As music teachers, we place enormous emphasis on students’ developing their notation reading skills. Our traditional ensembles, concert bands, orchestras, stage bands, string ensembles and the rest, demand it. Becoming an excellent musician demands that enormous energy is spent developing music literacy.

Sometimes, the acquisition of excellent music reading skills comes at the expense of aural skills. Playing from memory, learning a tune on your instrument by ear, transposing, using scale degrees to dismantle a melody, really understanding the harmony and rhythm that under pins a song; these are skills that jazz, folk and rock music are built on. 

Getting away from the dots on the page, incorporating improvisation strategies into instrumental lessons and ensembles improves all musicians.  “Say NO to Dots” Improvising Day was a response to this.

Matt Poynter was our guest clinician this year. Matt is an inspiring and passionate music teacher with many years’ experience working in Melbourne schools. He is currently teaching woodwind instruments and directs ensembles at Glen Waverley Secondary College. Matt is a busy freelance musician who has toured Australia and overseas, and has recorded on television and radio. He regularly plays and records in a diverse range of styles from classical concertos to jazz combos, rock groups to German bands! Matt has had the privilege to work with many great Australian musicians.  

Eric Bud, Director of Music at McClelland College, was our second guest clinician.  Eric is a multi-instrumental musician who plays and teaches all  brass and woodwind instruments. He holds a Bachelor of Music Performance and Post Graduate Diploma of Music Performance from the Victorian College of the Arts, as well as a Post Graduate Diploma of Education from Monash University. Outside teaching, Eric is an active musician in the Melbourne jazz and commercial music scene. He has performed as part of several Television programs including The Singing Bee, Australia’s Got Talent and the X Factor house bands. 

More than 50 students and teachers came together for “Say NO to Dots Day” at McClelland College. The day was divided into three sessions focusing on different aspects of improvising. The students and teachers played their instruments all day. Matt and Eric took everyone through some useful scales before ripping up a few choruses of “All Blues”. Harmony and chords, rhythms, feels, tempos and scales, structure and style, the things that underpin all music were casually dropped into the discussion throughout the day. The kids broke into different sections with their teachers to work on “Brooklyn”, a fantastic tune by Young Blood Brass Band. Performing for each other, the students and teachers took musical risks and played without a safety net all day long. Matt and Eric quickly developed a secure and supportive environment for all to explore music without any notation.  It was an amazing and inspiring day.

Thanks to Matt Poynter for his time, expertise, energy and passion driving “Say NO to Dots Day” this year. He is fantastic! Thanks also to the amazing Eric Bud and the wonderful team at McClelland College for hosting the event. Dan Gordon and Gideon Markus worked with students all day, supporting and encouraging their performance. Thanks to them both for sharing their craft. Thanks also to the 40+ students and 11 teachers from McClelland College, Bentleigh Secondary College and Frankston High School for making the day such a success.