Huntingdonshire Music School Association - Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire Regional College - Home of the Music School

The Music School is based within the Huntingdonshire Regional College. Whilst the picture might have been taken in the bleakest part of winter we can assure you that the welcome will be warm!

Physically - How to Find Us

The Huntingdonshire Music School meets within the Huntingdon Regional College, the address of which is:-

California Road,
Huntingdon,Cambs.
PE29 1BL

Phone: 01480 379220
Fax: 01480 379127

Music office opening hours: Tuesdays - Fridays 10:30 - 16:00

The music school can be reached via

Click on this link to display a map showing where the Regional College is located..

Transport - Rail

Huntingdon is on the main line east coast rail link between London King’s Cross to Edinburgh. Trains are operated by West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) and a live arrival/deparature board is online.

Transport - Bus

Stagecoach in Huntingdonshire operate along 2 routes, numbers 55 or 65/66 which stop close to Huntingdonshire Regional College or route 30 which stops around the corner in Ambury Road - see the Stagecoach stops in Huntingdon

Keep in Touch with Us

If you’d like to be kept in touch with events, the odd bit of news (very odd!) and opportunities to come and see performances, please use the form below. We’ll add you to our e-mail list. We don’t share e-mail addresses or any of the other information submitted with any other organisation - they are purely to allow us to let you know about what we’re doing and to help us identify your potential interests.

Remember, we also use electrickery to provide other ways of tracking some of what we do such as:-

• news snippets using RSS .Further details ....
• downloadable occasional audio, for the computer, MP3 player/iPod, via our own ‘HUMS Aloud Podcast’. Further details….
• online photo galleries at Flickr

Saturday Mornings

Here we try to illustrate what goes on on a typical Saturday morning at the Huntingdonshire Music School.

The activities are split into the following categories:-

• lessons. These happen throughout the morning with pupils dipping into and out of theory and/or group playing to take their lesson. Not everyone takes lessons.
• theory tuition. Where you learn the theory (that makes sense of the black sqiggles on the page) and, if appropriate, prepare for exams. Not everyone takes exams.
• group playing. Getting together in groups to practice, usually for a concert at the school or externally. Sometimes we do daft things, like turning the music upside down and seeing what it sounds like ...
• socialising / eating / drinking. Catching up with the gossip, in the cafe when we have quieter moments. Some even practice their pieces for the benefit ( ) of everyone else.

Theory Tuition

Theory is important when learning an instrument. It is so much easier to read and understand music if you understand the basic building blocks.

Theory classes are organised by Grade. This aligns with the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music (ABRSM) examination grades. In terms of difficulty we start at Grade 1 and finish at Grade 8 (the hardest). You do not have to take exams and anyone can take theory lessons.

There are two types of theory tuition:-

• written. This is covered by a range of set books, by teacher-derived quizzes, tests, games and learning aids. Often a piano or other instrument may be used to help illustrate theory principles, or practice such as key signatures, scales, chords or timing. Practice theory exam papers are available for those taking theory and practical exams or those who want to see how far they’ve reached.
• aural. This aims to make the student better at listening to and analysing music. Since music exams include aural tests, as well as playing, students taking exams are encouraged to also take aural lessons where they get practice at the different types of listening skills looked for in an exam. For early grades these are covered in the last 15 minutes of a theory lesson. For Grades 4 and beyond these can take anything up to an hour (on top of the normal written theory lesson).

Group Playing (Bands, Ensembles & Orchestras)

One of the strengths of the Huntingdonshire Music school is the number and variety of groups provided for folks to play in. You don’t have to learn an instrument to play. You might take lessons privately elsewhere and want to learn the skills of playing as a member of a larger team (albeit in loose formation at times!). This sort of experience is very hard to get and almost impossible to get as an adult (most things are geared up towards the little dots, youngsters and teenagers (a decidely different species ). Not only that, but it’s convenient, sociable and you can join as many as you want.

We are also looking at forming new ensembles, particularly choral/singing and perhaps blending music technology with classical instruments.

A typical Saturday morning timetable for the various ensembles, bands and orchestras is shown in the following diagram. It is hectic!