ESTA MA Music – Percussion
About the course
The ESTA Education MA in Practical Teaching (Level 7) is a postgraduate degree for instrumental and vocal teachers who wish to take their professional practice to the highest level. Validated by the University of Chichester, the MA builds on the ESTA PG Cert and provides a pathway for advanced reflective and research-based development.
This flexible master’s degree enables teachers to explore the deeper principles of pedagogy, curriculum design, and musicianship in a supportive online environment with one-to-one mentoring, webinars, and collaborative discussions. A short, intensive residential study week allows students to engage directly with peers, mentors, and faculty in a practical and inspiring setting.
Why choose this course?
This programme is designed for teachers seeking to:
- Gain a master’s-level qualification that formally recognises their expertise.
- Deepen their understanding of how musicians learn and perform.
- Enhance their ability to plan, evaluate, and research teaching practice.
- Join a thriving community of professional teachers and mentors across the ESTA network.
- Create a tangible link between personal musicianship, scholarship, and teaching practice.
The MA provides an ideal next step for graduates of the ESTA PG Cert, or for any experienced teacher seeking structured, academic professional development within a flexible, supportive framework.
Who teaches the course
Head of Department – Percussion
Andy Gleadhill
A Musician, Educator, Author, Composer, Ethnomusicologist and Teacher Trainer. He has over thirty-five years’ experience as a professional Musician and Educationalist.
As a Drummer and Percussionist Andy has played with some of the leading Recording Artists and Orchestras in the world for Film, Television, and Recording Sessions as well as many West End Shows. As an Ethnomusicologist, Andy has travelled widely around the world especially in Africa, South America, South East Asia and India playing and learning about music of other cultures and regularly lectures on the Music of Diverse Cultures.
Andy Gleadhill is internationally acknowledged as a leading authority on teaching World Music. Andy has had many papers and articles published on World Music and Music Education topics and his books have been published on African Drumming, African Drumming Book Two, Indonesian Gamelan, Brazilian Samba, the Music of India, Caribbean Steel Pans, Composing with World Music, Classroom Percussion and Percussion Buddies. He wrote the chapter on Music for the recently published academic book “Popular Culture, Pedagogy and Teacher Education in Education” (Routledge 2014). Andy has worked at every level of music education from Early Years settings to Post Graduate teaching at Conservatoires and Universities around the world. For over ten years he has been, and remains, a visiting lecturer in Ethnomusicology at Bath Spa University where he teaches on the specialist secondary music PGCE course.
Andy was for many years the head of Bristol Arts and Music Service and the director of the Bristol Centre for Music and the Arts which he built into a leading music support service and where he pioneered the introduction of world music styles for class instrumental teaching, setting new standards in accessibility and inclusiveness. He went on to establish and become the first head of the Music Education Hub “Bristol Plays Music”. Andy has also served on the Music Hub Advisory Group for Arts Council England. He is a member of the Royal Society of Musicians and serves on the Executive Committee of the British Musicians’ Union. Andy has recently delivered workshops and lectures to the annual conferences of the Music Masters and Mistresses Association, the National Association of Music Educators, the Federation of Music Services, Music Mark, Music Learning Live, the Schools Music Association (ISM), the International conference on Innovation and Creativity in the Hands of the Young (Iceland), the International Conference on Arts and Humanities (Hawaii, USA), the Second International Conference on Popular Culture in Education (Hong Kong), the Schools Music Association (Incorporated Society of Musicians, U.K.), the Scottish Association of Music Educators (SAME) and Music Learning Live Asia (Singapore). Andy also works as a consultant to the Ministry of Education in Singapore, the Government of Malaysia and the Ministry of Defence Service Children’s Education (UK). He is active as a composer having had his music recorded and published as well as broadcast by the BBC. Andy has also worked as an examiner for the Guildhall school of Music and Drama and Trinity College London, has co-authored the Trinity/Guildhall Drum Kit examination syllabus and has been retained as a consultant to the ABRSM. He is currently a consultant to RSL Awards (Rockschool).
Andy now balances his work as a professional musician and Education consultant with delivering World Music Workshops, Training and Professional Development to Schools, Colleges, Universities and both music and generalist teachers around the world through his unique intensive training and bespoke mentoring schemes.
Course structure
The MA comprises 180 credits at Level 7, typically completed over two academic years part‑time. The programme combines individual research with reflective professional practice, drawing on your current teaching experience.
Each module is supported by online tutorials, webinars, mentor guidance, and peer discussion. The residential week provides a focus for collaborative learning, practical workshops, and musicianship.
Course content by unit
| PG Cert |
ESTAPG01: 15 Credits |
ESTAPG02:
15 Credits |
ESTAPG03:
15 Credits |
ESTAPG04:
15 Credits |
| Teaching strategies | Learning to play | Developing effective curricula | Teaching effective technique | |
| PG DIP | ESTAPG05: 30 Credits | ESTAPG06: 30 Credits | ||
| Teaching Individuals | Creative Repertoire | |||
| MA | ESTAPG07 DISSERTATION: 60 Credits | |||
| Teacher and Student Learning Process | ||||
Unit 1:
Teaching percussion instrument technique to children and young people learning percussion instruments
- Posture/Playing positions
- Grip
- Independence
- Balance between hands
- Encouraging the tone from percussion instruments
- Mallet technique
- Rudiments
- Warm up exercises
- Orchestral Percussion
- Tuned Percussion
- Timpani
- Drum Kit
- World Percussion
- Studio technique
- Working as a section member/Playing as part of an ensemble
- Care and maintenance of instruments
Unit 2:
How children and young people learn to play percussion instruments
- How learners learn
- Simultaneous Learning
- Learning spiral
- My learners now
- Understanding, assimilating and consolidating.
- Skills, knowledge and understanding
- Learning music musically
- Developing aural awareness/perception and acuity
- Pupil/teacher relationships
- Learning scales and studies
- Starting a lesson
Unit 3: Teaching strategies for percussion teachers working with children and young people
- Understanding my teaching now
- Preparation for teaching
- Expectation of teaching outcomes
- Diagnosis of learners’ needs
- Audio-Visual-Kinaesthetic learning
- Aptitude for learning
- Motivation for learning
- Simultaneous learning
- Assessment
- Exams/Festivals/Competitions
- Tutors/methods
- Teaching whole classes/small groups/individuals
- Proactive and reactive teaching
Unit 4: Developing a percussion teaching curriculum for children and young people
- Understanding what is meant by a curriculum and a syllabus
- Preparing and implementing schemes of work
- Short/medium and long term planning
- Personalising learning
- Becoming a reflective practitioner
- Communicating as a musician
- Playing and performing
- Chamber music
- Special Needs
- Schools of Brass playing
Unit 5: Teaching Individuals
This module covers a solid base of teaching and learning theory and introduces students to core concepts in psychology having to do with learners as individuals, self-belief, motivation, and thinking processes. The structure of a private music lesson and methods for engaging learners as creative individuals are presented. Students explore various traditional and innovative music teaching methods and consider how these can be adapted for a range of learners.
This module challenges students to focus on the differences present in individual pupils. Students consider their choice of repertoire and how that relates to their critical approach to teaching each individual student. Topics to be covered include:
- Skills in written communication when articulating and planning teaching content
- Collecting and organising musical materials to support targeted strategies for teaching different learners
- Comparative analysis of learners’ progress over time
- Scholarly presentation and referencing
- Experience with private teaching in a variety of settings
Key Skills
- Autonomous learning required for managing complex tasks
- Psychological, imaginative, and intuitive understanding
- Development and sustaining arguments to solve problems
- Use research and extend current teaching methods to broaden understanding
Unit 6: Creative Repertoire
Throughout the semester, students explore various core pieces of technical and performance repertoire for their instrument. The focus is on the learning concepts in these pieces and how to address these concepts by engaging students and incorporating elements of creativity and fun.
Students are assigned pieces of music to examine and identify other pieces as models from within their traditional teaching and performance repertoire. They then create new purpose-designed repertoire for teaching using various structures and styles.
This newly created material can include adapted versions of existing material, use theme and variations, include duet or multi-player parts and /or be interactive repertoire. Students will explore creating repertoire in diverse styles (other than the original) such as using pop, jazz, blues, and classical models.
Key Skills
- Autonomous learning required for managing complex tasks
- Creative problem solving
- Use of research tools in extending knowledge and understanding
- Skills in music arrangement / composition to address musical and technical learning
- Awareness of the needs of individual learners (their pupils)
- Strategies for teaching technical / musical content
Unit 7: Dissertation – Teacher and Student learning process (double module)
This module focuses on a holistic understanding of the learning experience, from both the teacher and the student point of view. The student view is authentic as learners on the MA become first-hand students as they undertake new learning experiences. The fresh look at learning and teaching prepares students to write a considered dissertation that reflects a current knowledge and understanding of aspects of practical teaching in the field.
Semester 1 focuses on the student perspective/experience with the students each receiving weekly lessons (as if they were a beginner/student. These will be recorded.
Semester 2 delves into planning, reacting to, and working with different students. In this semester students will observe the recorded lessons. These will include observing each other being taught as well as lessons with different students (children and adults). The focus is shifted from the student experience to shadowing course mentors/staff in order to observe their teaching methods.
The first semester allows the students to get used to the teacher and make progress on particular repertoire and techniques. This also gives the student time to reflect on their learning processes, before turning to focus from the teacher’s perspective on planning and methods.
It is understood that when joining the course, students agree to be observed by their peers. Written consent is obtained for videos to become part of future course materials.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the MA you will be able to:
- Integrate advanced theoretical, practical, and research knowledge in instrumental/vocal teaching.
- Critically evaluate and innovate within your own teaching practice.
- Conduct independent, ethically informed research in music education.
- Lead and influence professional practice within your teaching community.
- Communicate ideas clearly and persuasively to specialist and non‑specialist audiences.
Teaching and assessment
Learning takes place through a mixture of online study, mentor guidance, and independent research.
You will participate in live seminars, reflective discussions, and applied projects designed around your professional teaching context.
Assessment is entirely coursework‑based and may include written reflections, presentations, practical demonstrations, research proposals, and a final dissertation or major project. There are no written exams.
Progression and careers
The ESTA MA in Practical Teaching opens doors to leadership and advanced teaching opportunities within schools, conservatoires, universities, and the wider music education sector.
Graduates often progress to roles such as senior tutors, heads of department, course leaders, or educational consultants. The degree also provides a strong foundation for doctoral study or further research in music education.
Entry requirements
Applicants should normally hold an undergraduate degree in music or a related field or have professional experience as a teacher or performer.
Completion of the ESTA PG Cert in Practical Teaching (or equivalent) is required for entry to Part 2 of the programme.
Applicants must be actively teaching and able to reflect on their practice within their studies. You will need reliable internet access and equipment for online learning activities.
Course fees
- £10,250.00 UK Residents
- £13,250.00 Overseas Resident
Students who already hold an ESTA PG Cert and are joining the 2nd year of the MA pay the difference between their course original PG Cert fee and the current MA fee
*Fees include full board and accommodation at the ESTA Summer School.
** Travel costs from the student’s location to Chichester are not included in the course fee.
*** The summer school is a mandatory element of the course.
Applications are open for the August 2026 intake. To apply, please complete the online application form.
Applicants will be invited to an informal online interview.