We recently had a lovely comment from one of our students. After a ‘boring’ day at school, he had ‘the best time’ at his Rock Project Berkshire class because ‘there aren’t any tables to sit at and no teacher at the front of the room’.
This got us all thinking at TRP Berks HQ about how we present our teaching…
We do have a very unique teaching style. We purposely did not want students to spend two hours sat down, just practicing an instrument, getting increasingly frustrated and bored. We wanted our students to walk away from a lesson and be able to play all or part of a song. It’s every wannabe rock and pop stars dream to be able to sing or play and instrument, so why not inspire them from the very first lesson? We wanted to create a ‘can-do’ environment, where our students are surrounded by this positivity and see results from the very beginning.
We often compare it to when you learn to drive. While there may be theory tests nowadays, the only way to learn is to actually drive the car! Therefore, the only way – in our opinion – to learn an instrument or to sing is to actually play it! Learn the instrument as you go along and be inspired and motivated after each lesson because you can go home and actually play something recognisable.
One of our nine-year-old students loves the fact that he can play ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham! on the guitar because his mum was a huge fan! Imagine the absolute joy for that boy to be able to play this and the absolute joy his mum has in hearing it. It’s a win-win situation.
We’ve Got The Look
We’re very aware that we have a mobile club and have to adapt to the surroundings and facilities at each different centre or school we use. We do not have the luxury of a permanent venue to decorate and perfect. However, the pop-up-club suits our unique teaching style and shows students and parents what can be achieved at any given venue.
We do try to lay out the rooms in instrument order but also present it similar to how a band would practice. After all, all of our tutors are active members of bands and therefore this layout is how they work. We also want to be present with our students – no desks to create barriers here. We sit with our students, or walk around listening to them, giving them the respect to be heard when they are playing their instrument or singing.
Everything we do is to inspire our students; to empower them with music and this is done in our teaching styles and room layout. Being a pop-up-club gives us the flexibility to change and adapt as our students change and adapt. We’re very pleased to not be classed as ‘boring’!
Harmeet September 29th, 2017
Posted In: Uncategorised