Harp Academy

Harmonica tuition in schools in the South East of England

Harp Academy

Announcements 

Spring Term 2025 – Time to Sign Up!

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Spring 2025
We launch our Spring harmonica learning and club activities from Thursday 9th January 2025. Details of our teaching plan and theme are below, along with instructions on how to sign up for music sessions.

First timer?
Welcome! For our standard programme (30 minute sessions) we offer newcomers a free Taster Session, which includes a free 4 hole starter harmonica to keep. Simply click the Gold Harmonica on our homepage, complete your details, and we will email further information. Our email and this website will explain what to do after your taster session, but we’re always here to help you too. Parents of Westdene Primary please note that a 10 hole harmonica is included in our Daybreak programme and sessions are 40 minutes each (rather than 30 minutes), so a free taster session is not included in Daybreak subscription prices.

Back for more?
Termly subscriptions are £75.00 (10 sessions) or £82.50 (11 sessions) payable in advance. You can also pay in two half termly instalments of £40.00 (5 sessions) or £48.00 (6 sessions), payable ahead of your first and sixth sessions respectively. The timetable for your school is published in our My School menu. All sessions are 30 minutes and provision of a ten hole harmonica for KS2 children is extra.

Parents of Westdene Primary please note that our Daybreak programme differs from the standard rates above. Daybreak sessions are longer (40 minutes) and a 10 hole harmonica is included. Termly subscriptions are £90.00 (9 sessions) or £99.99 (10 sessions) payable in advance. You can also pay in two half termly instalments of £55.00 (5 sessions).

Payments
Payment can be made by bank transfer, or through our Store using a credit/debit card (no need to log in). We regret that we are unable to accept childcare vouchers. Further information, including our account details, is available on our How To Pay page.

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Announcements 

Harmonica for 4-11 Year Olds

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Would you like to include music-making on the harmonica in your setting?

Here’s Richard presenting Play Harmonica, the theme tune from Harp Academy’s early years harmonica courses for 4-7 year olds. He’s using a 4 hole easy-play Speedy harmonica (available in our Store). Set to the tune of Wind The Bobbin Up/There’s A Dinosaur, the song encourages young players to acquire the following key skills:

∙ Hole location by number – 1 2 3 4
∙ Breath control – Blow and Draw
∙ C Major Arpeggio – C E G C
∙ Musical Alphabet (with Makaton) – A B C D E F G
∙ Progression to C Major Scale – C D E F G A B C
∙ Enjoyment of Rhythm and Rhyme
∙ Follow hand signals for intonation
∙ Read and follow harmonica arrow tab notation

If you would like access to the backing track, harmonica tabs, or further details about music making on the harmonica and running weekly sessions in your Early Years setting, get in touch using the details on our Contact page. Please also visit our Early Years menu for more insight into our Pre-School harmonica activities, or our KS1 for young School Age children.

Announcements 

Children’s Harmonica Workshop

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Harpin’ By The Sea Harmonica Festival, Hove, 5th Feb 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the children’s workshop at this year’s Harpin’ By The Sea international harmonica festival.

Thirty children from 4 to 11 years old joined Richard Taylor and Quim Roca for two hours of music and mayhem, culminating in a performance to our grown ups live on stage. It was epic!

Thanks to Matt our Sound Engineer and everyone at The Brunswick for a great morning of fun.

Announcements 

Health & Safety Notice for Harmonica Activities

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Covid Safe Harmonica
As we resume harmonica teaching in our schools this term, we will inform you by email and school bulletin. For our small groups and club scenarios, we respectfully ask that harmonauts and parents observe the following important safety requirements:

Covid-19 Health Declaration 
Please submit a health declaration form prior to your child’s first after-school harmonica club session (after-school harmonica club participants only). General safety guidelines for all our harmonica students and grown-ups are below… (more…)

Announcements 

Congratulations!

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We are the Champions my friends

Well done to Tom Coleman and Callum Shuttlewood, who won their respective categories at this year’s National Harmonica Festival Music Competition in Bristol.

Tom performed Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) by Solomon Linda in the melodic section. Meanwhile, Callum finished the day’s schedule with Avicii’s Wake Me Up. They both showed immense strength of character by delivering two highly entertaining and very musical solo performances.

A big well done also goes to the family members who turned out to support our intrepid harmonauts.