In episode 74, Patrick chats to Kwame Bakoji-Hume from African Activites, about West African Drumming, and misconceptions about the music; the Master of the King's Music Judith Weir CBE offers some compositional tips (with James Manwaring and Liz Dunbar, from  Music Teacher Mondays); and Mark Aitchison introduces his research project, looking at long-term changes to classroom practice following the pandemic. Presented and produced by Patrick Johns #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying africanactivities.org.uk www.judithweir.com tinyurl.com/MarkAitchisonCovidResearch © Music Teachers' Association ww ..read more

In Episode 72, Patrick looks ahead to the Music and Drama Expo in February, chatting to two of the speakers about their forthcoming seminars: In "No Practice? No Problem!", violinist and teacher Georgina Leach discusses the initial importance of practising an instrument, questioning whether it is a form of exclusion, and looks at basic introduction to improvisation for non-specialists. And pianist Stephen Marquiss talks about The Anti-Racist Music Studio, and unconscious prejudice within our teaching. Presented and produced by Patrick Johns. #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying ..read more

In episode 71, Patrick talks to the Chief Exec of the ORA Singers, Matt Beale, and to the General Manager, Tom Rayner, about their annual Young Composers’ Scheme, encouraging students to send in their compositions for consideration. Michelle Buckman from the Musiq Group talks about their One Great Piano project, to get high-quality pianos into every school. And Dr Steven Berryman explains the benefits of joining the Chartered College of Teaching, how to become a Chartered Teacher, and talks about music education today. Presented and produced by Patrick Johns #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying  ht ..read more

In the first episode of 2023, Letty Stott and Rebecca Celebuski from Gender And the Large and Shiny Instruments (GALSI) talk about the imbalance of female and non-binary musicians performing brass and percussion instruments; Chris Hoban introduces a potential new national song, A Song of England; And Ross Garrod discusses the ‘Missing Myelination Link’, the effect of regular musical practice on the brain’s development, and how understanding this could revolutionise education. Presented and produced by Patrick Johns. #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying  https://www.largeandshiny.com  https://ch ..read more

In the final episode of 2022, Learning Director of Aurora Orchestra Rebecca Barnett tells Patrick about their new online resource for Early Years and KS1, The Magical Toy Box. Plus, composer Bob Chilcott chats about Christmas Carols, including composition tips about melody and structure. Presented and produced by Patrick Johns #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying  https://app.learning.auroraorchestra.com ..read more

In Episode 68, Patrick chats to Ollie Tunmer about Beat Goes On's Body Percussion Scheme of Work for key stages 1–4; And to Suzzie Vango & Lucy Hollins about their new book, "How to Make Your Choir Sound Awesome", focusing on warm-ups. In the final interview, Patrick discusses the role of improvisation within the classroom, and the role that Jazz pedagogy can play, with the co-chair of Jazz in Education UK, and International Chair in Improvisation at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama: Simon Purcell. Presented and produced by Patrick Johns. #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying www.beatgoeson ..read more

In Episode 67, Alex Parsons talks to Patrick about approaches to melodic dictation at KS3 and KS4, as well as ways to develop greater aural awareness; And Ofsted’s National Lead for Music, and Senior HMI, Christopher Stevens, answers questions about curriculum design, and assessment in KS3 Music. Presented and produced by Patrick Johns #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying  https://trebleteaching.wordpress.com ..read more

Rebecca Ledgard and Sarah Batten from Ex Cathedra, tell Patrick all about their various educational resources, including Choir Maker, designed to embed a love of singing with Year 7s. And legendary conductor Paul McCreesh gives some tips for running choir rehearsals, discusses Early Music in schools, and current and future Gabrieli Roar projects. https://www.singingplaygrounds.co.uk/choirmaker/ https://excathedra.co.uk https://www.gabrieli.com/roar/about-gabrieli-roar/ #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying ..read more

Rebecca Ledgard and Sarah Batten from Ex Cathedra, tell Patrick all about their various educational resources, including Choir Maker, designed to embed a love of singing with Year 7s. And legendary conductor Paul McCreesh gives some tips for running choir rehearsals, discusses Early Music in schools, and current and future Gabrieli Roar projects. https://www.singingplaygrounds.co.uk/choirmaker/ https://excathedra.co.uk https://www.gabrieli.com/roar/about-gabrieli-roar/ #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying ..read more

In episode 65, OCR’s Lead Subject Advisor for music, Marie Bessant, tells Patrick about the processes an exam board goes through to create GCSE Music exams; And from a recent Hibbins Series webinar, Rachel Leach offers some ways to kick-start classroom compositions, and relate them to orchestral music; Finally, Chief Executive of Music Mark, Bridget Whyte, gives details of their annual conference in cities across the UK and online. Presented and produced by Patrick Johns #CanDoMusic #GetPlaying https://www.musicmark.org.uk/events/talk-into-action-conference-series-2022 ..read more