The point of those qualifications is simple: you know the hour is taught by someone trained to teach, not only someone who can play. I hold an MMus and the Diploma for Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector. I’m DBS checked. I also train other music teachers.
Rockschool has been part of the work for years. I co-wrote material for the bass Grade 6 syllabus used from 2006 to 2012. Separately, I work as an external assessor for school and college qualifications. Students who want grade structure get it. Students who do not still get a lesson aimed at their own playing.
Alongside the teaching I am called as a session and reading player, with producers including Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers) and Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet), and artists including Shelley Preston (Bucks Fizz), Chico, and Denise Van Outen. Styles run from rock and pop to dance and jazz, on stage and in international hotels.
The studio base is St Albans, Hertfordshire — about three minutes from the M25 and ten from the M1. Lessons also run live online.
