I'm Almost There! Help Me Fund My Masters at RCM

Hello there

If you've landed on this page, then THANK YOU. You've clicked the link and that already means the world.

If you don't know me, I'm Joey, and I've got a place on the masters in Performance and Education at the Royal College of Music this September. I'm £5,000 short of making it happen, so here I am asking for help!

Why am I doing this masters?

Ultimately, it's about doing better by my students and my future students. Although I already have a strong background in music, this masters will allow me to take my practical musicianship and teaching knowledge to the highest level possible. In doing so, I hope to continue teaching students, widening access to music education via technology and maybe one day contributing to music education policy in the UK. I wholeheartedly believe that everyone should have access to learn/perform/play music if they want to, at any age. And that we should be shouting about the benefits of music, and the careers available in this industry, from the rooftops!

**If you're in a rush, I'd recommend skipping to the end so you can make sure to follow along on socials as I complete this journey, and follow my Substack for articles on all things music (practice tips, how to do well in exams, and general teaching observations).**

So… how did I get here?

Music has always been pretty central in my life. I started piano age 7, later the saxophone and then the clarinet. Aged 14 I joined the Junior Royal Northern College of Music where I performed with the Junior Hallé at Bridgewater hall, and in a sax quartet with Jess Gillam. Here I was lucky enough to receive training from some of the best saxophone and clarinet teachers in the world, including Rob Buckland and Heather Gordon-Redfern.

Following school, I secured a place to read music at the University of Cambridge and planned to follow that with a postgraduate course at a conservatoire. Sadly in my final year, my mum passed away. She was my biggest cheerleader when it came to music, and the one who drove me to every rehearsal, every gig and every Saturday trip up to Manchester. After she died, I found playing music very hard. I stopped playing for a while and instead took a job in another industry. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that job didn't last long.

Over time, I found my way back to music and teaching played a huge role in this. I'd taught on and off since age 18, but I turned to teaching full-time during covid when all my freelance work (at the BBC) disappeared overnight. Despite never really wanting to be a teacher (mostly due to the pesky saying: those that can do, those that can't teach), I quickly realised how much I enjoyed it. Very quickly I also realised how many students (and how many adult students) were struggling with theory.

This led me to begin building Your Music Theory Coach to help provide a more modern, affordable and fun way to prepare for Grade 5 Theory. Since then, the platform has helped over 200 students pass their exam and grown into a 30,000 strong global community. Not only this, but the site is now recommended by some of the top music teachers in the UK, and endorsed by a former international conductor.

Building this platform has led to opportunities with other music-tech companies including Tomplay, where I now manage a new digital education product launching soon (watch this space!).

What is the Masters?

Last year I auditioned for a new combined performance and education course at the Royal College of Music (MMusEd), and managed to secure a place. It's exactly the training I need at this moment to build on the skills I already have, reflect on my current approaches to teaching, and return to my initial plan of completing a masters post uni.

Areas I'm particularly interested to explore include:

Why I need your help

The full course costs are £30,000 (ouch!!). Despite applying to numerous grants and funds over the past 9 months, I've been unable to secure any funding. Instead, I'm in the process of saving up the first £10,000 (via extra work projects) to cover most of the first year. I'm now looking to raise the final £5,000 so I can start in September. Please don't think this is in lieu of me working, I'll very much still be working to cover transport and living expenses during the masters.

The mathematicians among you might wonder where the final £15k is coming from. Great question! I am already apply for grants for my second year, and I hope to have secured the final amount over the next 12 months.

Final note (and thank you!)

If you've read this far, thank you (..and don't you have anything better to do haha!). If you're also feeling generous and able to contribute, it would mean the world.

THANK YOU

Joey xx

Follow along for free content:

Instagram @musictheorycoach

Tiktok @musictheorycoach

Substack https://musictheorycoach.substack.com/

Website https://yourmusictheorycoach.com/

If you've noticed any spelling errors in this text, please take it as proof that I've not used AI!