There are many different ways to learn music. We help teachers to think about how and why they teach it.
Musical Futures is based on a pedagogy that is driven by the musical culture of the participants. It brings real-world approaches to learning music learning into schools and other formal settings, engaging and inspiring all and promoting inclusion and diversity.
Musical Futures Approaches
Musical Futures has developed a series of teacher workshops supported by a suite of free resources that help teachers to understand and implement Musical Futures in classrooms across the world. Our approaches have been designed for teachers to dip in and out of according to the needs of their students and their own aims and values as musicians and music educators.
Musical Futures Learning Models
- Everyone Can Play is an instrument by instrument resource pack for uke, bass, keys and guitar. It takes teachers and students step by step through a series of activities and play along videos that helps to build formative instrumental and ensemble skills. Everyone Can Play was originally designed to support whole class ensemble activities with younger children...more
- Everyone Can Sing **Coming Soon NEW for 2020** Watch this space for more information!
- Just Play is our Musical Futures first access programme for both teachers and students! It is designed to build holistic musical skills and an understanding of how to play as a whole class band and comes with a suite of resources that support teachers with delivering whole class music activities with students of any age. Just Play is also appropriate for primary teachers who aren't music specialists who would like to incorporate practical music making into their classes but don't know where to start...more
- Informal learning is a model of self-directed learning that aims to enhance student motivation, enjoyment and skill-acquisition in music lessons by tapping into the real-life learning practices of popular musicians....more
- Non-Formal Teaching is a whole class approach to large group music making, improvising and composing. Grounded in non-formal teaching pedagogy inspired by the practices of community musicians, musical ideas originate from within the group with the teacher as musical leader helping participants to shape and develop the music as it evolves...more
- Hear, Listen, Play is based on Lucy Green's research into approaches to aural learning which feeds directly into improvisation and creativity. Learn more about how you learn to play by ear and consider strategies to support students who may approach aural learning differently to engage with this approach to learning through listening and copying music they hear...more
- Musical Futures Studio is the Musical Futures International approach to incorporating music technology into informal learning. Create and collaborate in partnership with Soundtrap...more
- Musical Futures Styles MF Styles draws together all our approaches to allow students to explore particular musical genres and styles in more detail. MF Styles workshops are being introduced during 2018 with additional companion resources to be released in early 2019...more
- Find Your Voice - an inclusive approach for engaging students of all ages with singing through vocal work and the integration of mobile technology. The Find Your Voice approach shows how music can be broken down into parts, recreated vocally with the support of relevant technology and through this students learn how music is constructed and developed....more
Additional workshop sessions
- Groove your classroom takes drum kit rhythms and places them across common classroom percussion instruments showing how these can be delivered in practical ways that are both musical and theoretical
- Songwriting explores inventive techniques for teaching contemporary songwriting and is supported by materials that engage students with fresh, hands-on approaches, opening them up to exciting possibilities for storytelling and music creation
- OnCue is the Musical Futures approach to creative music-making. New resources combined with non-formal pedagogies (and practices) make OnCue suitable for use with any musical ensemble enriching and widening access to extra-curricular music learning