • What makes an outstanding lesson?

    Any opportunity to critically reflect on my practice as a teacher is always welcome, and today I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar reflecting on what outstanding teaching looks like, led by the music teacher who taught me as a teenager. My own music teachers were pivotal in shaping my career choice and fostering…

  • Performance

    Photo I took during the second performance of my collaborative piece with Beo da Silva and Mauricio Carneiro. Continues to be performed as part of Cena Brasil Internacional 2012 in Rio de Janiero until 11th June.

  • Three days in Rio

    I can’t believe three days is up. I arrived in Rio 9.30 pm local time Friday and pretty much got to work on the Saturday helping with the final preparations and even devising and recording new material. Saturday ended with the first performance of work, a piece combining visuals, music, acting and movement exploring the…

  • Can we teach composition?

    After another batch of coursework is complete for GCSE and A-level music I like to look back and reflect on the year. I firmly believe in composition being an integral part of these examinations as it is the natural culmination of the study of musical rhetoric, in terms if its theoretical and stylistic constructs, and…