We've just finished the fifth of five excellent CPD sessions in collaboration with Music Mark. The sessions were designed to give music educators and teachers an in-depth look at specific subjects from experienced practitioners and researchers.
Syreeta Neal, a 3rd generation blues musician based in Los Angeles, spoke briefly about lived experience and illuminated how important understanding music and culture from people with lived experience of the music is. This, for me, is part of the conversation around decolonising music education - how can we engage and learn from the performers and researchers who live and breathe the music we want to learn more about? Their perspectives help us to think about the music and culture in ways we may never understand otherwise:
The sessions were free (courtesy of Music Mark) and fun! From clapping along to The Fresh Prince, insight into Islam and music ed from Faz Shah, to watching Malika Green's amazing pan playing, we learned and laughed in equal measure. We even had a special appearance from Dr.Kim Johnson, the foremost historian on steel pan in Trinidad and Tobago - check out his TEDx talk here. Thank you to all of the teachers who attended - It was amazing to hear from teachers about their own experiences with teaching rap in the classroom and new perspectives on the blues.
93% of attendees felt more confident to teach on the different topics covered
What CPD sessions would you find useful? We've already had suggestions for reggae, Bollywood, hip hop, using DAWs, and improvisation. Feel free to drop me an email here with any suggestions and hopefully we can make something happen. Remember, these sessions are for you, so be vocal about what you need!
A big thank you to Francis Winston, Ethan Hein, Faz Shah, Malika Green, Dr. Kim Johnson, Syreeta Neal and the wonderful people at Music Mark for helping to put this all together.