
Teaching Notes - MTA Podcast
Teaching Notes, the Music Teachers' Association's podcast, covers all aspects of Music Education, both in the UK and beyond. Interviews with Music Teachers sit alongside chats with industry professionals and education experts. Plenty of CPD, discussion, and reports from conferences and Expos. A must-listen for every Music Teacher! Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.
Latest episodes

Feb 24, 2022 • 31min
Teaching Notes - MTA podcast - Ep.52 - Christopher Stevens, Natalie Wild
Send us a textIn Episode 52, Natalie Wild tells Patrick all about her new book, ‘The Symphony from Mannheim to Mahler’; And Ofsted's new National Lead for Music, Christopher Stevens, chats about inspections, demonstrations of progress, challenges facing music education, and the place of staff notation in the classroom.#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying © Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org

Feb 4, 2022 • 40min
Teaching Notes - MTA podcast - Ep.51 - Phil Mullen, Stephanie Bissell, Natalie Wild, Liz Stafford
Send us a textIn episode 51, Dr Phil Mullen talks about a new series of webinars provided by MAC Makes Music, promoting inclusivity; Stephanie Bissell and Natalie Wild introduce the wonderful work done by the Music in Secondary Schools Trust (MiSST); And Dr Liz Stafford chats about curricula past, present, and future, with details of a forthcoming curriculum conference.Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org

Jan 20, 2022 • 40min
Teaching Notes - MTA podcast - Ep.50 - Paul McCreesh, Simon Toyne, Abigail D'Amore, Dick Hyman
Send us a textPaul McCreesh and Simon Toyne announce the latest Gabrieli Roar project, featuring the music of Michael Praetorius; Abigail D’Amore introduces Every Copy Counts, a campaign to help schools with the copying of music; And former Charlie Parker sideman, Jazz legend Dick Hyman chats about all things Jazz, including his lessons in the 1940s with Teddy Wilson, what it was like to play with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and the Blues in Jazz.Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org

Jan 6, 2022 • 36min
Teaching Notes - MTA podcast - Ep.49 - Elliott Smith, Gill Davies, Annabel Williams
Send us a textIn the first episode of 2022, Elliott Smith introduces his music education resource, The Teaching Gadget; The MTA's own Gill Davies talks about her role, with details of several forthcoming events, And X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent vocal coach, Annabel Williams, chats about singing: repertoire, technique, and her favourite singers.#CanDoMusic #GetPlayingPresented and produced by Patrick Johns.© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org

Dec 16, 2021 • 24min
Teaching Notes - MTA podcast - Ep.48 - Ralph Allwood, Don Gillthorpe
Send us a textIn Episode 48, composer, arranger, conductor and teacher Ralph Allwood chats about Christmas carols, getting started with composition, and creativity; and MTA President, Don Gillthorpe looks back at 2021, and forward to 2022.Presented and produced by Patrick Johns.© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org

Dec 1, 2021 • 35min
Teaching Notes - MTA podcast - Ep.47 - Education Support - Mark Phillips - Kelly-Jo Foster-Peters
Send us a textIn Episode 47, Gemma Scotcher from Education Support explains the range of support provided to teachers who are suffering from poor mental health, including a 24/7 telephone counselling service;In an extract from a recent MTA webinar, Senior HMI and Music Lead for Ofsted, Mark Phillips talks about the National Curriculum, and how it should be interpreted;And SEND specialist, Kelly-Jo Foster-Peters talks about students with additional needs, music within specialist schools, and resources.#CanDoMusic #GetPlayingPresented and produced by Patrick Johns© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org

Nov 18, 2021 • 33min
Teaching Notes - MTA Podcast - Ep.46 - Mark Phillips, Sally Beamish, Chris Fish
Send us a textIn episode 46, Patrick welcomes Senior HMI and Music Lead for Ofsted, Mark Phillips back to the podcast to discuss Deep Dives: what Ofsted inspectors are looking for, what they’re NOT looking for, how to demonstrate progress, and much more;Plus an extract from Sally Beamish’s recent Hibbins Series webinar with Steven Berryman;And Chris Fish introduces the excellent provider of composition CPD, Passing Notes.Presented and produced by Patrick Johns#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org

Nov 3, 2021 • 38min
Teaching Notes - MTA Podcast - Ep.45 - Bhamika Bhudia, Mark Phillips
Send us a textIn this episode, lead teacher Bhamika Bhudia discusses four teaching trends that she thinks should be abandoned in the classroom, including demonstrating progress, and frequent marking.And Senior HMI and Music Lead for Ofsted, Mark Phillips returns to the podcast to discuss assessment in music education: what's valuable, what's not; the dangers of over-assessing; and a new approach to Assessment for Learning.Presented and Produced by Patrick Johns© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org

Oct 20, 2021 • 28min
Teaching Notes - MTA Podcast - Ep.44 - Lewis Edney, Judith Weir, Shirley J Thompson
Send us a textIn Episode 44, MTA committee member Lewis Edney gives an update as to the MTA’s Partnerships programme; An extract from the most recent Hibbins Series webinar with Master of the Queens Music, Judith Weir;And composer Shirley J Thompson on fusions, and her influences.Presented and produced by Patrick Johns#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org

Sep 27, 2021 • 34min
Teaching Notes - MTA Podcast - Ep.43 - Ben Turner, Hans Jakobsen, Tasmin Little, Emily Penn
Send us a textMUSIC EXPO SPECIAL!In a report from the 2021 Music and Drama Education Expo, we hear from Director of Music at ELAM and founder of Rap Club, Ben Turner, reflecting on his CPD session, "The Music Teacher Bias";Hans Lavdal Jakobsen, the MD of Ear Master, an app to help with students’ aural awareness;One of the UK’s foremost musicians, Tasmin Little, on her perception of Music Education;And Emily Penn, Lead of Online Music Education Initiative Connect (NYMAZ), on using online technologies to support instrumental learning in her talk, “Making music online: What did we learn from the pandemic?”Presented and produced by Patrick Johns#CanDoMusic #GetPlaying© Music Teachers' Association www.musicteachers.org