Teaching Notes - MTA Podcast - Ep.133 - Tim Gray (Pitch Pals), Alex Aitken

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 133, Tim Gray tells Patrick all about the new app 'Pitch Pals', designed to allow young children to practise their aural skills in a fun, game-based way (0:59).And Alex Aitken discusses A Level Music, with all its challenges: the importance of research as part of the composing process, the value of pastiche, why being Grade 8 Distinction does not guarantee you success at for A Level performance, and approaches to aural skills such as instrument recognition (16:51).Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects  https://pitchpalsmusic.comhttps://alexaitken.co.uk/courses/https://www.musicteachers.org/pages/events© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan Mail2026 MUSC & DRAMA EXPO SPECIALIn Episode 132, Patrick visits the 2026 Music & Drama Expo, to chat to leaders of CDP sessions, and chat to exhibitors about new Music Education products. Sebastian Murgul from Klang.io introduces their software, that uses AI to transcribe audio to stave notation (0:48);Composer, author and educator Paul Harris discusses the importance of Rhythm, how it is too often taught ineffectively, and ways to rectify this (5:06); The MTA’s Head of Operations and Growth, Caroline Robinson shares details of a new competition for primary school choirs, associated with A Choir in Every School (14:18);Violinist and educator Kit Massey discusses Music Theory, and how he’s introducing it to children via composing tasks in his book Music Theory for Kids (18:33);Kat Penn from Vox Fresh talks about her work running pop choirs for children, and the transformational effect on their mental health (26:10);Programme Manager of Jazz North, Helena Summerfield, talks about the importance of improvisation, and ways to introduce it to children (29:07).Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects https://klang.iohttps://www.paulharristeaching.co.ukhttps://www.musicteachers.org/pages/acieshttps://www.instagram.com/kit.masseyhttps://www.halleonard.com/product/350402/music-theory-for-kidshttps://www.voxfresh.comhttps://hsqsax.org.uk/helena-summerfield/https://www.jazznorth.org/jazz-camp-for-girls© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 131, Patrick finds out more about the new campaign, ‘A Choir in Every School’, led by MTA president, James Manwaring (0:57).Professor Derek Aviss chats about his forthcoming webinar, ‘Transformational Teaching’, for instrumental and vocal teachers to come together to share those special moments in their practice (19:18).And CEO of youth music charity Kinetika Bloco, Tamzyn Marchev, introduces their work, ranging from steel bands and samba bands, to a new series of Key Stage 3 resources, covering Calypso, Afro Beat, Samba, Jazz, and London Jazz (30:18).Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects  A Choir in Every School: https://manwaringmusic.blog/2026/01/18/a-choir-in-every-school/Transformational Teaching: https://www.rsmgb.org/whats-on/transformational-teachingKinetika Bloco: https://kinetikabloco.co.ukChanging Key Resources: https://kinetikabloco.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Changing-Key-Information-Document-2024.pdf© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 130, Patrick chats to Mark Aitchison about his PhD, which focuses on Key Stage 3 music, and Mark asks for teachers’ assistance with a Year 8 Research Project. Plus, music education academics Anthony Anderson, Carolyn Cooke, Victoria Kinsella and Elizabeth MacGregor introduce the new edition of the seminal book, ‘Learning to Teach Music in the Secondary School’, discussing the huge amount of change in music education since the previous edition in 2016, challenges for trainee teachers in 2026, and how the musical landscape could change in forthcoming years.Presented and produced by Patrick Johns. #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects Mark Aitchison: [email protected] to Teach Music in the Secondary School: https://tinyurl.com/LTTMITSS© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 129, Patrick chats to music educator, technological innovator and coach, Alan Cameron, about his long career, including setting up the world's first ever live weekly instrumental music learning programme via video conference for school children in 2005, and now head of Cameron International Coaching.Plus, Director of the National Gospel Music Centre, Anu Omideyi discusses Gospel Music: its influence on all subsequent music, and her new Gospel resources with RSL.Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.https://cameroninternationalcoaching.com/www.anuomideyi.comhttps://www.rslawards.com/gospel-graded-music-exams/https://www.rslawards.com/gospel-music-into-schools/© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 128, Patrick meets James B Partridge to talk about his shows, Primary School Bangers and The Big Christmas Assembly, which revivify children’s hymns of the 70s and 80s. James and Patrick reflect on what makes these simple pieces so popular, and what they can still offer us. Publisher and Commercial Director of Music Teacher Magazine, Amy Driscoll, tells Patrick about the inner workings of the magazine, and the forthcoming Music and Drama Expo in February.And composer, vocalist and producer ILĀ discusses AI’s role in modern music, its benefits, and how it can make us more human. Presented and produced by Patrick Johns. https://jamesbpartridge.comhttps://www.musicteachermagazine.co.ukhttps://www.musicanddramaeducationexpo.co.ukhttps://musicdramaedawards.comhttp://www.hausofila.comhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesizeguidetoai#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects © Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 127, Patrick chats to the Aurora Orchestra’s Creative Director, Jane Mitchell, about their free resources as part of Aurora Classroom, covering Key Stages 1–5. Plus, the launch of their Life-Changing Music Campaign, aiming to raise £500,000 across its 20th anniversary season, to support their work nationwide (01:09).Plus, Executive Director of Music at the David Ross Education Trust (DRET), Simon Toyne, joins Patrick to take a look at the government’s newly-published Curriculum and Assessment Review (17:08).Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects Aurora Classroom: https://auroraclassroom.co.ukLife-Changing Music Campaign: https://www.auroraorchestra.com/life-changing-music-campaign/Debates in Music Teaching Book Launch: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdH_9zKv8Bw8XeS1X110_ZcwxdiaMUaG9bdUk32hF9Wr9uohw/viewformCurriculum and Assessment Review: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/690b96bbc22e4ed8b051854d/Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review_final_report_-_Building_a_world-class_curriculum_for_all.pdf© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 126, Patrick chats to Mark Aitchison about Year 8 Music, with potential pitfalls and suggestions, incorporating research from Mark’s recently published paper, ‘A study into musician identity in year 8 students in England’. Plus, The National Children’s Choir of Great Britain’s musical director, Dan Ludford-Thomas, discusses singing amongst young people, and the excellent work that the choir does, with details of forthcoming auditions.Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects  https://tinyurl.com/MarkAYear8https://www.nccgb.comhttps://www.nccgb.com/people/conductors/https://www.nccgb.com/joining-us/ © Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 125, Patrick meets Jazz pianist, educator, author and Instagram sensation Quentin Walston, to discuss accessible ways into Jazz for non-specialist teachers, from his new book, ‘How to Teach Jazz and Improvisation’ (0:52).Head of Growth and Operations at the MTA, Caroline Robinson introduces many of the speakers for the 2026 MTA conference, as tickets go on sale (24:15).And Dr Delphine Mordey from Cambridge Univeristy highlights two forthcoming open days designed to give our current Year 12s a taster of what studying Music at Cambridge is like (30:51).Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects https://thisisjazz.com/https://www.instagram.com/quentinwalstonhttps://www.musicteachers.org/events/https://tinyurl.com/CamUniMasterClasshttps://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/events/music-subject-masterclasshttps://www.girton.cam.ac.uk/undergraduates/widening-participation-outreach/upcoming-outreach-events© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 124, Patrick chats to Ed Watkins about his recent article, shining a light on disproportionately low grades for otherwise high-achieving music students at A Level (1:02).Laura Bendy and Julian Whittaker introduce the new Members’ Area of the MTA website, and the first webinar of the academic year (13:38); And Grammy- and Brit-nominated singer-songwriter RuthAnne discusses the song-writing process, including a focus on the psychology of song-writing, and tips to overcome writer’s block, as featured in her book “It’s Not Just A Song” (19:37).Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying #SaveOurSubjects https://elementalmusic.app/blog/music-a-level-gradinghttps://www.musicteachers.org/events/online-events/https://www.fabermusic.com/shop/its-not-just-a-song-p472066https://www.instagram.com/thisisruthanne/?hl=enhttps://www.redlightmanagement.com/artists/ruth-anne/© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org