Tuition

  • Practising For Permanence

    Practising For Permanence

    Practice makes perfect has always been a cruel lie; not only is ‘perfection’ in a musical performance physically unattainable, it isn’t even especially desirable. That so many music students appear to have internalised this unhelpful little platitude is becoming a source of great distress for me, as it actively hinders their journey learning and growing as musicians.

    The poet Sarah Kay wrote that ‘Practice does not make perfect; practice makes permanent’. In other words, it is just as possible to practise mistakes into your playing as it is to weed them out. However you play every single day – whether good or bad – ends up becoming ‘permanent’.

    Practice does not make perfect.
    Practice makes permanent.
    Repeat the same mistakes over and over and you don’t get any closer to Carnagie Hall, even I know that.
    Repeat the same mistakes over and over and you don’t get any closer! You never get any closer.

    Sarah Kay, Postcards

    At its heart, practising is an exercise in forming habits. The repetitive nature of practising a piece of music means that whatever you do over and over eventually becomes automatic (or ‘permanent’) when you sit at the instrument – including mistakes. In music, as in all areas of life, it is just as easy to form bad habits as it is to form good habits – sometimes, sadly, even easier!

  • The full-length version of my joint Instagram Live with Matt Lacey, talking about our experiences of teaching drums during lockdown over the past twelve months and what we can take from this period as tutors as we start to return to normal.

  • Music Tuition In Lockdown

    Music Tuition In Lockdown

    I’m very excited to be joining a friend and fellow drum tutor Matt Lacey for an Instagram Live discussion about our experiences of teaching music lessons during lockdown.

    The lockdown and the school closures have been extremely tough on music tuition, but these last twelve months have also presented plenty of opportunities for those of us who teach music to learn and develop as educators. I’m looking forward to this live video forum on the topic, and to having the chance to talk through my experience of the pandemic as a music tutor, and how I have tried to keep momentum and motivation up whilst providing the best possible experience for my students throughout very challenging circumstances.

    Please do tune in on my Instagram, on Friday 9th April at six o’clock.

  • Coronavirus Practice Diary 2021

    I am returning to the idea of uploading regular ‘practice diary’ videos on my Facebook Page during the latest lockdown period this January.

    The idea is (as I explain in the video) to demonstrate the practice techniques I always talk about with students in ‘real life’ scenarios, and show how practice as a concept is applicable to all stages and styles of learning music. Hopefully that will be helpful to some people in modelling good practising whilst we are all stuck at home with nothing else to do!

    I’ve decided to take a slightly different approach to my practice this time out, and focus on skills I have neglected – or never even had! – rather than just picking a piece of piano music again and learning that in front of that camera. The first video shows me beginning to learn a simple folk tune on the accordion – an instrument I have often wanted to learn to properly, but have never quite got around to until now. Of course there will be plenty of mistakes and lots of poor technique along the way! But that is the point; mistakes are learning in action, and the idea of opening up my practice for the world to see is so everyone can understand how that process works.

  • Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, I am very sorry to have to announce that my Avid Sibelius workshop at Benslow Music entitled Your Sibelius Toolkit scheduled for June has been postponed, as the Benslow Music centre will remain closed until at least the end of June this year in line with current government and expert advice.

    The staff at Benslow have been fantastic in supporting their tutors during this difficult and uncertain period. Of course we are all extremely disappointed to have to make this announcement, but the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved has the be the number one concern right now.

    I am currently in discussions with Benslow Music to try and find alternative ways to deliver this course, so please watch this space if that is something you are interested in, and I’ll try to have more updates available on that soon.

    As the situation changes very rapidly, all my postponements, rearrangements and cancellations are being updated regularly on the Calendar page.

  • In September 2011, I wrote about how proud I was to have joined an El Sistema-inspired music education programme in my home city of Norwich, working with students in inner-city schools teaching orchestral percussion an general musicianship. The project — then called In Harmony Norwich — was one of three trial nucleos setup by the UK government in different cities, and was just entering the third of its three years of funding when I came on board as one of the percussion tutors.

    A lot of change has happened in the years since I joined the programme back in 2011 — including a rebrand as Sistema In Norwich. But the one thing which has always remained the same is the steadfast determination of the programme directors and the team of tutors to bring music education to children who might not otherwise have had those kinds of opportunities available to them.

    This coming Friday 11th October, a performance by Sistema In Norwich students and tutors at the University Of East Anglia In Norwich will celebrate ten years of Sistema’s presence in the city. I feel extremely honoured to have been involved with Sistema In Norwich — in its various guises — for eight of those ten years, and it will be a privilege to walk onstage on Friday evening with my colleagues and students from the Sistema programme to celebrate this landmark anniversary.

  • Summer Exam Success

    Huge congratulations once again to all my students who took music exams during the summer term exam period. With entries spanning all levels from Grade 2 to Grade 8 – across piano, drumkit, music theory and music production exams – it’s been another successful academic year, with a 100% pass rate yet again.

    I feel very privileged to work with such a talented and dedicated group of students every single week – and to be able to share in celebrating these successes – and I am extremely proud of all of you.

    I’d like to make a special mention of Jonah Williams, who achieved Grade 8 music production with a merit, and is now heading off to the University Of Liverpool to continues studying music and music technology at an advanced level. Jonah has already begun playing pro-level gigs, and is a passionate and intelligent musician; I have no doubt that he is going to make a success of this next stage in his musical journey as well. To see students I have worked with going on to forge their own careers and their own lives in music is a source of huge pride for me, and of course I wish Jonah all the best at Liverpool.

  • As a working musician, I find myself using Sibelius notation software all the time, in a variety of different contexts. With a hectic work life which spans touring with bands, teaching private students and youth orchestras and a wide range of studio work, I’m always looking for ways to make my workflow as efficient as possible and get the most out of whatever technology I’m working with.

    In June 2020, I’ll be coming to the beautiful Benslow Music campus to run a four-day course entitled Your Sibelius Toolkit, where I’ll be passing on tips and advice for making the most of this super-powerful music notation program and helping course attendees to feel more confident and empowered Sibelius users.

    This new course will look at using Sibelius notation software in a variety of different contexts, and will aim to make you a more confident Sibelius user. From keyboard shortcuts to customising the user interface, we will ensure that this powerful music creation tool works for you, complementing your creativity and processes, and allowing you to be more efficient in whatever you are working on. Participants should bring their own laptop with Sibelius version 7 or later to work on during the course.

  • A recent article on the Sistema Europe website has put the spotlight on Sistema In Norwich’s ‘Performance Project’ – a brand new Sistema initiative for 2018-19.

    Over the course of 12 concerts and just under a year and a half, Sistema in Norwich will engage with circus groups, the Norwich-based Vagaband, fellow Sistema-influenced groups and established musicians and composers from across Europe.

    The project also provides the young musicians involved with the chance to compose for a variety of scenarios and formations, with pieces for soloists, ensembles, brass and wind sections all finding their way into the schedule.

    The Sistema Performance Project thus increases Sistema in Norwich’s social impact, provides its students with additional performance time and accelerates their personal development, promoting self-confidence, resilience and leadership – all while building upon Sistema in Norwich’s existing connections both at home and abroad.

    Sistema Europe website

    The circus performance in collaboration with Lost In Translation – which took place in October of last year – was an exciting and innovative project, expanding our students’ horizons and bringing them into contact with other forms and settings of orchestral performance.

    It is always gratifying to gain the recognition of the international Sistema community for our work, and it is an honour to be a part of a global musical movement with the history and pedigree of Sistema.

  • Exam Success: Christmas Term 2018

    I am delighted to be able to report another term of exam successes for my students – with candidates taking exams on piano and on drums, ranging from Initial Grade up to Grade 5, with a 100% pass rate once again.

    Big congratulations to all my students for their hard work and perseverance, and for their fully-deserved exam success. Now, keep practising – and onto the next exciting new challenge!

Kit Marsden // Musician