Music Devon

Anne’s musical career started in two different ways: first formally: having lessons, playing ‘classical music’ etc, doing music exams; and then later on, as a student at university, she developed other music skills as a musician, improvising and playing other sorts of music: including folk, rock, ‘world music’ and jazz, as well as writing and performing music for theatre.

This range of experience gives her an appreciation of the many different facets and skills required for playing in different situations; and means that as a teacher, she has experience and confidence in working with different sorts of music and approaches to music.

She has lived in Crediton since May 2000, and since then has taught flute, saxophone and clarinet (also fife: a small version of the flute, excellent for smaller players; and recorder) in a number of primary and secondary schools. Her teaching is based on appreciating and fostering the individual interest and ability that each student brings, combined with careful planning, to cover, to an appropriate standard, all the varied aspects of instrumental playing, and music, including improvising, playing by ear, and music exams, up to grade 8, (if students want to…).

For planning, I use ‘A Common Approach’ (a nationally recognised instrumental teaching curriculum/ standard), as a basis for structuring learning, to ensure that all areas of musicianship and playing are covered, and to an appropriate standard.

She has worked on a number of “Wider Opportunities” projects: instrumental teaching for large groups and whole classes: opening up the access to instrumental learning for more children.  The work was very rewarding in its own right, but also has been a great tool for developing my own individual and small group teaching, especially for beginners.

As a graduate, with a keen interest in doing things well, she has always valued professional development, and over the years has undertaken music trainings of different kinds, for example: through the Open University, and Jazz training at the City Lit College in London.

She now keeps up to date with the latest and best in instrumental technique, musicianship and teaching through membership of instrumental organisations; attendance at master classes, workshops, and instrumental teacher training events; and is a mentor on the Trinity/ Open University training programme for instrumental teachers.

She provides students with a music diary, for their work between lessons, and provide annual reports to parents at the end of the spring term.