Summer term 1 2009-10 issue out now!

The summer term 1 issue of Classroom Music is out now, including:

*  A bumper edition of online materials that features resources for the IB set work (Copland's El Salon Mexico) and Edexcel A2 revision sheets for the first time, as well as BTEC Firsts, KS2/3 transition and much more besides

* In the magazine, a KS3 special, with more ideas for tailoring the KS3 curriculum to your students, plus tips on improving your conducting, a profile of the difficulties faced in moving from school to university music courses, product reviews and much, much more.

If you don't subscribe, visit www.rhinegold.co.uk/classroommusic to order a copy or set up a subscription. If you do subscribe but have not yet set up your online user account, do so to avoid missing out on more valuable resources for the classroom. Visit www.rhinegold.co.uk/classroommusic, scroll to the bottom of the page and follow the instructions to set up your user account. I hope you enjoy this issue of Classroom Music.

Best wishes
Chris Elcombe
Editor

Call for photos

Do you have good photos of your music students in action? Would you like to see them appearing in Classroom Music?

 

We're looking for a wider variety of pictures to illustrate our articles. We're looking for action shots (mainly but not exclusively curriculum-related) of students, whether it's working at computers, rehearsing their rock band for a GCSE performance, taking part in class singing/clapping - anything that reflects what goes on in your music lessons.

 

There are 2 main requirements: photos need to be high resolution (minimum 900 pixels), and you need to make sure that you have permission from any relevant students/parents for pictures to be published. And if we decide to publish, we will acknowledge the school next to the picture.

 

Please send any images to classroom@rhinegold.co.uk, with any relevant details (name of school, age-group of students featured).

 

thanks

Chris Elcombe

Editor, Classroom Music magazine

Spring term 2 2009/10 issue out now!

The spring term 2 2009/10 issue of Classroom Music is out now (to subscribe, go to www.rhinegold.co.uk/classroommusic).

Our online lesson materials include help with the new technology performance options at GCSE, and Edexcel and AQA A-level course elements, as well as KS3 topics including Musicals and The Power of Music.

In the magazine, we take a look at the Rockschool Music Practitioner KS4 course, and at developing partnerships with the local community, plus Kevin Rogers explains how the changes in Curriculum 2008 are more radical than they might appear. And there's much more besides, including reviews of the latest classroom-related products.

As ever, please contact us via this page or email classroom@rhinegold.co.uk if you have any feedback, questions or suggestions for articles.

Out now: Classroom Music spring term 1 2009/10

The spring term 1 issue of Classroom Music is out now, complete with the new online lesson materials for KS3, 4 and 5, including BTECs.

In the magazine itself, you can read about composition summer schools, Youth Music Theatre UK and leading audio production FE courses. There's advice on the whys and wherefores of teaching notation in the classroom, the basics of multi-track recording and how to set up a local music network. You can also find out how the new Rhinegold listening tests work and read a review of Music Technology from Scratch.

We also share the reflections of teachers running the Creative and Media Diploma, and would be very interested in hearing your own experiences/opinions of this course. Do you teach the Diploma? If so, what do you make of it so far? Do you agree with the opinions expressed in the article?

As ever, we'd also value your feedback on the articles and lesson materials we've provided in this issue - please post a comment below.

Latest issue of Classroom Music out now

The autumn term 2 issue of Classroom Music is out now, complete with a brand new design and online lesson materials.


Comment below on the articles and lesson materials we've provided in the latest issue. Were any of particular use to you? If so, why? Was there anything we could have done better? How are you finding the new lesson material format?

Also... does our report on the new controlled coursework conditions match your own experiences from 2008/09? Tell us what you've made of the first year of supervised coursework below..

Online lesson materials now available!

The first-ever online lesson materials are now available to download by Classroom Music subscribers from the Classroom Music homepage.

Instructions for setting up an online user account are given below. You will need your 6-digit subscriber number, which should be printed on the address label on the front of your copy of the magazine. The latest issue, in a brand-new format, has been posted today, so if you don't already have your subscriber number, you should have it when the magazine arrives.



1. Go to www.rhinegold.co.uk/classroommusic
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page. In the 'lesson material' tab you will find a list of the materials available, with the latest issue's first. You can click on 'read more' to see a brief introduction to what each article contains.
3. To download any of the articles you will need to log in. The first time you do this, you will need to set up a Rhinegold.co.uk user account. Click on 'create one now' at the top of the lesson materials tab, and fill in your details. You will need your 6-digit subscriber number as part of this (see above). If, once you have received your latest copy of the magazine, you still can't find this, please call the number on the account set-up page.
4. Once you've finished, an email will be sent to you with an account activation link. Once you've activated your account, you're ready to go!

Are you and your students finding the new rules on A-level resits tough?

A letter from Patrick Gazard in the October issue of Music Teacher highlights the extra burden on students taking AS resits this academic year: they can no longer adapt their compositions from the previous year but must follow the new AS briefs for the current year; under the Edexcel system, they must also learn ten new set works for Unit 3.

Mr Gazard questions the fairness of this extra burden, on teachers as well as students, especially given that in other subjects, it appears that students can reuse topics and briefs from the previous year. He also calls for all the exam boards to clarify their position, to avoid severe mishaps when this year's exam season comes round.

What do you think? Please post a comment sharing your own experiences or views...