The following is a guest post from Laura Johnson, Leeds Conservatoire:
I was recently fortunate enough to attend the latest one-day ‘Music for the Terrified’ course, which took place at Leeds Conservatoire Library. The course was organised by the IAML (UK & Irl) Events & Training Committee and delivered by Meg Fisher (Music Cataloguer, British Library) and Jane Henshaw (Library Manager, Leeds Conservatoire), and was attended by ten people from a number of different libraries.
Music for the Terrified has been on my radar for a while now, as I started working in a music library three and a half years ago. I had transitioned from a relatively brief role in a public library and my musical knowledge was formed of a decade-old Grade 4 piano certification and a very rusty GCSE in Music, and so MftT was signposted to me from the get-go. As they so often do, however, things kept getting in the way! As luck would have it, this particular MftT would have been very difficult not to attend, as it took place in ‘my’ library.
The day began with a brief welcome and an opportunity for everyone to chat with each other about their libraries and collections. It was really lovely to meet people from such a wide variety of institutions (public, academic, North, slightly less North, etc.).
We kicked off the course by discussing some of the more ‘difficult’ music enquiries we had encountered in the workplace. Since we had filled in a pre-course survey that asked this question, the trainers were able to tailor the course to our specific needs as a group. I found this section of the day immensely helpful, as it made me realise that no enquiry is ever as simple as it may seem. Conversely, if you’re willing to do a bit of detective work and ask a few clarifying questions, the most confounding enquiry can be narrowed down to something easily solvable!
After a tea and coffee break, we went on to learn about: tips and tricks for navigating music in library catalogues; why there are so many different editions out there, and what the differences are; physical and digital resources that can help (e.g. Daniels’ Orchestral Music, Naxos, Oxford Music Online, etc.); and the slightly terrifying subject of copyright.
One of the most useful parts of the day was the practical session, in which we all paired up and looked at some of Leeds Conservatoire Library’s physical holdings. We were given a variety of editions and arrangements and got to spend a while rifling through them – learning always feels more applicable to real life when you get to put it into practice straight away. Looking at Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in the form of an orchestral set, an Urtext edition with piano reduction, and a miniature score, we considered the questions: who would want this? How would they be using it? How would I find this in a library catalogue? We had lots of time to really get to grips with the information we had just learned, and Meg and Jane were both on hand to answer any questions we had during the process.
It was never going to be possible to gain a complete understanding of music theory in one day, but a valiant effort was made, and I came away feeling much more confident in my abilities. I went into the day not even remembering what a crotchet was, but throughout the day, I felt slivers of knowledge coming back to me, and by the time I left, I actually understood how time signatures worked! We were also provided with a plethora of useful handouts (e.g. key signatures, abbreviations, important bits of terminology, etc.) that I’m looking forward to keeping at my desk and referring back to whenever necessary.
The course has been designed to appeal to pretty much anyone: those with a background in music who are new to libraries; those working in libraries who are new to music; those who fall somewhere in-between; and those who are new to everything! The subject material was clear and concise and no question was too silly, but the knowledge and experience of the two trainers really shone through in their embellishments and additions. The course did an amazing job of reassuring me that the things I had learned on the job were in fact correct, and at the same time filled in a few of the inevitable gaps that form when you’ve learned in such a way!
Perhaps one of the most special moments, for me personally at least, was this: while we were learning about the different periods of music history, from Early to Baroque to Classical to Romantic, Meg would play a snippet from a piece of music that represented each era. As we all sat in silence and listened pensively to the sweeping drama of Tchaikovsky and the hypnotic sounds of Steve Reich, I felt a real sense of not only passion for the subject we were studying, but also a feeling of camaraderie with my fellow students. Whatever our level of musical knowledge or expertise, in that moment, we were all listening together. This was, to put it simply, really nice, and not something you experience all that often on a training course!
The next Music for the Terrified course is on 29 September at Kent History and Library Centre. Book your place here.