Our Creator Spotlight this month is on Rachael Inwood. Rachael is a piano and flute teacher based in Milton Keynes, UK. She runs music workshops for children and adults of various abilities and is also a songwriter.
Find out more about Rachael and her top quality music teaching resources below.
Rachael, thank you for being under the spotlight this month. Can you tell us a bit more about your background and how you became a music teacher?
At school, I learnt the piano and flute, went through the grades and played in orchestras etc. I did a degree in psychology, but got involved with the orchestra whilst at university and was also in a Christian band. I spent many weekends travelling the country and playing in the band at youth events.
When I left university, I worked in a day centre for adults with learning disabilities and ran 3 or 4 music sessions a week, which I really enjoyed doing. On top of that, I was still regularly performing outside work and was approached by a couple of people asking if I could teach piano to their kids. So I started teaching piano to several students. Then, around seven years ago I decided I wanted to focus more on working with music.
You have created some really useful resources to help with planning and practice. How do you use these with your own students?
A lot of my resources have been developed through trial and error. If I have a student, or a group of students, who are struggling with a particular musical concept then I look for ways to help reinforce it in a fun and engaging way. I create my own resources and test them out on my students. They often make suggestions on how to improve the resources, or have other ideas on how to use them. For example, my landmark note cards started life as a set of flashcards. Over the last term, they have gone from being standard flashcards to being a game of matching pairs and also landmark note bingo. I have noticed that note recognition has improved in my students as a result of using these flashcards.
In addition to teaching, what other musical activities do you get involved in?
As well as teaching piano, and occasionally flute, I spend one day a week teaching music to secondary students in a special needs school. I deliver classroom lessons and help them achieve their arts award. I also run a lunchtime keyboard club and have just started working with my local music hub where I run an afterschool club for children with disabilities. I’m also a songwriter and have released a couple of my songs over the last two years.
What are your favourite teaching resources for lessons and why?
My favourite teaching resource is flashcards, in particular my interval flashcards. I use these regularly with my students and like to add a bit of competition, either amongst themselves or with the rest of my teaching studio. For example, I time how long it takes them to sort the cards into particular intervals, and, the next time they play, they have to beat their previous time.
Finally, how have you found selling through My Music Resource?
I have found selling my resources relatively easy on My Music Resource. There are guides to help upload the resources onto the site so that they are ready to be sold. I’ve found the support I get very helpful and quick.
Click here to access Rachael Inwood’s resources.
