Sunday, January 5, 2025 | Junior Assistants Programme

Discover the 'PJC Junior Assistants Programme'.

Our Junior Assistant Programme is a brand-new training initiative for students aspiring to become PJC Assistants, offering hands-on experience in music instruction and classroom management. Participants will receive comprehensive training to assist in Young Beginners Lessons- supporting our young learners and gaining skills that prepare them for future roles in education or creative fields.

Course Details

The training programme includes a small amount of non-contact time with some independent learning, but mostly takes place in a group lesson setting, with Junior Assistants gaining practical experience in assisting our Young Beginners. In addition to logging a required number of assisting hours, trainees will have tasks to complete, challenges to achieve and standards to meet, with an engaging and game-like 'level up' reward system.

Lesson Logistics

The programme is structured around assistants completing 30-minute sessions, scheduled before or after students' existing PJC lessons for convenience. For example, a student with a 4-5:30pm lesson would assist from 5:30-6pm, while one starting at 5:30pm would assist prior to this, from 5-5:30pm. Students may also choose to assist up to 50 minutes on a different day if preferred.

Limited Places

Due to the training nature of the programme, all successful applicants will be at PJC under our care as students, not workers. Our responsibility to provide a correct adult to student ratio means that places on this programme is extremely limited, and I would advise interested applicants to apply early. 

What is the Cost?

This training programme is free of charge to any student already currently on the Intermediates or PJC Advanced Programme at PJC. 

Who Can Apply?

Anyone in Year 6-11 who is working on their Grade 4-8 Piano can apply for this programme. 

Why Join the Junior Assistant Programme?

Completion of the training programme will qualify our students to apply for the role of a fully-fledged PJC Assistants once they reach the appropriate age. There are countless reasons to be a PJC Assistant, but don’t just take our word for it- here’s what some former assistants have to say about their experience:

Emily: Working at PJC has helped my CV massively as I had to learn so many different skills which are transferable to jobs within teaching or the music industry. PJC has also helped me to be more creative and think outside the box.

 
Jimmy: Aside from giving me great teaching experience, working at PJC also greatly improved many of my own skills as a musician as I found that teaching something is the best way to learn and improve on it yourself

Eve: The kids are the best part about being a PJC assistant. It’s been great learning how to adapt my teaching to fit with their individual learning styles. I believe the experience has been very helpful in getting me into university and with other job opportunities. 

Jessica: I gained so much from being an assistant at PJC and it majorly influenced my place at university studying Primary Education (the job role looks brilliant on a personal statement/CV).  I would definitely recommend considering the role of assistant at PJC and playing a part in the future development of the amazing little musicians. It is such a rewarding feeling that you will not regret!

Application Deadline

Aspiring junior assistants can submit their applications from now until Friday 16th January 2025.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should write a paragraph which includes the following information:
1. Name, Age and School year

2. Piano, Music Theory and/or Singing qualifications achieved.

3. Any other relevant qualifications or experience

4. Why you would like to apply for this programme. 

5. Why you should be considered for this opportunity.

6. Your availability and preferred time.

Applications can be sent via email to info@pjcmusicschool.com or handwritten and delivered to Phillippa at PJC lessons if preferred. 

Start Date
The programme will launch week beginning Monday 20th January and we can’t wait to welcome our new junior assistants!

Your New Role in our PJC Family

Wishing the best of luck to all the aspiring assistants in their application. For more information, contact us at info@pjcmusicschool.com or ask Philippa about it in lesson. Here’s to nurturing the next generation of musicians at PJC Music School together!

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Monday, September 30, 2024 | ABRSM Exams, Music Theory

A Guide to Music Theory Exams with PJC

THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC THEORY
Music Theory at PJC is an integral part of our curriculum, and it is absolutely fundamental in developing the high level pianists and singers we have today in our Intermediates and Advanced Programmes. The following blog gives you all the information you need to know regarding how to prepare for, enter, set up and take an ABRSM Music Theory exam. This ABRSM website page is dedicated to this, which includes an interesting video about the importance of music theory to all musicians. 

WHY TAKE AN EXAM?

The Grade 5 Theory Exam is mandatory requirement for anyone wishing to take ABRSM Piano or Singing at Grade 6 and above. The other Grade 1-4 Theory Exams are not compulsory and are only taken to reward the students' work and effort that will be taking place during their weekly lessons. However, I do heartily recommend that your child takes their Grade 1 Theory Exam at the very least, so they are confident with the online format in preparation for the all important Grade 5 one in the future. 

ENTERING FOR THE EXAM 
The format for this exam is very different from any practical exams your child may have done in the past. You can sign up your child to be entered by registering them on the teal exam slot of the correct grade via our online portal. These can be found on the 1st of every month, as PJC does a bulk entry for theory exams at the start of each calendar month. Once we enter your child, they then have 28 days to complete this exam. This exam process is done ONLINE and AT THE STUDENTS’ OWN HOME and can require a lot of work for the responsible adult involved, so please do take the time to read the information below. It is the responsibility of the parent to do all computer checks beforehand. 
 

PREPARING FOR THE EXAM

Following a successful mock at the back of their ‘ABRSM Discovering Music Theory’ book, students must have done an online Practice Exam prior to taking their exam to get used to the online exam format. They can complete the mock test at this link (scroll down to Online Practice Exams, English/Italian/Spanish, and then open the appropriate link for Grade 1-5). Please inform Phillippa of the result (preferably via WhatsApp) of this practice exam and DO NOT do the real exam yet if they don't pass this practice one. 

Further practice can be done via ABRSM’s Practice Platform. For a very reasonable fee, students can take multiple practice papers in the online format they will be doing in the real exam. There are also free quizzes for the terms and signs for each grade at this link (just scroll down to 'Music Theory quiz'). There is also an ABRSM Music Theory App you can practice questions with available for both iOS and Android. 

Grade 5 Theory students must also have completed all of their theory work from their PJC Intermediates Blue Book: Grades 4-5, and be able to write out their ‘Cheat Sheet’ from memory and apply it successfully. 

BEFORE THE EXAM DAY

All candidates will access their online Music Theory exams via their own ABRSM accounts. Once entered, ABRSM will send you an email and you should be able to log in to their portal with the details they either send you or have previously sent if you have taken an ABRSM exam before. Candidates can take their exam on any date and at any time within 28 days of booking the exam. Remember that this exam is taken at the candidates’ HOME on a computer.

Check that you can meet all the room and system requirements needed to take the exam. The ABRSM System Requirements are linked here. You should also test the compatibility of the computer equipment and internet connection being used for the exam by running this simple online check: PSI RPNow System Check.  We recommend using Google Chrome as your web browser. DO NOT use a VPN for this exam. 

ON THE EXAM DAY

Students will need:

• A laptop or desktop computer and a desk to work from- NOT a phone, tablet nor Chromebook.

• Blank paper and a pen or pencil to work out answers during the exam. Candidates will need to show both sides of their blank paper to the camera during their room scan. There must be no text, notation, or images on the paper. If there are, this will be noted by our proctors and may lead to a malpractice investigation and disqualification.

• Photographic ID. If they do not have an in-date passport, you need to download and prepare a Candidate Identification Form.

• Time to complete all the ‘getting ready’ steps below, before the exam begins. We recommend allowing 15 to 30 minutes for this.

GETTING READY

• Log on to the candidate’s ABRSM account and click ‘Start Music Theory exam’ on the dashboard. This will launch and install the RPNow Proctoring software that you need for the exam. Please note – once this button has been pressed, there is a 3 hour window to complete the exam. 

• Follow these steps to complete the exam set up:

  • Make sure all other apps, programmes and browsers are closed.

  • Show the candidate’s Photo ID. 

  • Perform the room scan. If your computer does not allow a 360 degree room scan you can use a mobile phone or digital camera – then play this footage back to the webcam. The recording of the room scan must be done during the room scan section of the exam set up so that they can confirm the room is suitable for the exam.

  • Take the candidate’s picture on the screen.

• From this point on, the session will be recorded (desktop, webcam and audio), until the exam window is closed at the end of the exam.

DURING THE EXAM

• A timer in the right-hand corner of the exam screen will show how long candidates have to complete the exam. The countdown (in minutes) will not start until the candidate has started the actual exam.

• If it’s essential that the candidate has a toilet break once the exam has started, this should be limited to once only and should be for a maximum of five minutes. Candidates must inform the online invigilator (proctor) that they are about to take a toilet break by looking at the camera and saying this out loud. They can also write this down and show the piece of paper to the camera. The exam recording should continue during this time.

• The responsible adult is allowed to leave and re-enter the exam room once the live exam has started as long as this does not disrupt the exam and they do not bring any prohibited items into the room.

• The exam will time out if a candidate is inactive for 30 minutes. If this happens the candidate will need to re-open the RPNow software, do the pre-exam checks and then log in again to finish their exam. This is only possible within 3 hours of first launching the software.

• Before closing the exam window at the end of the exam and stopping the recording, tear up any paper used in the exam. Candidates should do this in front of the camera so it can be seen clearly.

WARNING

It is extremely important that the exam is taken within 3 hours of first launching the software. Do not begin the exam process unless all checks have been done and the student is ready to take the exam. 

ISSUES

For any technical advice before or on the day of the exam, contact PSI Customer Support on +44 20 3885 0911. Unfortunately PJC is not able to help in any way. 

PAYMENT

The exam fee plus the £3 charge for the certificate is automatically added to your account on signing up to the exam slot on our online portal. This can be paid at the next invoice due date. 

RESULTS

Unlike practical exams, theory exams often take four weeks for the result to be released. 

NEXT STEPS
After taking the exam, before the results are released, please purchase the next book in the ABRSM Discovering Music Theory series so your child can begin work on the next grade up in lessons going forward.

We wish you all the best of luck with your upcoming music theory exams!

From Phillippa and all the Team at PJC ♪

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Thursday, January 4, 2024 | Young Beginners Programme

Musical Milestones at PJC: A Journey Through Three Vibrant Colours

At PJC Music School, our Young Beginners Programme is a comprehensive curriculum that teaches Piano, Singing, and Music theory in a fun and holistic way.  One of the key highlights of this dynamic programme is the exclusive three-part series of music tuition books, each vivid colour representing a different stage in the development of our students' musical skills and knowledge. 

The Three Musical Colours

The Young Beginners Programme is divided into three stages; Pink, Orange and Blue. Each of these books have been carefully crafted to support our groundbreaking group learning format, as well as provide inspiration for independent practice. Every book culminates in three performance pieces, which are celebrated in a performance to the group on our stunning white baby grand piano.

The Pink Book (Stage 1):
The journey begins with the Pink Book, a vibrant introduction to the basics of music. The large print and clear layout make it easily accessible to even our youngest students, and the fun stickers make the theoretical aspects more engaging. With a focus on fundamental keyboard skills, basic rhythms and treble clef notation, as well as singing and internalisation skills from the Kodály method (Do, Re, Mi), the Pink Book ensures that our young musicians commence their musical journey with a solid understanding of the essentials.

The Orange Book (Stage 2):
As our students progress, they delve into the Orange Book, where their skills are further developed. This stage introduces bass clef notation, hands-together playing, and additional musical elements. The Orange Book builds upon the foundation established in the Pink Book, providing a seamless transition to more advanced concepts. 

The Blue Book (Stage 3):
The final stage in our series, the Blue Book, introduces more complex skills, keys, metres and techniques. The Blue Book prepares our young musicians for the next phase of their musical journey- ‘The PJC Intermediates Programme’, where they begin to take their ABRSM Exams in Piano, Singing and Music Theory. 

Pedagogical Excellence

At the heart of these books lie essential pedagogical principles, including scaffolding, dual coding, spiral learning, and retrieval practice. This meticulously designed approach inspires, develops, and nurtures our students, providing them with a solid technical foundation, rapid progression, and a strong sense of musical identity.

The Stamps System 

The PJC Stamps System, a unique and innovative approach incorporated into our Young Beginners Programme, introduces a structured framework for assessing and enhancing musical proficiency. Comprising of five stamps—Accuracy, Fluency, Technique, Dynamics, and Articulation—this system empowers students to break down the focus of their practice into discrete sections. By striving to attain all five stamps in specific exercises and performance pieces, students engage in a scaffolded learning process, allowing them to independently refine and master essential musical skills and elements. This not only serves as a powerful motivator but also celebrates smaller milestones along the way, fostering a sense of accomplishment and reinforcing the building blocks of musical excellence. 

Animal Friends and Musical Elements

Embedded within the pages are ten charming animal friends who guide our students through the fundamental elements of music. These lovable characters illustrated by talented Bradford artist, Sven Shaw, bring the musical journey to life, making the learning process visually engaging and more memorable. 

A Labour of Love 

All content within this series has been conceived, written, and designed by Phillippa Jade Cairns. Her dedication to music education and passion for nurturing young talent shines through on every page.

Conclusion

The PJC Young Beginners Programme is not just a curriculum; it's a musical adventure that lays the foundation for a lifelong love of music. With each musical note, our students are embarking on a journey that will shape them into confident, skilled musicians, with unlimited potential.

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Wednesday, November 2, 2022 | Uncategorized

Hello and welcome to our PJC Family! We're so looking forward to meeting you at your upcoming lesson. 

Please read the information below before you arrive to the first lesson. If you have any questions not answered in the information below, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Phillippa and Team ♪

Again, please do get in touch if there are any questions not answered above or if you need support with using the online portal.

Many thanks, and see you soon!

Phillippa and Team ♪

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Thursday, June 2, 2022 | Uncategorized

The Practice Log is an added benefit, there to support you and your child should you wish. There is no obligation to use it! ❤️ 

You can access the Practice Log via our online portal, using the sidebar once you've logged into the home page. 

Please see below for a quick explanation on how to use the practice log in conjunction with the Practice Champion Rewards Scheme. 

Thanks, Phillippa 🎶 

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Saturday, April 30, 2022 | News

The 'PJC Practice Champion' Rewards Scheme.

Our Practice Champion Rewards Scheme encourages all students to not only practice the piano at home, but also to do the theory games, exercises and singing tasks that improve our students' overall musicianship. By collecting stamps on their chart, students can earn increasingly exciting prizes.

How Can They Earn Stamps?

All students can earn their stamps through the practice and theory exercises that they do at home, receiving a keyboard stamp for every day they practice the minimum recommended time, a clock stamp for every day they practice double the minimum recommended time, and a stave stamp for every day they do one of the suggested theory exercises. They therefore Young Beginners have the potential to earn up to 21 stamps per week!

Intermediates can also earn additional Sight Reading Stamps, by doing one sight reading per day. This only takes a few minutes and is an easy way to earn an additional 7 sight reading stamps per week (which is especially useful for those higher grade students who will find it harder to earn those clock stamps!)

What are the Recommended Practice Times for each grade?

Our recommended practice times start small and gradually increase until Grade 2 to 8, when you just 'add a zero' to the grade you're studying (i.e. Grade 3= 30 minutes, Grade 5= 50 minutes). The clock stamps (for double the practice time) do get harder to achieve in the higher grades, which is where students might focus more on the achieving the theory and sight reading stamps to bump up their numbers! 

How do I log the practice each week?

Each booklet will have a white sheet stapled into it. The starting date of each week of the year are down the left hand side, with each day across the top. If a student on their pink book does their recommended 3 minutes, tick the little keyboard on that day, if they do 6 minutes, they can tick the clock too. If they complete a theory task from the special PDF, they can tick the little stave column. The final column with the adorable little man reading a book is only for Intermediates who complete a sight reading exercise. Students can do this themselves if you wish- we will leave this to you as parents to judge whether your child is old enough (and trustworthy!). Once we have stamped their practice chart for the week, we will highlight that row in lesson time to show that this week has been stamped.

This is all honesty based, and we ask parents to do their best to make sure that students are truthful about their practice time in order to inspire them properly. 

What prizes can my child earn?
As well as the 25, 50 and 75 stickers, students can earn certificates sweets, musical stationary, certificates, musical jewellery, manuscript books to write their own music, and even a trophy.

When does the Practice Champion run?

Our PJC Practice Champion runs from September to September. This is to ensure that students continue to be inspired over the August Holiday to keep up their practise, knowing that prizes and awards await them in September when they return to us! In September each year they will receive a brand new card ready to start again. The Practice Log Booklets change each year in order to avoid confusion.

What should my child be practising?

In order to make practising at home as exciting and easy as possible, I have also produced a Piano Practice Sheet and a Theory Exercises Sheet for The Pink Book, The Orange Book, The Blue Book, and The Intermediates Stage of our PJC Programmes. Feel free to print these out if that is easier for you and your child but bear in mind that the PDFs contain lots of hyperlinks to our PJC Piano Practice Guide for Parents Videos, and many online quizzes in order to make our students' practice more interactive. 

Where can I find the theory exercises/games?

You can find these PDFs on our Facebook Parents Community Group, as well as being available on our online portal under 'Online Resources'.

What if my child doesn't do their recommended amount but still practices?

We want to encourage and reward all forms of practice, so if your child does half their recommended time, they can still achieve their keyboard stamp if they complete their recommended time another day that week (i.e. a Grade 3 student has a recommended time of 30 minutes. If they do 15 on Monday and 15 on Tuesday then they can achieve one keyboard stamp for both days!)

If my child does triple the amount of practice- do they get two clock stamps?

Only one clock stamp can be achieved per day- we're trying to encourage our students to practice little and often (so for an Initial Grade student, 10 minutes per day is miles better than 70 minutes on Sunday!) 

If you have any questions about this PJC Practice Champion Reward Scheme not covered in this blog post do please ask me and I can update this as necessary!

Take care,

Phillippa ♪

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Monday, October 18, 2021 | News

Dear Parents,

I am writing with some exciting news... 
Probably THE most exciting news I have ever shared in my whole 16 years of teaching!

I am officially opening my own PJC Music School Premises!

Where is this new premises?

It is in Yeadon- 36 Kirk Lane, LS19 7ET, and we finally signed the lease today!

This picture is a mock-up of what the front of the school could look like!

Which lessons will be moving there?

The plan is to move all our Horsforth lessons on MONDAYS and WEDNESDAYS to this premises (it is less than a 10 minute car journey from The Old Ball at Horsforth Roundabout).

We will also be moving the Baildon lessons on TUESDAYS to the new premises
(14 minute drive from The Malt Shovel at Baildon Roundabout). 

So Sundays are staying at Baildon, then?

SUNDAYS will be staying at Baildon for at least the time being, maybe indefinitely. However, students will still get the opportunity to attend our lovely premises for make-up lessons and to perform in the recitals or workshops that we discuss below. 

(If you are a Sunday parent and would rather your child have their lessons at the premises in Yeadon, please do let me know and we can discuss options for this. Conversely if you’re a Tuesday parent who would prefer to stay close to Baildon, please do let me know and we can see if there’s a space on Sundays.)

When is the moving date?

This has been a LONG time coming; we originally went to see this venue in September 2020, but with Covid delays and Brexit supply problems, it has been put back and put back continuously.

But the wait has been worth it- after all the work we've done with it, it is starting to look absolutely amazing and I'm so happy to announce that our official moving day is Monday 1st November!

As of this date, all Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday lessons will take place at our new, Yeadon premises.

We are having a celebratory grand opening party throughout the afternoon and early evening on Thursday 28th October- I hope you and your family drop in at some point to share a drink and a cake with us and have a little nosey round. Please put this date in your diary if you can make it, more details to follow soon!

What’s so great about this new premises then?

I know I should really start off by talking about all the amazing benefits it will offer to our students, however in all honesty, the best thing about this new place (in my opinion as a working mother of two!) is the benefits it will have for our parents!

Introducing... The PJC Family Room

Drum roll please……..Our new building has it’s very own WAITING ROOM for parents, grandparents, younger siblings etc. 

Yes that’s right- parents can come for their 50 or 90 minutes per week and sit in a nice café-style environment. There will be a self-serve coffee station with fancy coffees, juices, cakes and confectionery (which we won’t be charging for- just asking for reasonable donations to keep this lovely luxury turning over.) We’ll be having WiFi and plug sockets so that you can get some work done, or just take the opportunity to read a book and relax, or meet up with a friend and have a catch up! As a parent, I have to say, that I’m actually very jealous that I’ll be teaching- I wish my boys’ other after school activities allowed me to do this while they were learning!

Fab Student Facilities

There will be one large room, half of which will have brand new keyboards, all upgraded to 76 key semi-weighted Yamaha beauties! These are all ordered and ready to put up when the room is finished. The other half will include a fully weighted 88 key piano for recitals and exam practice (I have yet to pick which I’m going to buy but it’s very exciting deciding!) and a more open space where singing and games will take place.

As well as this, there is a further room where our Music Theory will take place, as well as Aural and some singing. This will also have a piano, as well as tables for writing. 

There is also a brand new fitted W.C. in the back which means unlike Horsforth, our students can escort themselves to the toilet. So safeguarding the welfare of our students will go hand in hand with more independence. 

Our Own Performance Space

The wall between our waiting room and the large music room is going to be a sound-insulated movable wall, which will allow us to open up the two rooms into one large L shaped room. This will allow us to host little recitals, giving us an easy way to give our students performing opportunities on a regular basis. 

There will be Saturday Brunch or Afternoon Tea Recitals for our students to gain experience performing in a more relaxed nature, in front of their friends and family, while they sit at a table enjoying tea and cakes! 

Once students are more confident at performing in front of an audience, they can graduate to taking part in more serious afternoon and evening recitals, where we can set the chairs out in rows and have a wider selection of students perform in a slightly more formal format. 

Workshops

This new set up opens up potential for us to hold events in the future that are longer and larger than just our 50-90 minute lessons. Whether they are one-off day workshops or holiday clubs, the sky is the limit.

Convenient Location

The building we have leased is the old ‘Harland’s Music Shop’ on Kirk Lane in Yeadon.

It is less than a minute to Aldi and only 3 minutes from Morrisons, and I’m sure many parents will take advantage of the lesson time to get their weekly shop done!

It is next to Kirk Lane Park/Nunroyd Park, so if there are younger siblings who wish to play in the playground or ride their bikes during the summer months, this is ideal! For those who have never been before, it is a beautiful park to have a look around anyway! 

I know that there’s a tradition from some of our parents of nipping to the pub for a quick pint during their child’s lesson- don’t worry, we’re just down the road from a really large selection of both traditional and trendy pubs and bars!

There is plenty of on street parking, both on the main road Kirk Lane, and off the several side streets. 

There is a really large pavement area just in front of the building entrance. We plan to keep this area free from parking and use it as a ‘drop off’ station for parents who are not staying, allowing a safe drop off space for our students right next to the front door!

An Exciting Adventure

The opening of our new premises is another wonderful step on our successful journey. I'm so excited in its potential to increase the progress, enjoyment and opportunities for our learners, and bring all our students and their families closer together as one big PJC Family! 

Love as always,
Phillippa ♪

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Thursday, June 17, 2021 | Uncategorized

Our PJC Intermediate Programme is the next level up after completing the Young Beginners Programme. These 90 minute lessons are open to students studying ABRSM Initial Grade to Grade 5 Piano.

Each lesson consists of specific sections:

Music Theory

The Intermediates Programme will allow our students to take their ABRSM Music Theory Exams. All students will need to take Grade 5 Theory by the end of their Intermediates Programme, as ABRSM does not allow anyone to take Grade 6 unless they have already taken Grade 5 Theory.  Once our students have completed the Intermediates Course, and have reached Grade 4 on Piano and/or Voice, AND Grade 5 Music Theory, they can progress to a PJC Advanced Programme, where in addition to Grade 5-8 on Piano and/or Voice, we will offer an additional extra of taking GCSE and then A level Music should they wish. 

Singing and Aural

The singing part of each lesson will allow students to reinforce their music theory, working holistically together as we did in the Young Beginners Programme, understanding scales, keys, chords, arpeggios, triads and much more. Any student who wishes to take Grade 1 and above in their singing exam will have the opportunity to work on repertoire, technique, tone and performance skills.  All students will learn sight singing (even students who don’t wish to take singing grades) as it features in the Aural part of the Piano Exam from Grade 4 and above. This part of each lesson will also give an opportunity for regular practice of the other skills that will be examined in their Aural tests such as singing echos and analysing music. 

Composer Time

Now our students have reached Grade Initial-4 on the Piano, I will be able to give more demanding and exciting challenges in relation to each composer, and more importantly connect the context of each composer in time, period, style and genre, building up a wealth of knowledge which will help them with their Grade 5-8 Aural Exam, and any GCSEs or A level Music they may go on to take in the future. 

Piano Pieces, Sight Reading and Scales/Arpeggios

These will have focused set times each lesson, ensuring our students continue to make incredible progress consistently. 

Fees

The Intermediates Programme is £120 per month for a 90 minute lesson per week. 

Logistics

If your child has reached Initial Grade and wishes to move up to our Intermediates Programme, please get in touch and we will find the best class for them, keeping as close as possible time to their original lesson time. Students are welcome to stay in the Young Beginners Programme until they pass their Initial Grade, in which case they will need to move up to the Intermediates Programme to start Grade 1. 

The most recent ABRSM exam certificates from some of our Intermediate students

A mini recital during an Intermediates Lesson

An Intermediates Group enjoying a Music Theory Game together.

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Monday, August 24, 2020 | Progress

The PJC 'Fast Track' Programme 

One of the most frequently asked questions from our parents is how best to support their child with their practice. At PJC, we are so committed to providing outstanding progress for our students at fantastic value for money, and our 'PJC Fast Track Programme' works in addition to our Young Beginners Programme or Intermediates Programme and is designed to provide an opportunity to accelerate the rate of progress of our students by providing between-lesson support for students and their parents to help with their practice at home!

How Will the Fast Track Programme Improve Progress?

You or your child will send me their audio or video recording either via WhatsApp and PJC normally responds the following day. The format the feedback takes will change depending on how best to help the student, it may be written, audio, video or may include a photo or link to something external. 

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Monday, August 24, 2020 | Welcome Information

Hello and welcome to our PJC Family! We're so looking forward to meeting you and your child at their upcoming free trial lesson. 

Please read the information below before you arrive to the first lesson. If you have any questions not answered in the information below, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Phillippa and Team ♪

Again, please do get in touch if there are any questions not answered above or if you need support with using the online portal.

Many thanks, and see you soon!

Phillippa and Team ♪

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Thursday, August 20, 2020 | Covid-19

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, we have put the following measures in place to ensure our students and their families are as safe as possible on our return to face to face lessons. Please could you take the time to read the information below as there are several big changes:

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019 | Make-Up Credits

A Complete Guide to Make-Up Credits

At PJC Music School, we are really proud of our make-up credit system. It means we can offer parents the flexibility to work music lessons around their busy family lives while ensuring that their child never misses out on that valuable lesson time!  This blog is written to give our parents a detailed explanation of how to use the make-up credit system in a step-by-step guide.

Overview:

With dentist appointments, school plays, swimming galas, Grandparent visits and holidays abroad, we know that our parents' schedules change every week. Using our online portal, any lesson cancelled with at least 24 hours notice will credit the account with a make-up credit. This can be used to sign up for a make-up lesson at a future date. 

Logging On:

When you first signed up your child for music lessons at PJC, you will have been sent a ‘Parent Login’ email, directing you to set up your password. After this, you can go to www.pjcmusicschool.com on any page and enter your username and password in the login box in the side bar (on your phones there is no sidebar so just to scroll down till you reach it!) This will take you through to the online portal. If you can’t remember your password, please contact PJC and we will reset and send you out a new parent login email.

Marking your child’s absence: 

Once you reach the online portal, you should automatically be taken to the calendar. If not, click on the left-hand side bar and the calendar is the second option down. In this example account, Leopold Mozart can see that his son Wolfgang Mozart is currently registered for the Monday at 4pm class.

Wolfgang can’t attend the lesson on the 9^th  September. Leopold can mark him as absent on the calendar by clicking on this lesson and clicking ‘cancel attendance’ with the red cross.  

The system will give you an option to send PJC a message as to why you are absent. This can be useful for both parties but this is not obligatory.    

The original lesson will now have a red head instead of a green one.    

Leopold cancelled Wolfgang's lesson with at least 24 hours notice so he now has a make-up credit and can register him for another lesson. He could choose to do this now, or if he wasn’t sure which lesson was best, he could save it for later as the credits stay safely logged on the system. If he goes to the ‘home’ page and scrolls right down near the bottom he can see how many credits he has to use. 

Choosing your make-up lesson

Not including the lessons your child is already registered for, lessons only appear on the calendar when there is a space available. With parents frequently cancelling and rescheduling their children’s lessons, lesson times on the calendar will appear and disappear regularly.  You can sign up to a lesson with at least 12 hours notice, after which time the lesson registration will close.   

When choosing your child’s make up lesson, just watch out for the differences in colour and age:

PURPLE is for lessons at Horsforth School, 

GREEN is for lessons at Baildon. 

You can use your make-up credit at either venue.

Just make sure the class you are applying for is age appropriate. There are several lessons in the week that have students age 8-14. This would not be a good fit for a 5 year old, as there is a much more grown-up atmosphere in these lessons with less games and longer stretches of time at a task. Just click on the lesson and it will tell you in the description the age range of the student in that lesson.

Registering for a lesson 

Leopold can’t make any of the Horsforth make-up times, so he’s going to register Wolfgang for a 10am Baildon lesson on Sunday. All he has to do is click on the lesson and click ‘Register’ with the green tick.     

The system will show a list of the possible future lessons. Ignore these and scroll down to click ‘Yes’. 

Wolfgang is now registered for his make-up lesson. The make-up credit will stay logged in the system until PJC takes the register in the lesson. Success!    

Expiration Dates 

We used to have a termly expiration date on our make-up credits, which we extended to a yearly expiration date. However, we have since decided that in order to make our parents’ lives as easy as possible, there is now no expiration dates on our make-up credits. In return, we ask our parents that if they are booking make-up lessons in the considerable future, that they are courteous and understanding if these need to be rescheduled. Please note that make-up credits are a wonderful bonus we offer to our parents and must be used during full paying months. They cannot be stored up and used instead of a monthly payment, nor be added on at the end of a notice period.

Students from our Horsforth lessons getting on great with the Baildon regulars during one of their make-up sessions.

Your Child’s First Make-Up Lesson

Your child may feel a little apprehensive when attending a different lesson for the first time, with a different set of students and possibly a different venue. Don’t worry about this- it’s completely normal and all of our groups make newcomers feel completely welcome. My favourite thing about our make-up credits is how it enforces our PJC Family ethos. Students from all our Young Beginners classes start getting to know each other as they start attending different days and times, and soon it becomes a case of ‘Hey- I remember you from when you came to our Wednesday class a few weeks ago!’

A Final Plea on Behalf of our Parents... 

In order for this fantastic system to work effectively, it’s really important that parents mark their child’s absence on the online calendar when they know they are going to be away. Even if you are not planning on taking advantage of the make-up lessons, please try and find the time to login and cancel your child’s attendance. Not only does this help with planning for the lesson, it opens up the slots to allow parents to use their make-up credits. We sincerely thank all of our parents for this contribution to our PJC Family Community!

PJC Music School offers high quality Piano and Singing lessons to students aged 3-14 in our Young Beginners Programme in Baildon and Horsforth. Visit www.pjcmusicschool.com/Group-Lessons for more information or search pjcmusicschool on Facebook or Instagram.

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Saturday, October 20, 2018 | Keyboard, Piano, Music, Music Lessons,

Piano Buying Guide- It's Not All Black and White!

You've given your child the incredible gift of music lessons and now face the daunting task of looking for an instrument for them to develop their skills at home. Here is a step by step guide on how to choose the best instrument for your child's stage in their musical journey...            
First Month of Lessons

When signing their children up for our Young Beginners Lessons, parents often ask me ‘Do they need a keyboard to start?’ The answer is ‘Not necessarily right away’. Although having an instrument to practise on at home is obviously favourable, the first month of lessons for our really young students (ages 3-5) is always focused on understanding their way around the keyboard. We recommend practice in the form of students showing their parents what they have learned in lessons, and this can be done on a toy keyboard, or even an iPad app- you could easily encourage your children to show you how they find Middle C and the other note names using these. Older students aged 6+ are taught about posture, technique and positioning from very early on, so the need for a decent instrument is more pressing here in order to ensure faster progress.   

There are many apps available which will allow your younger child to demonstrate their first few lessons of knowledge.

First Year of Lessons

After the first few weeks, students should begin to get into the habit of practising regularly on a decent instrument. The main question parents should ask themselves here is, should they-
a) buy a cheaper instrument that may only last for a year or two.
b) invest now and be prepared for when their child is at a higher standard.  
The most important goal is that your child has an instrument to practise on as soon as possible so either of these options is fine as long as it’s not delayed. Parents who prefer option B should read the information below on ‘Grade 1 and Beyond’. Parents who prefer option A read on…

What do I NEED in a keyboard for my child?

• Touch Sensitive Keys/Touch Response

This means that the keys change volume depending on how much force you play with, replicating an acoustic piano. This is essential for the development of your child’s playing, as they will need to practise their dynamics (loud & soft) from quite early on in their musical journey.

• Minimum 61 keys

If you purchase a keyboard with fewer keys than this, the range becomes very limited and it won’t be long before there are not enough keys on the keyboard to play the pieces they are working on (especially with older children). When you’re buying, it should tell you how many keys are on the keyboard but if you’re buying second hand or from a friend or neighbour, make sure you include the white AND BLACK keys when counting how many keys you need.

• Adjustable Keyboard Stand

From early on in their lessons, PJC students are encouraged to use good posture and technique. Your child should be sat at the instrument with their knees just in front (underneath) the keyboard. The height of the keyboard should be so that their hands and elbows are at the same level, creating a perfect horizontal line (if you placed a pencil on your child’s forearm from wrist to elbow it should rest perfectly without falling). You don’t need to spend a fortune on a special seat; an adjustable keyboard stand would do the trick for about £15-£20.

When a student's posture is correct, they are then able to achieve the perfect 'claw like' position with the hand while playing. 

What do I NOT need to worry about?

• Playback functions
• ‘Songs’ (Inbuilt demo tracks)
• ‘Styles’ (Backing beats)
• ‘Voices’ (Instrument Sounds)
• Light up keys

These devices can look exciting and sound impressive but by having lessons, your child is learning something more special than flamboyant gadgets- the ability to create music themselves and eventually play and compose anything they want! Although many keyboards come with these anyway, you certainly shouldn’t let these influence your decision when purchasing.

How much should I spend?

It is good idea to buy a good quality keyboard second hand than a cheap new keyboard. Adults often buy keyboards with the intention of learning, and then give up; selling it on for half the price. It’s also very common that they have purchased a stand and sometimes even a bag or headphones that they include with the price, saving an extra £15-£50!

Which brand?

My advice for keyboards is go for Yamaha and Casio as they are well made and produce a good quality sound. Don’t just buy based on the brand alone though, make sure that it has minimum 61 keys and touch response. Stay away from the super cheap brands that come as a bundle such as ‘Gear for Music’ as the quality is poor and they tend not to last.  

In PJC group music lessons we use all Yamahas, the best and most up to date being the YPT340s.      

Grade 1 and Beyond

As soon as your child progresses to graded examinations, the keyboards above will no longer cut the mustard. All students are examined on acoustic pianos (where the pressed keys cause a hammer to hit the strings). This is a completely different feel to the keyboards discussed above, and students need to be prepared for this. However, although having an acoustic piano is a great benefit, it is not necessary for students to practise on, and buying a digital piano or an electric stage piano could even be the better choice for you.

Do I buy Digital or Acoustic?

Again this all depends on how much you’re wanting to spend. If you buy a piano, remember that it will require at least yearly tuning (about £60 per tuning). There are some digitals that look and sound like an acoustic, retailing at about £3-4K. My strong advice is to stay well away from these. Acoustic Pianos have a very long life in them and digitals have an expiration date. If you’re going to spend that much on a piano, make sure it’s acoustic!

Acoustic Pianos

An upright piano of excellent quality retail at about £3-4k new.  I always recommend Yamaha and Kawai pianos, as I prefer their tone.  

In PJC lessons when a student reaches a milestone piece, they perform their mini-concert to their group on our Yamaha Baby Grand.      

Buying a second hand acoustic piano is like buying a second hand car- it’s only as good as how well it’s been looked after. Unless it is dirt cheap and wouldn’t hurt your pocket too much if it was a disappointment, I would go through a reputable dealer rather than buying online. This way, you can make sure the piano has been fully checked over, maintained, and you’re getting a fair price for it. I wholeheartedly recommend Graham at GSG Pianos who I have always trusted implicitly to give me the best deal. You could get a decent quality second hand piano for £600-£700, but £1,000 is more your average benchmark. It is worth noting that there are buying schemes for children under 18 at certain retailers where you can buy a piano over 10 months on 0% finance so enquire about this before purchasing.

Another warning when buying a second hand piano online. Occasionally, pianos are so old that tuning them correctly would break the strings, and the piano is tuned a semi-tone or even a tone lower than concert pitch. This isn’t so much a problem unless your child develops ‘perfect pitch’. I had a friend at Music College who had this, but having learned on one of these old pianos, her ‘perfect pitch’ was actually a semi-tone out. It drove her crazy and after a while, she quit her degree before finishing. Check that the one you are looking at is tuned to concert pitch by downloading a tuning app (often used for string instruments) and playing the notes into the phone or tablet.

Digital Pianos

If second hand acoustics are like cars, think of second hand digital pianos like televisions. Digital Pianos have a limited shelf life, often of about a decade. Technology moves on and once the parts are not available, the instruments becomes obsolete. Digital Pianos retail new at about £800- £1,500. Any less than £600 and you start to lose quality, any more than £2k, and you should start to to be spending that money on an acoustic which will stand the test of time. You can pick up a digital for £500 second hand. Stay away from digitals from China, which are mass produced and poor quality. Stick with good brand names with long guarantees. Yamaha, Kawai, Roland are my top three.      

A Grade 3 student performing at a PJC Summer Showcase on a Roland Digital Piano.

A Final Note ♪

In the same way that you don’t need a brand new car to learn to drive or the latest 4K technology to enjoy your favourite programme, you don’t need to invest in a top range instrument for your child to learn, enjoy and achieve when it comes to the piano. The best thing you can do as a parent is to encourage and support them with regular practice. As their skills develop, the instrument does become more significant, but nothing is as important as the time and effort put into their playing, and the encouragement and support they will receive from you.      

With over a decade of outstanding results, PJC Music School provides group piano and singing lessons to young beginners Aged 3-14. For more information, contact Phillippa here. 

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Wednesday, August 1, 2018 | Music, Parenting, Music Lessons

Three Parenting Attitudes to Childhood Music Lessons

Whether you’re a grade 8 musician or don’t know a crotchet from a quaver, your child could benefit from music lessons. Local Head of Music and mum of two, Phillippa of PJC Music School explains how your experience of music (or lack of) can influence your child.

After twelve wonderful years of teaching music both to my private students and in secondary schools, I have realised that when it comes to music lessons for their children, there are three types of parent:

1.The ‘pass it on’ parent

This type of parent was lucky enough to have music lessons themselves when they were younger, and wants their own child to experience the joy of being able to sing or play an instrument. They have fond memories of being in ensembles at school and making friends that grow out of the shared experience of rehearsing and performing together. They understand how music shaped them in their own lives; giving them confidence, a sense of identity and pride. They want their own children to understand the amazing benefits of hard work and to feel that satisfaction of seeing themselves improve. They recognise that their intelligence, success and interpersonal skills are a reflection of those music lessons and they want to pass on this incredible gift!

2. The ‘give them what I never had’ parent

I see a lot of these. Parents who, for whatever reason, didn’t get the opportunity to learn an instrument as a child and this makes them even more eager to give their own children those chances. This type of parent gets the most joy out of seeing their little ones progress. From the moment their child surpasses their own ability, the pride and awe that these parents experience is really very moving to witness. They really appreciate it when I send them videos of their child playing or singing in lessons, they cherish the moments when they see them performing live and they are always blown away when they bring home a piece of music that they have composed themselves.

3. The ‘but I’m tone deaf!’ parent

Now, this is an interesting one! This attitude almost always stems from fear. The parent might have had a bad experience with music lessons in the past, been told they weren’t musical or felt inferior and gave up quickly. This limited belief about their own musicianship is subconsciously transferred onto the next generation. The parent is fearful that their child won’t enjoy the lessons and won’t succeed or thrive in that environment. At the first sign of hesitation or difficulty from the child, the parent doesn’t encourage them to continue, but instead reinforces the idea that ‘our family are not musical’. To these parents I ask you this; what musical path would you have taken with another teacher or an alternative teaching style? What if you were consistently encouraged instead of criticised; given a safe and supportive learning environment with the freedom to express yourself, make mistakes and really enjoy your music? Would things have been different?

I am eternally grateful to my own parents, who were both in the ‘give them what I never had’ category. When my eldest son turned 4, I realised I had become a ‘pass it on’ parent. With this new found understanding of what would be the best learning environment for my own children, combined with over a decade of getting to know the wants and needs of my students and their families, I was inspired to create a brand new program of lessons in my music school.

The ‘Young Beginners’ program teaches piano and singing to ages 3-12, with a fun, engaging, group-based learning style.  These hour-long weekly sessions allow enough time to develop real skill, technique and repertoire while the variety of games and activities in this group dynamic enables focus and enjoyment with a love of music at its core! With this strong foundation, I am confident these students will progress through my music school from enthusiastic young beginners to creative and passionate grade 8 musicians- and perhaps one day will go on to be ‘pass it on’ parents themselves.

Places are available on the ‘Young Beginners’ program from September and take place in Baildon and at Horsforth School. Pre-book now and get one lesson FREE. 
Contact Phillippa at PJC Music School here 

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