Musical Skills

Our Musical Skills classes are designed to develop key musical abilities and consist of:

Musicianship
Conducting
Vocal Technique
Choir

For BKA certificate delegates, the above classes are compulsory, as well as attending online musicianship classes prior to attending summer school. Dates for online classes will be be confirmed soon.

Find out more about each module below.

Musicianship

Level 1/2
This level is recommended for anyone with little or no prior musical knowledge. This class will cover the basics of solfa, handsigns and rhythm names and is an introduction to musical reading and writing.

Level 3/4
This level is recommended for those with who have a secure musical background (Diploma/degree in music) but are new to solfa. The class will move very quickly through the basics of solfa, handsigns, rhythm names and will assume a strong theoretical knowledge.

Level 5/6
This level is recommended for those who have completed level 4 and have a strong understanding and working knowledge of pentatonic and diatonic music. This level will introduce triads, further work on pentatonic and diatonic music and altered pitches.

Level 7/8
This level is recommended for those who have a strong understanding of relative solfa and would like to move on further to more advanced reading and harmonic work.

Conducting

The Conducting module is available at two levels to suit different levels of experience:

Level 1/2 – Tutor: James Cuskelly
Ideal for those with no prior conducting experience and those looking to develop or consolidate basic conducting skills including beat patterns and simple cues.

Level 2/3 – Tutor: Árpád Tóth
Designed for those with a working knowledge of basic beat patterns and simple cues and looking to develop their conducting skills and technique to an advanced level.

Vocal Technique for Classroom Practitioners with Wilma MacDougal

• Compulsory for Early Childhood students
• Optional for Primary and Secondary students pursuing certification (to complete all three levels of pedagogy, Primary and Secondary students must complete two Conducting modules and one Vocal Technique module)

Wilma has had the privilege of teaching singers of all ages and abilities for over 30 years as well as working with educators to help them care for their own voice. She looks forward to sharing some of the best practically-adaptable, easily-accessible well-proven facts and technical exercises.

Vocal Technique for adults singers with Allan Wright

• Exploring vocal technique for adult singers

Allan specialises in phonetics and voice function and currently works as an international voice coach delivering practical, evidence-based training all over the world.

Choir

✔ Attendance at both choirs is required for BKA certification

Morning Choir
Led by Árpád Tóth

Evening Choir
Led by Allan Wright

Engage in a dynamic choral experience, exploring a range of styles under expert guidance.