Keith Ayling MMus
Keith Ayling is the editor of award-nominated Ensemble Magazine and media manager for the Music Teachers’ Association. He is also an award winning songwriter and Senior Lecturer in Songwriting at Leeds College of Music.
@keithayling
This editorial appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of Ensemble – Music Teachers’ Association Magazine
Maintaining momentum in the face of constant change can be exhausting, until we remember why we are here:
music, music, music.
It has been an exciting few months for the Music Teachers’ Association. After being in existence for 119 years, it has been overwhelming to receive the feedback to our rebrand and renaming. From every teacher, organisation and institution we have been greeted with positivity and a sense of partnership in the future of music teaching.
However, at the coalface – for many of you in a department on your own – we understand that the notion of feedback and partnership from the wider education community can be few and far between. You can feel isolated. As an association we want you to feel connected. One of the joys of recent years has been hearing back from music teachers, who after joining tell of the number of connections they have made and how the annual conference has inspired their teaching and made them feel encouraged to work harder. This year was no exception. Our conference at Bromsgrove School saw a large number of new members attend and feed back that it was the best music education conference they have ever been to. See some of the tweets on pages
Our visit to the Music Education Expo in February also proved overwhelmingly fruitful with hundreds of music teachers visiting our stand both to see the new branding and listen to our music teaching talks. Engaging with teachers and hearing firsthand about the landscape in which they are working has brought mutual benefit. We have been able to share insights into ways of working that are applicable for all types of music teaching. In turn we have directed our efforts to those approaching us and honed our purpose to be more effective.
There have been a wide range of reports released this year, many of which we have featured in this magazine. Some bring inspiring reading and others deep concern for the future. We are still in the schedule of preparation for the new model music curriculum – with our own President Simon Toyne on the panel – and we are hopeful for the positive boost it will bring.
In the midst of all of this, maintaining momentum can be exhausting. That is, until we remember why we are here: music, music, music.
As I write this Glastonbury is on the BBC iPlayer – displaying a wealth of talent and diverse musical creation from across the globe. But at the centre is a sense of great community. Each audience believes they are sharing with the artist and they are all in this together.
What if the music education community demonstrated this same sense of purpose; this same sense of community, that for the sake of the power of music we push forward with the same energy, to cement its place in the future of our students?
Keith Ayling
@keithayling
