Piping and Drumming Forum and Workshop at the National Piping Centre
On 2nd October, we held our second Piping and Drumming Forum and Workshop in partnership with the National Piping Centre in Glasgow.
The day was attended by piping and drumming instructors from across Scotland and they were presented with invaluable sessions from experts in the field inc;
- Dr Edward Newman, Consultant Neurologist, Honorary Associate Clinical Professor and Clinical Lead Neurosciences, University of Glasgow Medical School spoke about focal dystonia, and discussed how the condition can be managed medically, giving examples of cases that he has treated.
- Jono Heale, from Advanced Communication Systems is a former professional musician who now has Music Induced Hearing Loss and Tinnitus. He spoke about how the ear works, how it can be damaged and provided invaluable information about various hearing protection solutions for musicians.
- Physiotherapist, Patrice Berque, provided advice on musculo-skeletal disorders that can affect musicians and on what can be done if you notice a problem developing. Patrice specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries affecting performing artists, especially musicians. He is also involved in academic research in the field of performing arts medicine, health promotion and prevention of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders.
- RCS graduate and lecturer, Dr Rachel Drury, provided practical and research-based approaches to working with groups of mixed abilities, including pupils with additional support needs.
- A session on fundraising was led by Iain Ferguson, Kintyre Schools, and Mark Nicholson, Fundraising Research and Proposal writer. Iain discussed how the Kintyre Schools Pipe Band has gone from strength to strength and how the committee works to support it.
- Jane Rimmer from SQA, along with assessors David Henderson and Steven Nelson, provided information and advice when it comes to SQA assessment and how to prepare piping and drumming pupils for this.
- The important topic of teaching transitions in piping and drumming was led by Matt Wilson and Steven Nelson.
We believe it is crucial that our instructors have access to the best CPD opportunities in order to deliver the highest quality tutition to our school pupils across Scotland. This forum and workshop provided them with the chance to learn more about some of the big issues in piping and drumming and share their experiences.
We will be sharing some further interviews and learnings from some of the experts from the day so keep an eye out for this coming soon.
