At Musical Bumps we take professional development very seriously! Our October weekend was no exception – we sang together, planned together and learnt together. It was hard work of course, but huge fun and a great opportunity for our Musical Bumps ‘family’ to get together!
Our training weekends are always planned to provide a balance of musical learning and business advice and support. This time we started our weekend with a voice care and singing workshop for our teachers led by Rebecca Lodge, a member of the Royal Opera House Chorus and former BBC singer. The average Musical Bumps teacher must sing hundreds of songs on a weekly basis, so maintaining and protecting our ‘singing voices’ is extremely important. Everyone found Rebecca’s advice really useful and we’ve all put her advice into practice.
Our weekend also covered advice for keeping our resources and kit in tip top condition. Our teachers always ensure that their puppets and resources are washed, cleaned and inspected regularly to ensure they are safe to use in class. We also discussed event and party themed classes, song analysis, business planning and marketing ideas including lively discussion and advice on our social media profiles.
One of the most popular sessions at training this time was a workshop about maintaining a work/life balance. Whilst running a Musical Bumps business can be very flexible and can be worked around family and/or other commitments, we are all passionate about the work we do. Maintaining a healthy work/life balance is not to be forgotten! The workshop gave our teachers some strategies on how to prioritise their personal and business tasks and how to keep all those balls in the air.
Feedback from our teachers who attended training was excellent. Most of all, our teachers love getting together to discuss ideas and share the highs and lows of running a Musical Bumps business (mostly the highs we are pleased to say!). Saturday evening was spent at a local restaurant and our teachers even entertained other diners with their beautiful singing!
Click here to hear what our Croydon teacher, Maree, said after the weekend.