Website: TomJenningsMusic.net
I give classes in ukulele and percussion; and one on one lessons in drums and guitar. My name is Tom, I am 38 years old, from New Zealand, I have been a musician for over 20 years. I hold a BCom in business management, BMus(Hons) in ethnomusicology and composition; and I am currently working on a Master of Teaching (secondary) in music curriculum and instrumental music.
I love music, I love to talk music, listen, read about, play, and watch great musicianship. I love learning new instruments and interacting with people who share a passion for music. I love to create, compose, write, improvise new musical ideas; I love to learn new songs. I love to share music with other people and help them become better musicians. Teaching music is a lot of fun.
At the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington I did an honours year studying ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology is the study of music within culture. Traditionally the field focused on studying music from non-Western centres, a mix between anthropology and musicology. The field has now grown to include almost all styles of music, trying to understand why humans are musical. Ethnomusicology looks at the role music has within culture and what this says about music. The culture could be anywhere as long as there is a collection of people making music with meaning. It puts emphasis on the social situation of music, viewing music as not only an object but a process of interaction. Ethnomusicology will be a part of my lessons as we form our own musical culture in the classroom. Lessons will involve talking about and learning about some of the musical cultures around the world and how and why they make music. Students can learn about how music might be different but also the same in cultures foreign to theirs; we learn the ukulele from Hawaii, bongos from Cuba and the djembe from Ghana, instruments who have interesting histories and stories.
I am currently enrolled in a Master of Teaching Secondary in music curriculum and instrumental music at Griffith University. The degree is underpinned by the latest research into curriculum, assessment, and teaching practice; helping teachers become well prepared with an understanding of effective methods and approaches to teaching music. I use proven methodologies, such as the Kodaly method. Kodaly method was developed in the early 20th century that emphasises vocalisation, where if you can vocalise the sound it becomes easier to recreate on your instrument. This is why I believe selecting music everyone is familiar with is important, if you know the melody already, can hum it, sing the chorus, learning becomes faster and more efficient.
I strive to make my classes fun, full of laughter, an enjoyable experience students look forward to each week; if the kids aren’t smiling in the lessons then I’m not doing it well. This applies to adults too, adults need a good laugh and boogie to let of the stress from their day, music is the solution! I am a learner myself and will continually push myself to be a better teacher and work each week to ensure that every lesson is better than the last, that each lesson has been planned, careful thought about and developed, so that we all have an awesome music class together.