Following on from us looking at our Small Groups in depth, our PTM (Project Teach Music) Co-ordinator Ben Frondigoun tells us everything we need to know about the PTM side of ULMS!
“Teaching with Project Teach Music (PTM) was an amazing and defining part of my music experience within ULMS in my first year at university, and so I would love to explain the programme to you and hopefully convince you to give it a try as you arrive in October.
PTM is a student-run music teaching programme organised by ULMS, wherein a student can learn any of the variety of instruments we have on offer under the guidance of a fellow student. All of our teachers are highly qualified in the instruments they teach, generally playing at Grade 8 (the highest grade available in the UK) standard or above. This ensures that you are only being taught by the best musicians we have at the university, all of whom have a great passion for teaching and passing on their expertise. Students in the programme vary from complete beginners, to people who played as a child but haven’t touched an instrument in years, to experienced musicians who simply want to start learning a new instrument for an ensemble or simply personal experience.
If you are someone with a lot of musical experience and know-how under your belt coming to university, you may be more interested in the teaching side of PTM. This is the camp I found myself in: I’d been playing music for over a decade and wanted a fresh challenge, so when I heard about PTM at the freshers fair, I immediately put my name down as somebody interested in teaching. It was only about 30 minutes later when I realised I had zero experience teaching and no clue how to go about running a lesson, but that’s ok! I and all the teachers I know took to the role incredibly quickly, and personally it really reinvigorated my passion for music as I discovered just how much there still was to learn. I would never have considered myself someone suitable to be a teacher, but I quickly found that my communication and organisational skills grew rapidly in the programme, and now I look forward to my lessons every week just as much as I did 12 years ago going for my first lessons in primary school.
PTM is a programme tailored to all levels of musician with avenues available to learn a whole host of skills, from specific musical instruments to the more general skills acquired through teaching. I believe it is an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding scheme for both student and teacher, and I hope to see many of you joining us in this new year!
For more information, please see the PTM Facebook page or our page on the ULMS website, or alternatively get in touch with me directly through the Facebook page or at ptm@ulms.org.uk”
We’re looking forward to welcoming both new students and teachers to PTM this year, so be sure to come find us at Fresher’s fair if you’re interested in either side of PTM!