F EDITORIAL EDITORIAL Phone 020 7738 5454 Email music.teacher@markallengroup.com Editor Phil Croydon Assistant Editor Maggie Hamilton Resources Editor David Kettle Design Daniela Di Padova ADVERTISING Head of Sales Amy Driscoll 020 7333 1719 amy.driscoll@markallengroup.com Production Controller Daniela Di Padova daniela.dipadova@markallengroup.com SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BACK ISSUES Phone UK 0800 137 201 Overseas +44(0)1722 716997 Email subscriptions@markallengroup.com Subscriptions Manager Bethany Foy UK Subscription Rate £70 PUBLISHING Phone +44(0)20 7738 5454 Managing Director Ravi Chandiramani Publisher Amy Driscoll Marketing & Events Director Tony Hill Head of Marketing John Barnett Marketing Executive Max Crowland Marketing Graduate Yzanne Pepper Group Institutional Sales Manager Jas Atwal Production Director Richard Hamshere Circulation Director Sally Boettcher Chief Operating Officer Jon Benson Chief Executive Officer Ben Allen Executive Chairman Mark Allen Part of www.markallengroup.com Music Teacher, ISSN 0027-4461, is published monthly by MA Education & Music Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB, UK Subscription records are maintained at MA Education & Music Ltd, Unit A, Buildings 1-5 Dinton Business Park, Catherine Ford Road, Dinton, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP3 5HZ © MA Education & Music Ltd 2025. All rights reserved. No part of Music Teacher may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the publishing director. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editor. The presence of advertisements in Music Teacher implies no endorsement of the products or services offered. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of statements in this magazine but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or for matters arising from clerical or printers’ errors, or an advertiser not completing their contract. We have made every effort to secure permission to use copyright material. Where material has been used inadvertently or we have been unable to trace the copyright owner, acknowledgment will be made in a future issue. Music Teacher is interested in articles on all aspects of music education; if you wish to submit one, please contact the editor. We reserve the right to edit material for publication. Please read our privacy policy by visiting http://privacypolicy.markallengroup.com This will explain how we process, use and safeguard your data. Printed in the UK by Pensord, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood NP12 2YA www.musicteachermagazine.co.uk The show goes on Pop, prizes and progress At MT it’s been a busy couple of weeks. Apart from putting the current edition to bed, we had two productive days learning from colleagues in sessions at Expo, often meeting MT contributors past and present. It’s an occasion to connect, for sure, but also to marvel at the size and breadth of UK music education despite the challenges it faces. We also enjoyed the Music & Drama Education Awards ceremony (see p. 6), and felt privileged to mark the success of many exceptional projects, groups and individuals. Moreover, at the event we launched a campaign for music education – Growing Musicians, Shaping Lives – by Music Teacher and its sister title Gramophone. For further details, including of how we need your help to complete a survey, please turn to page 9. This month’s issue of Music Teacher shines a light on rock, pop and jazz. For those following graded exams, we review the new books for drum kit and bass guitar from ABRSM and RSL respectively, focusing on Grades 1–5 (6–8 will follow later). The much respected James Sharp and Steve Lawson join MT’s team of reviewers for this assignment, making interesting comparisons to other exam boards and multimedia courses. They also raise the question of ‘context’ and ‘what it means to be an instrumentalist in pop music’ (Sharp) – with sampling, programming, post-production technology, it’s a fast-changing world. If further proof were needed, Josh Savage reviews Roland’s impressive T-8 beat machine on page 41. For classroom music and KS2, Karen Marshall is on hand to champion the four-chord pop song as a gateway to composition (p. 27). I’d recommend watching the ‘Axes to Awesome’ video (what a hoot!) and the useful free clips that get children enjoying /understanding harmony without too much explanation. I sense the buzz in Karen’s classes (while also getting a flavour of her CD collection!). In terms of jazz, the ‘entry point’ theme continues in Andrea Vicari’s advice on improvisation and remembering the music’s rhythmic roots (p. 20). It’s all in the phrasing, as the examples and track listings demonstrate. For a wider discussion of jazz, including the role of jazz in music education, I’d turn to this month’s Q&A with Simon Purcell (p. 48). Simon adds to the ongoing debate in MT’s pages around ‘pipelines’ and how best to equip our workforce. Two other themes in this month’s MT deserve special mention. First, we have two articles – one by a well-placed instrumental teacher (p. 23), the other, an established researcher (p. 24) – about ‘youth voice’ and encouraging young people ‘to say what they want to say through music’. This includes challenging the accepted wisdom around genre (no less), drawing from research at The Music Lab in Lewisham and elsewhere. The second notable theme is a continuation of Murray McLachlan’s investigation into piano pedagogy and progression (p. 15). He questions our fixation with ‘difficulty’ for measuring progress, and comes prepared with repertoire choices that defy grading in the traditional way and a proposal for a more holistic approach. March’s issue seems awash with new ideas. Enjoy, and please remember to follow the survey link on page 9. M A T T H E W C R O Y D O N Phil Croydon, editor Music Teacher is the UK’s only magazine aimed at music educators from across the sector. It is a place where music is valued in and of itself, embracing all genres. We offer up new approaches to pedagogy through in-depth features, engaging opinions, lesson plans and schemes of work. We cast a critical eye over the latest research and products to help inform the conversations that shape musical teaching. This is a platform for raising awareness of the key issues affecting music teachers, and for championing existing efforts to ensure music education is accessible to all. @musicteachermag fb.com/musicteachermag @musicteachermag MUSIC TEACHER F March 2025 F 5