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Living Music: the Power in Learning

University of Westminster, London, Saturday 27 September 2008

This seminar will be chaired by Peter Wild, Warden of the ISM's Private Teachers Section for 2008-09. It will explore a range of musical approaches, ideas and insights that can help instrumental learners, especially in the early stages.

The musical journey which teachers share with their students often embraces a whole range of life experiences; our understanding of music is inextricably linked to our understanding of human emotion. But with the limited contact time available between teacher and student, sometimes students are taught through passive absorption rather than by stimulation. Quite often, this can lead to students lacking motivation or enjoyment, or even abandoning their studies at an early stage.

How can we engage students more actively in the processes of what and how they learn from the very beginning, so that they become independent learners, tapping into their inherent musicality and enabling them to develop their identities as cognitive assessors and musical thinkers? (These themes are covered in more depth in the PTS Warden’s address to the Section's annual meeting in Buxton on 10 April.)

The day will include a presentation on the Kodaly approach with leading expert, David Vinden, while Sally Chappell will consider a range of approaches that can help ease the path of instrumental learners, asking the question Do we make learning difficult? There will be opportunities to explore all these topics in smaller discussion groups.

After lunch, we will be joined by the eminent pianist, Stephen Hough, talking to former PTS Warden, Graeme Humphrey, and taking questions from the floor. In the concluding session on the subject of autism and music, Professor Adam Ockelford of Roehampton University will introduce the world of the autistic child, with special reference to children with musical talents, and also look at research into how music makes sense for us all.

The day costs £60, with special rates for ISM members (£40) and student members (£10).

Download a booking form (PDF).