December is upon us and the festive season seems to be in full swing here in Scotland! You’ve probably been preparing for concerts and end of term performances before a well-earned break. Before you get cracking with the Christmas cheer, we thought we’d better give you a few bits of housekee
Author Archives: Lauren
“Today’s training has been a fantastic experience. Fantastic course and people! Thank you very much!” “Music Teacher’s Toolbox has given me a new way to approach teaching, making music easier to understand and play. Everything was fantastic! I got a very comprehensive u
Are you our Figurenotes Officer Maternity Cover? We have an exciting opportunity to work with Drake Music Scotland, the nation’s leading organisation providing music education possibilities to disabled musicians of all ages. Based in Edinburgh, we have been working for over 20 years to enable
This November, Music Teacher’s Toolbox will have a reinvigorated structure. Although we always vary the activities, this training day will look a little different than usual. This Music Teacher’s Toolbox will lead you through building up a rounded musician, focusing on the core skills a musi
“I feel sorry for those people that couldn’t make the training today, as I think they’ve missed out on something great!” It is always wonderful to get a glowing review from our training sessions. Over two days, this one combined both Figurenotes and demonstrations of the tec
You know it is a good summer when even up in Scotland we get a heatwave! Our staff will be making the most of the weather and getting their holidays in while schools are off. It is generally a quieter time here at Figurenotes HQ, as our school and community projects take a break and […]
If you follow our Facebook page, you may have noticed our new series of video tutorials. Commissioned by The Space, we have launched a series of ‘How To’ videos giving step-by-step guidance through many aspects of learning to play music with Figurenotes. Each video tutorial features a di
“I loved my day. Thank you very much. You have inspired me and made me very excited to get back to school and get started. Today has even made me want to learn how to play the guitar!” Our last Music Teacher’s Toolbox was another fantastic day spent with an enthusiastic group of te
As Drake Music Scotland celebrates 20 years of pioneering work, we hear from Chief Executive, Thursa Sanderson, on the role Figurenotes has played. From its establishment in 1997 Drake Music Scotland’s primary purpose was to create music-making opportunities for disabled people of all a
This wonderful project, which uses Figurenotes to help in the recovery from eating disorders, was brought to our attention recently. The instant accessibility of Figurenotes seemed to work really well in this scenario and allowed the group to compose and express themselves without any prior musical
Not a sentence that many people in the UK have uttered in the last week, but we have been extremely lucky with the weather! Why? Emma, Pete, and Lauren just managed to get out of the country before all flights were cancelled. Boston played host to the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MME
From banging out some beats on the drum kit, to beautiful marimba solos, Figurenotes works brilliantly with percussion. After all, rhythm is at the heart of the Figurenotes way. Figurenotes is perfectly suited to playing in a band. We pride ourselves on creating a rock band in a very shor
Figurenotes is perfectly suited to the piano. By placing stickers on the white notes, we make it much easier to see the repeating pattern of notes that the piano has. Each note has a colour and each octave has a shape. You can see the relationship between notes, while still seeing them as different
Proceeds from Figurenotes resources go to Drake Music Scotland. This wonderful charity enables people with disabilities to learn, compose, and perform music. “Our vision is to transform people’s lives through the power of music. We play a lead role in making Scotland a place where ground-
When did you last invest in yourself? Twice a year, we run a full day of training for music educators and practitioners. At the Music Teacher’s Toolbox, we’ll give you a good grounding in how Figurenotes can support your work and help your pupils flourish. This training is always tailo
Well, we are nearly there. You’ve heard your pupils play Jingle Bells approximately a bazillion times and you are ready to park yourself by the fire with a well deserved mince pie. Before you get cracking with the Christmas cheer, we thought we’d better give you some wee housekeeping new
We have a new, easy way for people to access stage 3 of Figurenotes. Figurenotes progresses through 3 stages towards reading standard music notation. Stage 3 is coloured note heads. Until now, stage 3 has only been available via plugins (available from the Resource Base) for use with Sibelius or Mu
A vibrant group of people attended last week’s Music Teacher’s Toolbox. We had a mix of mainstream teachers, music specialists, music therapists, SEN/ASN teachers, and community musicians. Two teachers travelled all the way from Barcelona, continuing our tradition of attracting an inter
“I am so excited about this!” “I’m so glad I came to talk to you. This is great!” “Ooh, this looks fun!” Lauren and Emma were greeted with lots of big smiles and lightbulb moments during the ABRSM Conference. Many teachers are looking for extra tools in ar
So you want to be a rock star? Start a Figurenotes band! Beginners can start playing together very quickly. This is shown brilliantly by our instant Figurenotes bands on training days. There are many ways to learn guitar using Figurenotes. The route you choose will depend on the style of music you
This mini-series started with strings, worked with woodwind, and now we are blowing the trumpet for brass! There are Figurenoters doing some brilliant things with brass. Take a look at Favela Brass in Brazil as a prime example of what can be achieved. We are in no way dictatorial about how you use F
For the second instalment of our mini-series on how to use Figurenotes with different instruments, we will focus on woodwind. In the last blog, we covered strings and how to get started. This focused on violin, but can be applied to viola, cello, and double bass. If you have any thoughts or ques
We have had a few requests for blogs focusing on using Figurenotes with different instruments. I’d like to start, as a violinist, with strings. There was a wonderful pilot project, when Figurenotes first came over to Scotland, at Greenmill Primary School. This research project was a joint vent
Once again, the BBC have asked us to create accessible resources for their Ten Pieces initiative. The BBC are launching their third list of ten pieces, all chosen with the aim of opening up the world of classical music to a new generation. BBC Ten Pieces invites students to develop their own creati
I know you teachers are a committed bunch and spend much of your holiday time thinking about next term and updating your lesson plans. With that in mind, I’d like to give you a little inspiration for your upcoming lessons. If this feels too much like hard work right now, save this blog and com
Mark Browne and Jill Reeves have been using Figurenotes to great effect at Craigmarloch School, so we asked them to share their experience. Figurenotes has revolutionised music here at Craigmarloch School. Its visual style and literal colour-matching logic has engaged pupils at all ages, stages and
At Drake Music Scotland, the charity behind Figurenotes, we love using Thumbjam. Obviously, we love using Figurenotes too, so we wanted to find a way to combine the two. Our Associate Musician, Clare Johnston, came up with a brilliant way to use Figurenotes with Thumbjam on the iPad. Clare is a bit
You can now book your place on our award-winning training: Music Teacher’s Toolbox – Saturday 18th November, 2017, 10:00 – 16:00. Whether you are an experienced Figurenoter or you are just starting out, you will leave with a head full of ideas and inspiration. There is so much to b
Our award-winning training is back! Due to a flurry of recent training enquiries, we thought we should open booking for November’s Music Teacher’s Toolbox. This time around, Resource Base members get exclusive access to pre-sale booking. Only a limited amount of places will be released,
It’s not every day you get to workshop with a Grammy award winning musician. Michael League from Snarky Puppy kindly gave up his morning in Glasgow to work with members of Drake Music Scotland’s Digital Orchestra. This group uses all kinds of technologies to compose, play, and perform m
Creativity needs nurturing. Parents and teachers often put the focus on technique and ‘getting it right’. I admit that I often get bogged down with this when teaching my violin pupils. Lots of older pupils get nervous when asked to compose or improvise, which can be a hangover from th
“It has been so awesome! Having fun just reminded me to be using Figurenotes more. Loved it all!” “Renewed enthusiasm with new ideas and different ways of working. Excellent day. Great fun. Well done!” “Thank you so much for a brilliant and inspiring day! Loads of ques
In part 3 of her series of guest blogs, Matilda Brown lets us peek behind the scenes at her work with pupils from Hampden Primary School. You can see tips and ideas of how to get to this step by reading parts 1 and 2 of this series. Part 3 – Composing at Hampden […]
Last week, composer and community musician, Matilda Brown, laid out how she introduced Figurenotes and the idea of matching to her music groups. If you missed it, you can read about it in last week’s blog post. In part 2 of the series, Matilda tells us about Figurenotes from a composer’
In a new series of guest blogs, Matilda Brown, composer and community musician, gives us an insight into how she uses Figurenotes with pupils. Matilda uses her work in special schools to demonstrate particular ways into using Figurenotes, which work wonders with beginners of all ages. Look out for p
You booked it – we made it bigger! Due to a rush of bookings, we have decided to release more places for our Music Teacher’s Toolbox on 25th March. Get in quick before we run out of space again. You’ll get expert guidance on using Figurenotes with different instruments and in diff
We are delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with Snape Maltings (formerly Aldeburgh Music). Their Friday Afternoons project encourages children and young people to sing. Since 2013, there have been more than 80,000 participants, from all around the world. New songs are commissioned ann
Are you visiting the Music Education Expo this Friday? Make sure you’re at stand M1 at 3pm. We are launching some exciting new resources in partnership with Friday Afternoons. Snape Maltings (formerly Aldeburgh Music) is hosting the launch at the Music Education Expo with a visit from Emma
Sam Dook from ‘Carousel’, a disability led arts organisation in Brighton, tells us of the joys of collaboration and composition, along with some great advice on which resources to use to get you started. For the last two years we have explored implementing Figurenotes in our music projects. It
We wanted to start 2017 with some positivity, so when Bern MacLeod emailed to tell us how they’ve been using Figurenotes in a project in Uganda, we thought we should share it with you all. How do I tell the story of Figurenotes in Uganda? In 2015, we conducted workshops where 22 orphan st
Figurenotes HQ will be closed from lunchtime on 15th December until 4th January 2017. I can’t say whether Santa and the elves work here the rest of the year, but that can’t be a coincidence! Please be sure to get your orders in by 10am on 15th December, in order for our elves to work th
We asked Santa and he can’t find your names on the naughty list, so you must have been very good this year. We’ve decided to treat you all to a Figurenotes Advent Calendar. Sign up via the mailing list and we’ll send you a gift each Sunday of Advent. From resources to discount code
One of my favourite jobs on a weary Monday morning after a weekend of training is reading the feedback forms. It is so rewarding to see how valuable this type of training is to so many people. Some of our most experienced Figurenoters were training alongside those completely new to this way of nota
“I just love it. It has worked so well!” “Wow! Figurenotes really transformed my lessons. I love it!” “The way of displaying rhythm is brilliant. It makes total sense.” “I’ve tried to use colour before, but Figurenotes is just perfect.” We were d
“You’re going to need a bigger boat” – Music Teacher’s Toolbox is proving so popular that we’ve booked a bigger space. Looking at a fully-booked CPD course, we thought we’d better make room for some others, so we have released 2 more places. You can see the
Fiona Sharp uses BBC Ten Pieces and Figurenotes in perfect harmony, leading her groups to stage 3 Figurenotes. Learning the coloured note-heads is only one step away from reading standard notation. For three years I have been leading Figurenotes focused projects with pupils in the Support Fo
Drake Music Scotland, the charity behind this site, recently won a Curiosity Award. This has allowed us to make a demo Figurenotes app, which we hope will act as preparation before taking up an instrument. The app will develop musical skills in a game-like environment. We don’t know if this
Emily MacQuarrie tells us how she easily overcame the fact that the colours of tuned percussion don’t always match up with Figurenotes. I am a music teacher at Drummond School Inverness, a school for pupils aged 3-19 who have additional support needs. All of our pupils have severe learning dif
We can’t wait until 19th November. Why? It is the next Music Teacher’s Toolbox! *insert your own personal fanfare here* These training days are packed full of inspiration, whether you are new to Figurenotes or an experienced Figurenoter. Perfect for freelance music practitioners looking
Ok, so your school may not have a Steinway, but I’m sure we have all run into this issue when using Figurenotes in schools. Those beady eyed Figurenoters among you may have seen that we now have Reusable Stickers in our online shop. These went down a storm at the ISME Conference at the end [&h
Have you ever wanted to be part of an orchestra? The BBC have launched their Get Playing initiative, which includes a virtual orchestra. You record your part in time with the conductor and they’ll do the rest. You could feature in the Last Night of the Proms! Worried about reading the music? D
We now have a dedicated space on our Resource Base for BBC Ten Pieces. So, if you’ve been wanting to get involved, but weren’t quite sure where to start, or if you’ve been brimming with ideas and want even more, click on over to our Resource Base. We have lesson plans, scores, crea
Did you know that Figurenotes is SQA approved? You can use Figurenotes for both performance and composition in SQA exams all the way up to Advanced Highers! This means that accreditation can be opened up to a huge range of people that struggle with traditional notation, whether this is because of ad
We are super excited about presenting with the Finnish creators of Figurenotes at the ISME pre-conference seminar on Special Music Education and Music Therapy! Figurenotes will have quite a presence at this incredible conference. You’ll also be able to get our event discounts on resources.
Adam Featherstone, a teacher from Middlesbrough, tells us how he used music from Harry Potter to inspire a creative project with BBC Philharmonic musicians (pictured above with a musician from Priory Woods). I started to use Figurenotes in March of 2015 starting with whole class electronic ke
Most teachers and Figurenoters tell us that tutorial videos are the best thing for them to learn from (apart from our excellent training days). We have been busy updating our old Figurenotes software tutorials on YouTube. Some have already gone up, but we would love to take your suggestions for mor
This Sunday, we will be setting off bright and early to the EPTA conference in Edinburgh. To those not in the know, EPTA is the European Piano Teachers Association. After chatting with EPTA at the Music Education Expo in February, they got very excited about the potential of Figurenotes for their me
We love watching the end of this video. People often start off scared, thinking they are ‘unmusical’ or that they can’t do it. That feeling doesn’t last long with Figurenotes. That moment when you think you aren’t musical… …and you discover you
Our Music Teacher’s Toolbox was a huge success last Saturday! Not only did we explore how to make the most of those minuscule music department budgets, but we rocked out to everything from Prince to the King of Pop. Our participants arrived with limited or no knowledge of the software and left
The nicest part of our job here at Figurenotes HQ is when we go out into the big, wide world and share our knowledge of inclusive music education. That magic spark when you see a fire light behind the eyes of a music teacher or practitioner, knowing that what they do with that inspiration will cha
Apologies to any customers experiencing problems with Figurenotes software v3. Some issues have been reported, which can’t be fixed immediately, so we are withdrawing it from sale for the time being. We will be in touch with those of you affected directly and if you experience any problems, pl
We cannot wait for April 23rd. Why? Because Music Teacher’s Toolbox is back! Come and join us for some seriously inspirational CPD from the experts at Drake Music Scotland. This training day is perfect for all music practitioners, educators, therapists, and community musicians. The full progra
To stay up to date on v3, please join our mailing list Improvements to the new software will include: Triplets – This opens up a whole new world of pieces to play. A little bit overexcited about finding all the pieces with triplets in. First stop, Mars! Text Boxes – Moveable text boxes
We recently sent three of our Figurenotes gurus down to London to spread the word at the Music Education Expo 2016. Welcome to all those that we chatted to on our stall. Welcome to our community of Figurenoters and brilliant teachers, musicians, and all-round inspirational people. Join our Facebook
We are off to London for the Music Education Expo, 2016! Figurenotes has been shortlisted for the Best SEND Resource in the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence. We won this award in 2014 and it is very exciting to be shortlisted again. Fingers crossed! Come and see us during the Music Education Expo
We have our Figurenotes elves until 17th December, when we have to give them back to Santa. Elves don’t get Christmas holiday like the rest of us. Please get your online orders in by 9am on 17th Dec in order to get them processed and posted by 4pm the same day. I’m afraid we cannot [&hel
Through the work of Drake Music Scotland, Figurenotes has been shortlisted for Best SEND Resource at the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence. After winning the award in 2014, we are delighted to announce that we are finalists for 2016. It is wonderful to have all our hard work recognised and su