Education Today Education Today Magazine
The founder of a revolutionary music school is sharing his infectious passion for music education in a brand new book, Learn to Play the Rocksteady Way. Through the eyes of children, parents and teachers, Mark Robinson explores the life-changing effect that learning to play music can have on children, demonstrating the principles behind his unique method of teaching.
As a lifelong music teacher, both in schools and privately, Mark discovered first-hand how traditional methods of learning an instrument were failing many children. He recognised that music is better when taught in a way that builds the whole child and not just their musical ability, and through Learn to Play the Rocksteady Way reveals why.
Mark founded Rocksteady Music School in 2007, guided by a combination of his own experience, philosophies on music education, and the feedback of thousands of children, parents, musicians and school teachers. Now delivering in-school music sessions to more than 4500 children each week, Rocksteady enables primary school pupils to experience the buzz of being in a band from the moment they pick up an instrument.
By learning music as a group activity, children are given the opportunity to have fun, develop socially and learn to understand the importance of teamwork and collaboration.
Mark comments: “I saw for myself that music as it’s traditionally taught – learning to read music, the need for children to own an instrument and the pressure of exams – wasn’t working for a lot of children. I spent years listening to what children were actually motivated by, which was playing their favourite songs, playing in a band and performing in concerts, and distilled these principles into a teaching method.
“Along the way, we’ve found that our way of doing things has a very positive effect on confidence, listening and teamwork skills. I wrote the book because whenever I spoke to parents, teachers or new members of staff they were fascinated and wanted to know more – the book put these ideas in one place and is available to anyone. Education needs to be relevant to the children, as straightforward as possible and be built around their motivations. That’s what we set out to do!”
Learn to Play the Rocksteady Way is aimed at parents, teachers and musicians who believe learning music should be fun! For more information and to download the first chapter for free, visit www.rocksteadybook.uk.
To find more about Rocksteady, head to www.rocksteadymusicschool.com. For all the latest news and updates, follow @RSMusicSchool on Twitter and ‘like’ Rocksteady Music School on Facebook
