Our Creator Spotlight this month is on Kate Thompson. Kate teaches piano and woodwind in Tamworth, Staffordshire (UK) and her teaching resources are very popular with music teachers all over the world. It’s not hard to see why – educational, engaging, enjoyable and easy to use, they always add that little bit of extra sparkle and fun to lessons!
Find out a bit more about Kate’s games and activity sheets, teaching philosophy and experiences of selling through My Music Resource below.
Kate, 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?
Music has always been a big part of my life. I learned to play the flute and piano at school. I loved playing in the school chamber orchestra, wind band and wind quartet, and singing in the chamber choir.
I completed a degree in Theoretical Physics, then went into the water industry. After a first career as a hydraulic modeller, and taking a break to start a family, I had the opportunity teach in primary schools and set up my own private music studio. I haven’t looked back!
I am so grateful now to have the privilege of teaching young people myself. I teach in primary schools and also privately. My students are all different, with varied strengths and unique challenges. I relish discovering the best approach for each one and watching them grow in skills and confidence.
Theoretical physics to music teacher is a pretty impressive change of direction! What or who inspired you to become a music teacher?
It’s fair to say that my inspiration to teach came from my own fantastic piano teacher, when I resumed piano lessons myself as an adult. I rediscovered the magic of embarking on a musical journey with a skilled and encouraging teacher, and I wanted to share that with others. Having my own children sparked the joy of helping young people to learn.
My Music Resource is very fortunate to host over 70 of your wonderful music teaching resources. Your games and activities are often 5* rated and get very positive feedback. Can you tell us a bit more about your resources?
I think we all learn best when we are having fun! My resources are designed to target specific areas of learning in an engaging and playful way. I build in lots of repetition to embed skills and build strong music theory foundations. I keep them as easy as possible for teachers to use.
The games and activities are often created with particular students in mind, and get plenty of testing in my own studio. It is wonderful to see students having a great time playing games, not realising quite now much they are learning!
Do you and your students have a favourite game or activity?
Recently my students have been loving my Bundle of Games for Beginner Piano Students. They are quick games that break up lessons and reinforce the concepts we have been learning, each with a fun theme.
Another one I use time and time again is my Chord Inversions Resource pack. The children love the owl story that explains the idea of chord inversions, and the games really get them thinking. If I mention chord inversions months after using the games, my students always remember the owl story and the concept behind it.
You have been selling through My Music Resource for a while now. Do you have any feedback for potential creators and users of the site?
I would definitely recommend selling through My Music Resource. It is lovely collaborating with other music teachers. Ruth is always so helpful and supportive and gives very constructive feedback. It is easy to upload resources and I think they look great on the website. I’m looking forward to creating many more resources!
Click here to access Kate Thompson’s resources.
