Deputy Director of Academic Studies
Professor Laura Ritchie
Head of Department –
Plucked Strings
Helen Sanderson
ABOUT THE COURSE
Enrolment for this online course is now open, and applications are invited from teachers of Plucked String instruments
The next cohort will begin in September 2021. All students are supported throughout the course by a subject specific mentor.
This course gives you the opportunity to take a look at your own teaching technique and specific strategies and techniques you use, in addition to standing back and developing a broader perspective on teaching and learning and music education in general. The course offers a well structured programme with mentors who are all highly experienced teachers, and a blend of face-to-face and online learning that results in a level 7 qualification from a well regarded higher education institution. Being a student on this course is all about developing as a reflective practitioner; someone who is willing to stand back and look at what they are doing, and contemplate changing aspects if they need to. The awarded PG Cert is a unique qualification for the teaching profession.
You will be assigned a mentor from the ESTA mentor panel. Your mentor’s job is to guide you through the course, lead study sessions and assess the work you submit. Your studies, be they online through webinars, one-to-one meetings with your mentor or course leader, discussion groups, reading, making a video, or reflecting on practice, will focus on every aspect of your teaching with particular relevance to the context in which you work. This work will help you to question things you may have taken for granted, explore work with and without notation and develop a holistic approach to your teaching.
Your course leader will provide an overview of the whole course, lead study sessions, and also make assessments of all students’ work to ensure fairness. In order to gain the maximum benefit from your investment in this programme of study you should plan your diary carefully to make sure you have all the deadlines for completion and submission of work highlighted.
WHO IS IT FOR?
The ESTA PG Cert is designed for teachers who want to enhance their approach to teaching through a programme of study that is both academic and practical.
Successful completion represents one third of a Master’s degree.
Participants will:
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Develop practical skills in teaching musical and technical material, fostering an engaging and student-appropriate approach to music learning and performance
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Foster an investigative and inquisitive approach to teaching by developing skills in both research and reflection
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Actively develop communication skills to enable effective teaching
Develop skills in curriculum planning that are highly relevant in the profession.
WHO TEACHES THE COURSE?
Head of Department –
Plucked Strings
Helen Sanderson
British guitarist, Helen Sanderson, studied guitar at the Royal College of Music with Charles Ramirez, and accompaniment with John Blakely, graduating with prizes including the Anthony Saltmarsh Prize and the Madeline Walton Prize for Guitar.
Her performing career reflects her passion for chamber music in partnerships with eminent counter-tenor James Bowman, tenor Mark Wilde and in guitar duo with Zoran Dukic. She was a founding member of the VIDA Guitar Quartet and her performances have included recitals at the Southbank Centre, Kings Place, St Georges-Bristol, and the Sage Gateshead. In 2010 Helen made her US debuts in Los Angeles and New York, and has subsequently toured extensively throughout USA and Europe.
In parallel to her role as Head of Guitar Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Helen is an entrepreneurial educator, committed to nurturing young guitarists throughout the UK. In 2006 she founded the music education charity, Guitar Circus, and Helen’s wider work in guitar education was recognised in 2017 with the award of a Churchill Fellowship following her research in the USA of whole-class guitar programmes.
Helen is a sought-after masterclass artist, adjudicator and international jury member for competitions such as BBC Young Musician of the Year, the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist, the Ida Presti competition and the Sky Arts series, ‘Guitar Star’. She is Artistic Director for the National Youth Guitar Ensemble UK and directs the London Camerata and Fellowship ensembles. Helen’s compositions and arrangements regularly feature in the ABRSM and Trinity College and syllabi and she is a D’Addario Classical Artist.
COURSE CONTENT
Unit 1: Teaching plucked stringed instruments technique to children and young people learning plucked stringed instruments
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Posture (tendon/muscle tension, points of contact, guitar support)
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Principles of right and left hand position
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Tone production (apoyando, tirando)
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Right hand technique (chord playing – arpeggiated, simultaneous, planting)
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Left hand technique (pivoting, barre, shifting, vibrato, slurs)
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Hand co-ordination
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Finger independence
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Fingernail shaping/care/repair
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Phrasing, voicing, musical awareness
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Fingering technique (technical, musical)
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Articulation (legato, staccato, damping)
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Ambidextral weight control
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Stretching, elasticity, dexterity
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Extended techniques (pizzicato, harmonics, tremolo, rasgueado, tambora)
Unit 2: How children and young people learn to play plucked stringed instruments
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How learners learn
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Simultaneous Learning
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Learning spiral
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My learners now
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Understanding, assimilating and consolidating
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Skills, knowledge and understanding
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Learning music musically
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Developing aural awareness/perception and acuity
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Pupil/teacher relationships
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Learning scales and studies
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Starting a lesson
Unit 3: Teaching strategies for percussion teachers working with children and young people
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Understanding my teaching now
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Preparation for teaching
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Expectation of teaching outcomes
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Diagnosis of learners’ needs
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Audio-Visual-Kinaesthetic learning
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Aptitude for learning
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Motivation for learning
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Simultaneous learning
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Assessment
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Exams/Festivals/Competitions
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Tutors/methods
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Teaching whole classes/small groups/individuals
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Proactive and reactive teaching
Unit 4: Developing a percussion teaching curriculum for children and young people
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Understanding what is meant by a curriculum and a syllabus
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Preparing and implementing schemes of work
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Short/medium and long term planning
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Personalising learning
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Becoming a reflective practitioner
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Communicating as a musician
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Playing and performing
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Chamber music
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Special Needs
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Schools of Percussion playing
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Alexander Technique
ASSESSMENT
In Unit 1, students work towards presenting a short, live presentation focused on a specific aspect of playing technique and a video recording of the opening ten minutes of a first lesson, introducing a student to the instrument.
For Unit 2, students submit an abstract of their written work and receive comments from their mentor before their final 3,500 essay is submitted.
In preparation for the final assessment in Unit 3, students analyse the content of a lesson and provide a brief written discussion of their findings. This leads on to a case study of their own (recorded) teaching. Students reflect in writing and specifically consider the impact on learning, contextualising and supporting, with references to relevant teaching literature.
For Unit 4, students first critique the published schemes of work or tutor methods of others, before constructing their own one year curriculum appropriate to a specific category of learner which includes a scheme of work/short term plan and an example of a detailed lesson plan.
Grades, rather than percentages, are given for assessed work. Students receive detailed written, video, or verbal feedback for all assessed work.
COURSE STRUCTURE
The course is timetabled over a period of one calendar year with the next intake beginning in September 2021.
There are four units of study which must all be completed in chronological order and, in addition to online working, students are expected to attend specific study days as indicated in the timetable.
A further three additional units focus on: safeguarding children and young people in music education; equality, diversity and inclusion in music education, and promoting children and young people’s positive behaviour.
The course is delivered 100% online with the option (this is not compulsory) of a 4-day residential study held in August 2022 at the University of Chichester, UK*
*Travel costs from the student’s location to Chichester are not included in the course fee
COURSE FEES
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£3,495.00 UK Residents
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£4,495.00 Overseas Residents
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£2,995.00 ESTA members (within Europe)
£3,250.00 for members of the following UK organisations -
ISM (UK residents only)
Fees include full board and accommodation at the ESTA Summer School*.
Bursaries are available to UK resident ESTA members.
*Travel costs from the student’s location to Chichester are not included in the course fee. The summer school is not a mandatory element of the course.
FURTHER INFORMATION
What you need
Students will need online access (at home) before, during and immediately following participation on the course. They will also need the facility to make simple audio and video recordings throughout the course (most smartphones and laptops will have this facility). These will be needed for:
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Webinars: These will be prepared and delivered by the course leader, members of the mentor panel and invited guest presenters. Webinars will take the form of pre-recorded video presentations with accompanying audio-visual and reading material, each coupled with setting of follow-up work for students.
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Videos of teaching: Students are required to submit up to 4 videos of themselves teaching. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain written permission from: the student they are teaching; the student they are teaching’s parent/carer or responsible adult, and the school or institution, where appropriate.
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Follow-up work may include student discussion online (synchronous or asynchronous) or completion of questionnaires or submission of brief written statements.
Time commitment
Online classes take as much time as regular on-campus classes. You need to set aside sufficient time for study. Plan to spend at least as much time working on the assignments and studying as you would with a traditional course. We recommend that you need to set aside 12-15 hours for study per week in order to get the maximum benefit from the ESTA PG Cert course.
Attendance
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Students enrolled on the ESTA PG Certificate course are expected to attend and participate fully in all study sessions set out in the course documentation and Handbook.
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We understand that musicians are often reluctant to turn down playing opportunities but it is unacceptable to use last minute playing engagements as an excuse to miss study sessions.
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Please refer to the course website for details about computer literacy, levels of engagement and our student code of conduct. The course is delivered in the English language.
Entry requirements
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Applicants must hold a degree (which does not have to be in musical studies) that was taught or researched in English and is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree or above, or be able to demonstrate performance skills at licentiate diploma level (level 6) in music on the instrument they plan to study, alongside teaching experience.
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Alternatively, they may hold an appropriate English language qualification that must be acceptable to the University of Chichester.
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Applicants are expected to be proficient as musicians, demonstrating a performance level of a minimum standard equivalent to Grade 8 ABRSM or Trinity College London.
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All applicants must have access to an online working environment. Skype will be used for mentor/student interaction on the course.
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All applicants will be interviewed face-to-face in their own country or via Skype.
University of Chichester In-House Test. The University of Chichester also offers a FREE TESTING service to students applying to Chichester. The test is an IELTS equivalent, and is for students who are already in the UK or who are applying through one of our authorised agents in country.
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UNIVERSITY OF CHICHESTER
A PLACE TO STUDY
The Music programme is one of the largest and liveliest in the UK, and focuses on music as an applied art, one that is engaged with the musical world in all its diversity and excitement.
This means that courses are focused on practical work, from performance, composition and improvisation to musical theatre performance, training in instrumental or vocal teaching, music business, music therapy and community music, as well as traditional music analysis and critical theory.
