Harp Academy

Harmonica tuition in schools in the South East of England

Harp Academy

Announcements 

Summer Term 2025 – Time to Sign Up!

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Summer 2025
We look forward to launching our Summer harmonica courses and club activities after the Spring break. Details of our teaching plan and theme are below, along with instructions on how to sign up for music sessions.

First timer?
Welcome! Simply click the Gold Harmonica on our homepage, complete your details, and we will email further details. Our email will explain how to enroll, what kit you’ll need, our dates and the cost of joining. We’re also here to answer your questions, so do feel free call or email using our Contact page.

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.

Spring Teaching Plan
Our theme for the Summer term is a continuation of our pop and rock music topic. Among our favourite tunes are Shut Up And Dance, Uptown Funk, Louie Louie, Low Rider, Blowing In The Wind, Super Trouper, That’s The Way I Like It, Take On Me, Paranoid, and Killing Me Softly.

Dynamics
Our special Musical Element this term is Dynamics. We’ll investigate degrees of loud and soft sound, and their Italian terms. We’ll also learn to use crescendo (getting louder) and diminuendo (getting softer) in our playing.

Dates for your diary
We provide 10 (sometimes 11) sessions per term. You can check the timetable for your School in our My School menu. It’s good to note these on your calendar; we don’t always start back during the first week of school and often finish before the end of term. Don’t get caught out!

Do you have all your basic kit?
Now is a good time to check  your harmonica kit. As a minimum, each student should have:

•  At least one working harmonica (KS1 4 hole Speedy, KS2 10 hole Airwave)
•  A diary or notebook with blank entries and a pen
•  An A4 music folder

New kit and harmonicas can be ordered in our online Store. No log in is required to browse or place orders. Please note that if you have taken part in sessions and are moving up to Y2, you need to order a 10 hole Suzuki Airwave harmonica for our Y3-6 programme. Grown ups are welcome to supply their own notebook, pen and folder. Alternatively items can be ordered individually, or as a Music Pack. We look forward to making music with you this term.

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.