So the title – Pure anorak, I know. Not even great as a pun, but I couldn’t seem to resist. DAW, for the uninitiated, stands for Digital Audio Workstation – a computer programme used to record, mix and produce music/audio. I spent much of my twenties working with them as a producer on radio. I … More Lessons of DAW
I’m a long time leading music workshops. In no particular order, these are some things I’ve observed, learned, suspect to be true. Have a range of resources – games/songs/meditations/riddles/rhymes. Contrasting activity and material can calm dysregulated/hyper-activity, or energise a low energy room. Children respond to kindness and genuine interest in them (they can smell false). … More Facilitator superpower? Listening. Proper listening…
NOTE: This piece is more about community arts and how it is conceived and delivered, than it is about the music delivery itself. The Farset Project was a singing project I facilitated with a group of women called Women United. It was an initial project of 8 weeks. In that time we wrote an original … More Farset Project: The Singers & The Song
It’s gotten better. But still. Somewhere in there, the nagging, gnawing suspicion that girls/women are just not as good, or not built/allowed to be as good at their passions as the boys. I have a number of theories about why this endures as an idea. I work in early years music education. I see kids … More Only a Woman…
13.09.2020 I run in a park. It is a big park with a general parky-bit. A circular walking track with walkers, cyclists, dog and/or baby walkers, ducks swans and a family of Herons that took up residence during the lockdown. There are Jolly Joggers too. I say jolly, because they manage to conduct seemingly jolly … More Run fast?
Hello and welcome to blog 2 of: ‘Some Thoughts On The Goings On In My Music World November/December 2014’. I’m all about the catchy titles, me. 2. CHOIR I work with a cross-community primary choir comprising two schools in North Belfast. I have worked with these schools, and others in the vincinity for over three … More Sing A New Song? – (We can but try).
Happy New Year one and all. I hope 2015 is good to us. I fell off the blog wagon entirely towards the end of last year; busy with stuff etc. It’s probably folly to think that a post on the first day of the new year will result in a successful ‘Start As You Mean … More Just Do It…..(I spend a lot of time talking about what I love to do).
Chances are the end of that title sentence jarred a bit with you. It does with me. Exam preparation and competitions, however, are part of my work as a music professional. They are by no means the corner stone but they are there and they serve a purpose. At times they take centre stage – … More Exploring, Learning, Creating, Performing, Competing and Testing in Music.
Most teachers will offer a complimentary lesson to begin with. It’s a chance for student and teacher to see if they think they would work well together. No-one knows your child like you do and therefore you’re best placed, (well joint best – alongside your child), to make a call on a teachers suitability. As … More Things To Think of When Thinking of Teachers….
Welcome. I have it seems, gone the way of others and decided to enter the fray (blog sphere!). Having recently had my second child, I know beyond all doubt that there will never be a good time, or a better time to do this. Because there will never be enough time. There are just the … More ‘Give Up Yourself Unto The Moment…’
