Teachers, musicians and music leaders from across the North West started the new school year in harmony at the Sing First conference at Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester on 3 September.
Organised by MusicLeader North West, all the members of the Music Manifesto's North West Pathfinder were represented - Manchester Music Service, Salford City Council, Greater Manchester Action Zone and the Hallé - taking part in a day of vocal workshops with some inspiring musicians.
The day began with an introduction from Bridget Whyte on the Music Manifesto's National Singing Campaign, Sing Up, something we'll be bringing you full details of very soon. Passionate music advocate Margaret Griffiths then got everybody singing, reminding us of the centrality of the voice and urging everyone to bring the ideas in campaigns like the Music Manifesto to life.
Margaret came up with a host of practical ideas, from a 'Dads and Lads' choir to a collaboration between beatboxers and youth choirs, suggesting the creation of a North West songbook and a Duke of Edinburgh Award-style scheme to encourage older pupils into music leadership roles.
In the workshop sessions Audrey Mattis introduced us to gospel singing while Paul Griffths shared his cross-cultural, cross-genre workshop style. Shlomo demystified the art of the human beatbox while conductor Jamie Burton encouraged everyone to get physical, with stretches and breathing exercises and a few tips for calming down a restless class.
Dane Chalfin got right down to the anatomy of vocal production, looking at the mechanics of creating different vocal styles and challenging some myths about the voice. Did you know that 'belting' out a note actually takes less air, rather than more, than virtually any other style of singing?
Patrick Allen has been teaching music for nearly 20 years and his experience shone through in a fast-paced workshop focused on teaching teenagers that took in football chants, South African harmonies, pop songs and some tips on engaging disruptive pupils.
All in all, lots of practical advice to take straight into the classroom. If you were there and you'd like to share your thoughts, post your comments in our forum.
Here's what some of the participants said on the day:
Owen Haisley, MC, producer and music leader, Manchester
The day got everybody collaborating, talking with other musicians and teachers so everyone can learn from each other, people from different genres, different backgrounds. It encourages us to be all-rounders and everybody's leaving with a positive attitude.
Helen Whitehead, primary music teacher, Salford
My highlight was Dane, he challenged a lot of people's accepted ideas about good practice in singing and got you to understand the anatomy of it and how you can create different styles in the voice.
Helena Price, woodwind teacher, Manchester
As a non-vocal specialist I thought it was really useful to see how I could apply vocal techniques to instrumental teaching.
Beth Bishop, vocal workshop leader, Manchester
I liked Patrick Allen's class. The fact that he has 48 kids doing GCSE music in his year really says something. Plus the fact that we all get to sing together, at so many events like this you don't take advantage of having 100 singers in the audience.
Denise Doyle, violin teacher, Salford
I liked Shlomo, I found it really interesting and I really enjoyed it. I'd told my own children about it beforehand and they said, 'You're not going to do that!' Now I'm going to go home and show them!