Cambridge University Graduate teaches GCSE and A Level music as well as Music theory online to postgraduate standard

Find out more about Archie

• 1) When did you first develop a passion for music and your favourite instrument?

  I’ve been hooked on music from a very young age (~6), I began with the
  piano, followed by the flute, bass guitar, electric guitar, and finally voice at
  age 16. As with any broad practice such as music, my focuses have
  shifted greatly over my life. At one point I was convinced that I was going
  to be a heavy metal guitarist! I get the most musical pleasure out of
  singing in consort environments; I think it is the ultimate test of skill as a
  musician and a challenge I continually relish.

• 2) Is there a particular type of music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  Early renaissance music - I find the combination of mathematical
  procedures and incredibly idiomatic vocal writing to be endlessly
  fascinating.

• 3) Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.

  Either:
  a) The late 15th and 16th centuries - the geography, style and
  transmission of sacred and secular vocal polyphony.
  b) Modernist Music Aesthetics from Plato to Adorno.

• 4) What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  The voice. I think the dedication required to improve to a significant level
  is greater than any other instrument. There are also aspects of the voice
  that are unchangeable - you get what you’re given. The skills of a high
  level singer are being able to mask your flaws and show your strengths in
  every performance.

• 5) What are your keys to success?

  Consistent hard work
  Obsession with craft
  Willingness to fail often

• 6) Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  John Taverner - active at one of the strangest periods of English Music
  history (1500-1520)
  Giacches de Wert - unbelievably skilled yet consistently wrote in a much
  older style than his contemporaries.
  Alban Berg - Unsurpassable in immediacy and emotional vitality in his
  atonal work.

• 7) Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.

  My first concert as a ‘professional’ singer was with an early music group who perform
  exclusively from historical manuscript (i.e not modern score) - this was a real ‘deep end’
  moment, and still the most terrifying experience of my performing life - it was also one of the
  most fun. The director didn’t tell me about the whole manuscript thing until five minutes
  before we started - we’d been rehearsing from score the week previously so I knew the
  music relatively well. Going onto stage and seeing only my partbook, and having no idea
  what note to start on was absolutely knee-shakingly scary. The fun thing about partbooks is
  of course that once ‘you’re in’ it’s hard to go wrong. Since then I’ve performed mainly with
  the group, singing music not sung since it’s 16th century birth, and from original sources -
  something no other ensemble does.

• 8) What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  My tutoring style is very similar to Oxbridge supervisions - one to one
  contact which prioritises learning enrichment often through intellectually
  challenging tasks.