Before the first week of the 2014 academic year, I spent some time reflecting on some thoughts and processes that I would endeavour to have underpin my classroom action and interaction. They are drawn from readings, discussions; my reflections on the words of others… and I seek to keep them central to my practice over the year. These guiding thoughts are:

1. to present ‘wholes’ as the basis of experience – because reality is holistic
2. to, where possible, immerse students in real-life musical experiences – the avoidance of artificiality
3. to position learning in action (a student cannot know the reality of apple without eating one)
4. to acknowledge that there are multiple ways to come to know music (in approach, and also in what students bring in terms of knowledge), and cater for this in my practice
5. to learn from and with my students
6. to study the ‘parts’ – this is essential – BUT, recognise that they at the same time contribute to and are subservient to the whole
7. provide immersion and modeling – provide examples of music, live performances/recordings; make this ‘wider than just us’ – involve as many outside partners as possible
8. position engagement in music – this is vital – more so than engagement in knowledge about music (anyone can look up information!)
9. treat music as a verb – to music, ‘musicers….’ – as both teachers and learners.

I am sure some of you will see my reading ‘bent’ in these thoughts, and though they are not ground-breaking by any means (as in, they are based in the ‘desires’ of these influential authors many years ago), I am aiming to have them underpin ALL of my practice, ALL of the time – not just a few lessons here and there. This simple list might seem easy to adopt and put into practice, but I assure you it will throw many challenges my way. I will report back over the coming weeks to let you know how I go! In the meantime, please feel free to comment…