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.

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

New Resources for a New Term from AQA

Posted on 27th July 2016 at 16:30

This month the MWC team are excited to welcome back Sarah Perryman, Music Qualifications Developer at AQA. Sarah has lots of exciting news update on supporting resources, shares details about AQA’s Commit To Teach campaign and tells us all about which CPD courses are available to help you get ready for September. There are also links to free posters for your classroom.

The Concerto: Developing the Soloist

Posted on 13th July 2016 at 14:00

Today the word concerto is typically used to describe a piece of music that features a particular instrument or instruments as a soloist, accompanied by an orchestra. Soloists are the most glamorous, highly paid classical musicians and their concerto performances demonstrate the pinnacle of their skill. However, the concerto was originally a composition where people played together in concert/consort, making a ‘concerted effort’.

ROH Bridge: Planning for A Bright Future

Posted on 29th June 2016 at 14:10

The Royal Opera House Bridge project works to connect young people with great art and culture, breaking down the stereotypes of inaccessibility and nurturing networks and innovation. The issue of culture, music and learning is vital to the future of education. In previous blogs we’ve looked at the value of exposing children to classical music and explored the ways in which opera companies can avoid alienating young audiences. We’ve also covered organisations such as Future Talent which provide opportunities for young musicians to develop their careers.

The Threat to EUYO – A European Tragedy

Posted on 15th June 2016 at 14:00

The musical community reacted with dismay and disbelief last month at the news that the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) was to close in September 2016 following a loss of funding from the EU.

Immediately, huge numbers of supporters from across the globe joined the campaign to #SaveEUYO.

UPDATE

The EUYO were saved and continue to thrive.

Concerts for Babies: Music Without Rules

Posted on 30th May 2016 at 14:30

This week the Ulster Orchestra announced a decision to grant free entry to under 16’s to their season concerts. This decision was shared on social-media site Facebook alongside a post describing one parent’s experience of taking her child to performances: That she’d had complaints her little girl was distracting other audience members.

Music in Film: Sound Makes the Story

Posted on 16th May 2016 at 14:30

Music has been a big part of film since the early moving pictures, when live music was performed, usually by a pianist, to add atmosphere to silent movies.

When ‘talkies’ were introduced in 1927 with The Jazz Singer, featuring Al Jolson, music was again an important part of the film, and today it plays an integral part in films of all genres, from the opening overture, introducing main themes whilst the credits roll, to gestures highlighting climaxes or emotions and reminding audiences about things the characters may not know about.