Teaching Notes - MTA Podcast - Ep.137 - Tessa Armstrong (Voices for Life), James Manwaring, Natalie Wild & Christopher Tarrant

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 137, Patrick meets Tessa Armstrong, founder and director of Voices for Life, who provide free singing workshops and concerts for primary children, with a focus on well-being.MTA President James Manwaring updates listeners about A Choir in Every School, including the latest newsletter.And Natalie Wild and Christopher Tarrant chat about their latest book, The Composer’s Toolkit, in which students are guided through tried-and-tested compositional techniques and processes, dating back hundreds of years, and still very relevant to student composers in 2026. Presented and produced by Patrick Johns. https://voicesforlife.org.ukhttps://www.musicteachers.org/pages/acieshttps://www.fabermusic.com/shop/the-composers-toolkit-p479626 © Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan Mail2026 MTA CONFERENCE SPECIAL In Episode 136, Patrick visits the 2026 MTA Conference, held at Warwick Schools Foundation, in Leamington Spa. He chats to Sir John Rutter about John’s own musical education, the power of singing, the compositional process, and what happens to the fragments of his music that don’t get published (30:40).Liz Dunbar and Simon Toyne chat about their CPD session, ‘Curriculum Thinking and Curriculum Planning – A Conversation’ (5:35).Plus, Patrick chats to various exhibitors at the Trade Fair, including Justin Wagstaff from The Sound Post (1:22), Yvette Cooper from Sparkyard (Out of the Ark) (21:33), and Thomas Reng Thomsen from Speed Admin (26:18).Presented and produced by Patrick Johns. Sir John Rutter: www.instagram.com/johnrutter.composerLiz Dunbar: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/liz-dunbar-4a30702bbSimon Toyne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-toyne/The Sound Post: www.thesoundpost.co.ukSparkyard: www.sparkyard.comSpeed Admin: www.speedadmin.com© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan MailMTA CONFERENCE PREVIEW In Episode 135, Patrick looks ahead to the 2026 MTA Conference, and meets two of the speakers leading CPD sessions. James McEvoy-Stevenson gives an overview of his session, ‘GCSE Music: Planning for success’ (1:15), and music teacher and DJ James Stevenson makes the case for authentic dance music education, in his session ‘Don't call it EDM’ (29:18). Plus, from Brass Bands England, Deirdre Waller-Box introduces the new Future Leaders’ Programme, helping educators to develop the skills and knowledge needed to direct brass ensembles (16:26).Presented and produced by Patrick Johns. https://tinyurl.com/BBEFutureLeadershttps://www.musicteachers.org/pages/conference© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 134, Patrick meets Dafydd Williams, the Music Lead at Rushmore Primary School in Hackney, winner of the Outstanding School Music Department award at the recent Music and Drama Education Awards, to find out about the music-making at the school (0:46).Plus, Anna van Veldhuisen and Issy McMichael tell Patrick all about their use of the Kodály Method in the classroom, across different Key Stages, with outstanding results (18:36).Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.https://www.rushmore.hackney.sch.uk/Learning/Music-At-Rushmore/https://www.musicteachers.org/pages/eventshttps://www.instagram.com/doremisowhat?igsh=ZGR1aTR6eTRxYTd2© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org 

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