The Music Workshop Company Blog

Each month the Music Workshop Company publishes two blogs. One blog, written by the MWC team addresses a key issue in Music Education or gives information about a particular genre or period of music. The other blog is written by a guest writer, highlighting good practice or key events in Music Education. We hope you enjoy reading the blogs.

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To contribute as a guest writer please email Maria@music-workshop.co.uk

Woodwind family

Posted on 17th June 2026 at 11:38

Photo by Thea Paraskevaides, used under Creative Commons licence

Continuing our series of blog posts about the Western Classical Orchestra, this month we explore the woodwind family.

A typical woodwind section in an orchestra is made up of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, but different pieces of music require a different combination of woodwind instruments. Sometimes, the extended instrumental families are needed, from piccolo to contra bassoon or even the saxophone.

Woodwind instruments are aerophones – instruments that create sounds by making air vibrate.

String Family

Posted on 16th May 2026 at 14:07

Last month, we started our exploration of the Western Classical Orchestra with a history of the ensemble.

This month we explore the string family. In terms of players, the string family are the largest instrumental family in the orchestra and is made up of the violin, viola, cello (or violincello) and double bass.

The Orchestra

Posted on 17th April 2026 at 16:05

The orchestra has been at the heart of much of Western music for over 350 years. Many of the pieces in the recommended listening list in the Model Music Curriculum for England are written for orchestra. We explore how the orchestra developed throughout the centuries, for the first of our series of posts examining the make-up of Western orchestras.

Check back in May for the next post in the series, when we’ll delve deeper into the string family.

Celebrating Lady Gaga at 40

Posted on 18th March 2026 at 14:01

Lady Gaga is one of the world’s most famous living musicians – a global icon who has sold millions of records worldwide.

Gaga has barely been out of the charts since she burst onto the scene in 2008 with her debut album “The Fame”, with her music drawing on a range of genres from electro-pop to country and rock. She has garnered multiple awards for her songwriting, as well as critical praise for her acting skills in a slew of Hollywood roles.

In the lead-up to her 40th birthday on 28th March 2026, we look at her remarkable career and influence.

Image: Carlos M. Vazquez II, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Grace Williams

Posted on 13th February 2026 at 15:46

Grace Williams’ music is strongly linked to her home of Wales, with folk tunes often appearing in her compositions. In fact, it has been said "She had brought the music of Wales to the world."

She was also a pioneer as one of the first, if not the first, female film composer. On the 120th anniversary of her birth, we celebrate her life and work.

Flute School London

Posted on 31st January 2026 at 11:16

This month’s guest blogger is Janna Hüneke, Founder and Lead Tutor at Flute School London. She tells us how a desire to provide opportunities for flautists to play together evolved into Flute School London - an annual course particularly aimed at adult learners. She outlines the programme's emphasis on ensemble playing, as well as its focus on building confidence and the simple joy of playing music - values that we at The Music Workshop Company certainly shares.

Read on to learn more about the 2026 course and some of Flute School London's sister projects, including an online learning programme for adults.