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Study Postgraduate Pedagogy

Pedagogy postgraduate letterbox

PgCert Musician as Educator

Our PgCert Musician as Educator enables professional practitioners working across a variety of music education settings to access high-quality CPD that can be scheduled around their regular working hours to enhance their practice. You will be introduced to a spectrum of areas relevant to the 21st-century music educator, whilst working as part of a professional community of music educators from diverse contexts. You will have the opportunity to investigate an area of your practice in greater detail, with the support of expert guidance from RBC pedagogy staff and tutors.

MMus, PgDip, MA Musicology

Students on these courses can develop their skills as a teacher or community musician by taking one or more of the following Professional Development options at postgraduate level:

Teaching Matters: Principles and Practice

  • A placement with Services for Education Music Service including the opportunity to observe lessons, do some unassessed teaching and receive feedback from a professional mentor.
  • Weekly lectures and workshops covering a comprehensive range of issues in instrumental/vocal teaching to include first lessons, motivation, practice, notation, sight-reading, technology, creativity and aural-based approaches, group teaching, planning and assessment, special needs, learning styles, performance preparation, teacher-pupil-parent relationships, business matters and safeguarding.

‘Extremely useful. Allowed me to experience teaching a school environment. Got me a job with Services for Education!’ (Student)

Music, Community and Wellbeing

This option helps you to develop leadership and presentation skills and confidence to deliver workshops and interactive performances in the community. You will observe and be mentored by professional musicians working in environments such as hospital wards, care homes, special schools and early years settings and through reflection, you will gather and further develop a range of flexible strategies to enable you to select and deliver appropriate activities and repertoire in situ.

‘Seeing such a broad range of community engagement projects has been inspiring, and the musicians and staff were always friendly, helpful, and got me practically involved wherever appropriate!’ (Student)

Reflective Practitioner: Professional Placement 

We also offer opportunities for you to gain practical experience in educational or community contexts via an extended Professional Placement module. Postgraduate students have completed such placements with Services for Education Music Service, In Harmony, ARCO, and the Learning and Participation Departments of RBC, Welsh National Opera and Orchestra of the Swan.

Tony Brookes Scholarship

The Pedagogy and Community Engagement department also hosts the Tony Brookes Scholarship. This scholarship is for a PgDip or MMus student (home or international) who can evidence existing interest and experience in instrumental/vocal teaching, community engagement or outreach work in music and who seeks to continue to develop skills in this area as part of their subsequent career; the scholarship is worth £5,000 per annum for a one-year or two-year course of full-time study. The successful applicant will be expected to play a role in RBC’s own pedagogy/community engagement/outreach activity. For more details see: Music Scholarships and Bursaries.