Motivation by Pam Wedgwood
Composer and teacher Pam Wedgwood talks motivation.
Composer and teacher Pam Wedgwood talks motivation.
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experience. At the end of a lesson you could also try singing the upper or lower notes of an interval (always keeping it<br />
simple!), and singing back a two-bar phrase of their ‘top’ piece.<br />
Learning theory can seem dull and uninspiring without the right approach. I teach my pupils on Sibelius: getting<br />
them to compose simple pieces <strong>by</strong> inputting all the information is a brilliant way of understanding theory and<br />
makes it much more fun. In lessons, don’t forget to use the pieces you are working on to discuss keys, accidentals,<br />
tempo marks, metronome marks and so on – always keeping it relevant and interesting.<br />
And finally, allow yourself to step outside your comfort zone and try some improvising with your pupils. Teaching<br />
your pupils modal and blues scales is a useful tool, or using the pentatonic scale on the black notes is a great way to<br />
start. You can do this from lesson one!<br />
Paul Harris<br />
pam wedgwood<br />
<strong>Pam</strong>’s musical career began with the recorder and piano, moving on to tenor<br />
horn and euphonium through the brass band tradition at her school. She then<br />
took up the cello and french horn, entering Trinity College of Music in London<br />
to study piano, horn, cello and composition at the age of sixteen. In 1988<br />
her long association with Faber Music began with the publication of Jazzin’<br />
About, a series that now numbers over 30 books and has featured on many<br />
an examination syllabus. Since then her output has grown to over 200 books<br />
including the successful Up-Grade! and After Hours instrumental series, the<br />
recorder method RecorderWorld and the adult piano method It’s never too<br />
late to play piano. In the UK she has led many workshops for the European<br />
Piano Teachers’ Association and has inspired teachers in workshops as far afield<br />
as Singapore and Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. <strong>Pam</strong> now concentrates<br />
on composing and teaching, though she is also a keen sportswoman and<br />
international traveller!<br />
Faber Music Education Catalogue<br />
27