Incorporated Society Of Musicians

The brains of professional beatboxers and guitarists respond to music differently when compared to each other and non-musicians, finds a new study by UCL.
The researchers found that the area of the brain that controls mouth movements was particularly active when beatboxers listened to a previously unheard beatboxing track, while the 'hand area' of the guitarists' brains showed heightened activity when they listened to guitar playing.
"Most research in this area has focused on... classically trained musicians, who have had extensive tuition from a very young age, but we found that professional beatboxers and guitarists also display neural patterns typical of these expert classical musicians," said the study's first author, Dr Saloni Krishnan, who completed the study at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.
Read more about this study: http://bit.ly/2Cwff04
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We are thrilled to hear the news that plans to cut East Sussex Music Service have now been abandoned. Thank you to the 12,000 people who signed the petition to save the music service from cuts.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sus sex-45433874

Join us on Thursday 4 October for an exciting day of discussion and discovery, with innovative musicians and leading music industry experts sharing their experiences, crucial insider knowledge and invaluable tips for success during four in-depth, interactive panel discussions.
As well as stimulating discussions, the day will include live music, networking opportunities a free lunch and post-event cocktails.
During the day you will:
... - learn the essentials of making it in music including contracts, copyright and royalties, publishing, marketing and promotion, PR and crucial legal know-how
- find out how to plan a project or commission from scratch and make it fly with advice from record label experts and composers working in TV, film, gaming and orchestral settings
- discover ways of managing the unique stresses of being a musician. We will cover mental and physical health, nutrition and performance anxiety
- consider future trends and opportunities for musicians in the digital arena and find out how you can map out your career with technological advances in mind
- participate in important discussions and speak to our experts.
The Empowered Musician will bring together hundreds of musicians and leading practitioners from across the industry. You will have the opportunity to network over refreshments, lunch and post-event cocktails, all of which are included in the ticket price.
This event is open to everyone. You don't have to be an ISM member to attend.
Tickets are £5 for students, £10 for ISM members and £20 for non-members.
Lunch, refreshments and cocktails are all included in the ticket price. Booking deadline: Monday 24 September.
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"We have to make sure our artists can freely travel and tour in the EU."
“One of the reasons the British music industry is so successful is that it absorbs cultural influences from around the world, and the last thing musicians want to do is cut themselves off from those influences, and audiences."
The BPI announces a record £400m UK music sales abroad but warns that these record revenues could be under threat following Brexit: http://bit.ly/2MSWGIb
... Musicians need freedom of movement post-Brexit support our Free Move Create campaign at freemovecreate.org
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Congratulations to all the winners at the Association of Independent Music awards last night including Tracey Thorn who won was presented with the outstanding contribution to music prize. http://bit.ly/2wKXc0M

"It’s really important that we stand up for the idea that arts and culture and the imagination and creative expression is at the very front of any relationship Britain has with anybody."
As a reaction to the UK's coming exit from the EU, the British DJ, sound researcher and producer Matthew Herbert set up the Brexit Big Band.
In its concerts, the troupe has been taking the stage at different locations in Europe to create pieces with local musicians which will be released in a...n album at the same moment that Britain leaves the EU in 2019.
http://bit.ly/2N9YUCu
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'For me, the most liberating thing about working as part of the EU has been the ease of collaborating on projects with people from many different countries – applying for international funding, working from one budget, moving freely from country to country, and choosing your collaborators from a wide international field. For instance, my next project is with a German orchestra, Italian soloists, and a French conductor. The EU has certainly enriched the international music community.'
ISM member Steve Goss tells us why traveling in Europe is a vital aspect of his career: http://bit.ly/2wxsHL3

'After the second world war, a young generation of composers – led by Stockhausen, Boulez and Nono – tried to write in a way that had no link to the Nazi regime, and turned to atonal music. Knowing that makes it all the more problematic to use this music to exclude people from public life.
...The S-Bahn’s manager, Friedemann Kessler, turned up. He listened, and at the end said he hadn’t known what atonal music was and that he had learned something. He decided to drop his plan...s, so the protest was a success.'
A plan to use ‘hostile’ music to clear the homeless from the city’s S-Bahn trains has been forced off the rails by concerned musicians.
http://bit.ly/2PRjPsx
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'For me, the empowerment comes with raising awareness of mental health in the music industry. By making mental health an everyday discussion, it removes some of the stigma surrounding depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction, and many other issues, and allows people to feel they can be accepted and find the help they need.'
Rachel Jepson, Founder of Counselling for Musicians will be speaking on the Looking after yourself panel at The Empowered Musician on Thursday 4 October. Find out more about her in our latest blog: http://bit.ly/2N0Fgsp

Get to know the ins and outs of music exams and make the best decision for your students. This September, the ISM Trust presents a series of free webinars to help music teachers understand music exam boards and how their exams work. London College of Music, Trinity College London, ABRSM and Rock School will tell you about how their qualifications help pupils progress and provide the latest information on their syllabi.
This webinar will be lead by Francesca Christmas, Head of Academic Governance for Music and Peter Wild, Senior Examiner at TCL . There will be an opportunity to ask them questions in this interactive webinar.

Get to know the ins and outs of music exams and make the best decision for your students. This September, the ISM Trust presents a series of free webinars to help music teachers understand music exam boards and how their exams work. London College of Music, Trinity College London, ABRSM and Rock School will tell you about how their qualifications help pupils progress and provide the latest information on their syllabi.
This webinar will be lead by Philip Aldred, Chief Examiner for music at LCM . There will be an opportunity to ask Philip questions in this interactive webinar.

Get to know the ins and outs of music exams and make the best decision for your students. This September, the ISM Trust presents a series of free webinars to help music teachers understand music exam boards and how their exams work. London College of Music, Trinity College London, ABRSM and Rock School will tell you about how their qualifications help pupils progress and provide the latest information on their syllabi.
This will be lead by Daniel Francis, Education Strategy manager at RSL. There will be an opportunity to ask Daniel questions in this interactive webinar.

Get to know the ins and outs of music exams and make the best decision for your students. This September, the ISM Trust presents a series of free webinars to help music teachers understand music exam boards and how their exams work. London College of Music, Trinity College London, ABRSM and Rock School will tell you about how their qualifications help pupils progress and provide the latest information on their syllabi.
Lead by John Holmes, ABRSM chief examiner. There will be an opportunity to ask John questions in this interactive webinar.

James Williams, managing director at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), said that computer games are an important “access point” for youngsters to experience classical music for the first time.
“I think exposure to orchestral music in all its forms is a fantastic thing,” he said. “It is encouraging to hear that there are platforms and opportunities for young people to engage with orchestral music, albeit in different mediums. It is about sparking their interest."
He ex...plained how orchestras are “adjusting” their live concert programmes to reflect the “changing tastes” of the younger generation.
Earlier this year, the RPO worked with Play Station to create a concert programme dedicated to popular computer game music.
http://bit.ly/2MXEHjb
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Don’t miss the ISM Trust event of the year! Book your place for The Empowered Musician and get the latest advice and insights from our experts. The day will also include live music, networking, lunch and cocktails.
Tickets are £20 or £10 for ISM members.
Find out more at https://www.ism.org/empowered #EmpoweredMusician

Help us take charge of government policy on music education! Please take the time to fill out the following music education surveys:
If you work in primary music education, please fill out this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/primarym usic
If you work in secondary music education, please fill out this survey: https://sussex.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/music2 018
... If you are a musician, teacher or otherwise, working across the UK please fill out this survey to help us formulate the National Plan for Music Education in England: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/musicedu cation2020
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Music festivals are increasingly becoming a venue for science as well as bands. Are music and science a good mix?
Bluedot Festival, Green Man Festival, Chagstock Festival and Glastonbury Festival (official) are among the growing number of festivals who have brought music and science together.
https://bbc.in/2PAPuy5

Over 85 leading figures from the music sector including Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle, Tasmin Little, Julian Lloyd Webber, Nicola Benedetti, Alison Balsom OBE, Nitin Sawhney and Myleene Klass have written to The Times to express concern over the continuing decline in uptake of music at GCSE.
Published in today’s (24 August) The Times and The Sunday Times, 90 signatories from across the music sector stated that music is ‘fast becoming the birthright of the elite.’
See the full letter and signatures here: http://bit.ly/2o8K6WC

The ISM provide excellent services to their members. I'm also very appreciative of the knock down price for graduates on their first year of subscription!

I've been a member of the ISM throughout my whole career as a professional musician and teacher, since undergraduate student days. That says it all!