Thursday, 3 January 2013

Music Teacher magazine 2012-2013

Here are some of my articles for Music Teacher:

"Going Global", January 2013
"Today’s musicians, from classical to pop, are being inspired and influenced by musical idioms from the other side of the world. At the same time, western classical music has found keen new audiences, particularly in India and the Far East. Traditionally, student orchestras and choirs in the UK have opted for tours to European destinations, safe in the knowledge that the culture will be fairly familiar, audiences receptive and costs relatively low. But in an age where culture is crossing all borders, should our students be doing the same?".
Click here to read on.

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"Safety First", December 2012
"Musical instruments are like close friends. We get to know them and feel comfortable with them, we grow familiar with their little idiosyncrasies, and we would feel quite distraught without them. But however fond we may be of our instruments, accidents do happen – and dealing with the consequences can be very stressful. The antidote to this stress should, in theory, be musical instrument insurance".
Click here to read on.

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Interview with Paul Sartin, November 2012
"The Kodály method uses a lot of modal musical material, and after being immersed in classical harmonies for so many years I found these sounds completely ethereal! I became hooked on Vaughan Williams, which felt to me like the height of pastoral Romanticism. Then a friend got me into Jethro Tull, which was followed by slightly lighter folk rock styles – Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. Together with one teacher and a group of school friends we formed the Purcell Folk Group".
Click here to read on.

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Interview with Kristjan Järvi, October 2012
"I can’t really put a finger on a specific moment or age I began to take an interest in music – it was more a process of osmosis as I absorbed and drank in all the beautiful music that was around me".
Click here to read on.

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Some of my other articles

Here's a selection of my writings. Some represent the earlier, uncensored versions of pieces that were later clipped, pruned and manicured for publication ...

"Long-haul music tours"
"Traditionally, student orchestras and choirs in the UK have opted for tours to European destinations – perhaps Central America for the more adventurous – safe in the knowledge that the culture will be fairly familiar, audiences receptive, and costs relatively low. But in an age where culture is crossing all borders, perhaps our students should be doing the same?"
Click here for the full text

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"Mini Maestros and Infant Instrumentalists: when should we start children on formal music education?"
"While the vast majority of us are unlikely to be harbouring mini Mozarts under our roofs, there is no doubt that all children can gain a great deal from a musical education, regardless of their aptitude or ability. Given that our brains are wired to respond to music from the earliest age, does this mean we should start playing instruments just as soon as we’re physically able to hold them?"
Click here for the full text

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"Specialist Music Schools: a Five-Step Guide"
"Whether to send your pupil or child to a specialist music school is a big decision, and there is a great deal that needs to be considered. This five-step guide takes you through all the important information you need to know when judging what’s best for each young musician".
Click here for the full text

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Here's the text of my interview with Australian saxophonist Amy Dickson, which will be published in the March issue of Music Teacher
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Creators coming out of copyright

For the past two years I've been commissioned by leading international copyright weblog The 1709 Blog to pen some portraits of composers, artists, authors, sculptors and other creators whose works fell out of copyright at the end of the 70th year from the year of their deaths in what are sometimes called "Life Plus Seventy" countries.

Died in 1942, out of copyright in 2013

 Died in 1941, out of copyright in 2012
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a United Nations Agency which has a special responsibility for the oversight of international treaties and policy developments involving copyright.  I have written two pieces, both entitled "Welcome to the Public Domain", for the WIPO Magazine which were published respectively in February 2008 (here) and February 2009 (here).
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