Ten instrumental music teaching resources for the new term

1. Teaching in tune: How to support students with performance anxiety

Many instrumental and vocal students suffer with performance anxiety, whether or not you (or they) label it as that. Harriet Richards speaks to Amy Littlewood who, with her performance mentor hat on, shares how teachers can support young players with their mental health.

2. Protecting your future finances as a music teacher

Recent changes to government funding for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme for England and Wales could affect a group of music teachers, as Stuart Darke and Nerys Owen outline.

3. How to improve audio quality for remote music exams

When it comes to remote exams, we don't all have a professionally kitted out music studio to perform from. Phoebe Pope unpacks how students can improve their audio quality for free in order to complete remote music exams in a home environment.

4. Design flaws in music teaching materials and how to fix them

Whether you're a classroom, instrumental, or vocal teacher, you probably use teaching materials in some areas of your work. Practice and performance consultant Adam Hockman identifies two common design flaws found in music teaching materials and offers tips on making your resources work better for you.

5. Instrumental lessons learned 

While it's a relief to be largely teaching in person again, Lauren Kosty reminds us that instrumental teachers need not let their hard work during lockdown go to waste. 

6. Rethinking the master-apprentice approach

Turning the traditional learning environment hierarchy on its head, Mahaliah Edwards reflects on the benefits of adopting a mentoring attitude in your instrumental or vocal lessons.

7. Counting culture: Inclusive percussion lessons

How can we make our percussion lessons more inclusive, facilitating students to develop their own ‘counting culture’? Chris Woods of the Chris Woods Groove Orchestra and host of The Music Education Podcast shares what he's learnt.

8. In sync with the times: SYNKii for instrumental music teachers

Are online instrumental lessons things of the pandemic-related past? Co-founders of SYNKii think not, as MT’s editor discovers.

9. Plugging the gap: Maintaining a steady income as a music teacher

Well aware of the challenges of maintaining a steady income across the whole year, Rachael Gillham has some ideas for how private or peri music teachers can cash in on school holidays and term-time lulls.

10. Mutually beneficial: Peripatetic music teacher wellbeing

Most of the research into instrumental and vocal teaching focuses on pupil wellbeing rather than that of teachers. Here, Charlotte Way explores how the wellbeing of teachers can be improved by supporting pupil autonomy.