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Harmonica Lesson Outtakes
Today in class we were working on Tingalayo, an infectious calypso song from Trinidad. You can check out our First Steps in Calypso page here.  Anyone who knows the song Under The Sea from Disney’s Little Mermaid animation, will know how much fun a calypso can be. ‘So what do we call this kind of music form the Caribbean?’ asked the teacher. No reply. ‘We learnt the name last week, it starts with C and ends with O and it’s sunshine music‘ the teacher prompted. ‘I know, I know‘, said Chester, ‘it’s a Calippo‘.

Harmonica Lesson Outtakes
We were learning our first study piece with a new group at school today. Hugh asked if he could play it through by himself. Our teacher asked him to stand in front of the group and show everyone what he’d been practising. Hugh not only played the piece faultlessly, but he even ended with a flourish of ascending blow notes. The teacher asked what we call a flourish like this. The question was met by blank faces. ‘OK’, said the teacher, ‘I’ll give you a clue. It begins with G.’ More blank faces. ‘Gliss..?’ he prompted. Still blank faces. ‘Glissand..?’ he prompted again. ‘Ooh I know’, said Theo, ‘Glissandals’. Trust Theo to put his foot in it. ‘That’s very close Theo, but there’s no holiday footwear involved here. It’s called Glissando!’

You can find out more about playing glissandos here. If you don’t have our subscriber log in, check inside the front cover of your Music Diary, or your Music Pack, or email us a request with your harmonaut’s name.

Harp Academy Teaching Dates
Our teaching schedule is advertised in the My School menu above. It’s a good idea to check this regularly and keep a note, particularly as each term starts and ends. Parents should be aware that we run 10 termly sessions each; which means our harmonica programme often finishes ahead of your school’s term. This is standard for music services. It means we’re out of the way during the busiest times at School. If you appear to be missing our regular bulletins and reminders regarding dates and subscription renewals, please check that our information is reaching your in-tray and not languishing silently in a spam folder!

Home learning with Harp Academy
Much of what we teach at School is supported by fun learning pages here on our website. They’re ideal for practising between lessons and include wider topics to build musical knowledge. You’ll need our ‘backstage’ password to view these particular items; it’s inside your Music Diary. But here’s a little taster from our Folk selection for the Autumn Term. Enjoy!

Galway Girl
Galway Girl was written by American Steve Earle. He recorded it in 2000 with Irish musician Sharon Shannon. It was an instant hit and became one of the highest selling songs in Irish chart history. It also featured in the hit movie P.S. I Love You.

Galway lies on Ireland’s West Coast. The picturesque Bay of Galway and the City itself feature in many traditional Irish songs. Their names are synonymous with a romantic vision of all things that are special about Ireland.

To learn the melody on the harmonica, we will need to get a feel for the joy of Celtic Folk music, it’s particular phrasing and also it’s timing. This means lots of practise before everything sticks, but once you have it memorised, you’ll have endless fun with it. (more…)

Harmonica Lesson Outtakes
We were looking at Arrow Tab with some KS1 children today. The teacher asked what a white, down-arrow meant. Ryan answered, ‘it means it’s a draw note, so you have to breathe in.’ Right answer! The teacher then asked what a black up-arrow meant. ‘I know’, answered Jessica, ‘it means you blow up the harmonica.’

You can find out more about breathing for the harmonica here. If you don’t have our subscriber log in, check inside the front cover of your Music Diary, or your Music Pack, or email us a request with your name.