Harp Academy

Harmonica Lesson Outtakes
Today we were working on a new way to play the C major scale, by pairing notes. We call this playing in couplets. It makes a simple exercise more exciting and promotes good breathing and navigation skills. We can add other effects to make the process even more challenging, such as legato and staccato, and emphasise notes. Eventually we produce a fun melody with an Irish twist.

So what do we mean by a couplet?’ asked the teacher. No reply. ‘The answer’s in the word! Try removing the last two letters‘ the teacher prompted. ‘I know, I know‘, said Jake, ‘it’s a small cup‘.

Online harmonica lessons
The Harp Academy team are really excited about providing online harmonica lessons for your home schooling this Summer. Our KS1 and KS2 harmonica courses are running for 10 weeks and you can jump aboard when ever you like. Click the Gold Harmonica to register.

This Summer KS1 students will be learning Folk Songs of Britain & Ireland with Richard, and KS2 while be learning introductory Blues and Jazz with Will. Here’s how it all works…

Your weekly lesson link
Each Monday morning, as a Harp Academy subscriber, you will receive your weekly pre-recorded YouTube lesson link by email. You can use the link whenever, and as many times as you wish. Our first link went out at the end of April, but you can catch up retrospectively. Sign up in full and we’ll send you the links you’ve missed.

Your optional weekly tutorial
As a valued Harp Academy subscriber, you will also receive an invitation to join Richard Taylor for our live Friday morning tutorial on Zoom. This additional service is free, and the link is emailed to you in advance. Tutorials run for 45 minutes at the following fixed times: KS1 10.00-10.45am / KS2 11.00-11.45am.

Your backstage pass
As a valued Harp Academy subscriber, you will also receive a secret username and password to access all areas of our website. This includes our music library, learning support content and other great resources.

Can I sign up after the course has started?
Yes you can. You may be new to Harp Academy, or maybe you deferred a decision until the lockdown situation became clearer. You can subscribe at any time this term and we will send any retrospective lesson links when you start. To register for our course, simply click the Gold Harmonica here on our homepage.

What if I need a harmonica?
If you don’t have a harmonica, or need a replacement, we can help you organise one using the Store facility on this site. Once ordered, you harmonica will be mailed to you right away.

What happens when Schools return?
We will contact you as and when announcements are made. Depending on your School Management’s decisions, the level of interest from other students and general lead in times, we may have the option of resuming harmonica at School. In which case we will stop sending our YouTube links and deliver the remaining lesson content in person. Where this is impractical, or there is insufficient interest to resume sessions on site, we will continue to deliver your programme online.

And much more there shall be
In addition to our pre-recorded courses, we go Live@5 each Friday on YouTube with our interactive music and mayhem show. You can leave comments, ask questions, make suggestions, and enjoy top tips straight from our Jedi harmonica masters. Check out the links to past Live@5 posts on this homepage – they’re pie-tastic!

Music and mayhem to end the week.

A link for our Friday YouTube shenanigans is emailed to our guests every week. If you can’t locate the email, please check spam and junk folders. If you still can’t locate the email, let us know as soon as possible and we’ll get the link to you. If the live stream cuts out, stay tuned and we will post a backup link in the on-screen comments.

We’re delighted that our Live at Five broadcasts have become so popular, and we will continue to bring you our weekly musical shenanigans unabated. It’s extremely important that our team works as safely as possible, and also that they don’t jeopardise the safety of others. Consequently, our broadcasts will be solo for now, with Richard at the helm. The content will remain the same – music-making, mischief, prizes and fun (that means more custard pie!),

Enjoy our previous Live at Five broadcasts
Live at Five 1a      Live at Five 1b      Live at Five 2     Live at Five 3     
Live at Five 4        Live at Five 5        Live at Five 6     Live at Five 7  
Live at Five 8        Live at Five 9

While we are live, and with safeguarding in mind, please note:
•  We will be broadcasting direct from Harp Academy HQ
•  This is a private link only available to Harp Academy subscribers
•   Make sure an adult is present while you are watching our stream
•   We won’t be able to see you, so pull as many faces as you like
•   Richard and Will have full DBS and safeguarding training
•   We’ll be finished in time for Crackerjack. 

Music and mayhem Live at Five

Thanks to everybody who joined our pilot YouTube broadcast. Although we experienced a technical hiccup ten minutes in, we did manage to get up and running again. For anyone who didn’t catch the full broadcast, you can click the links below.

And here’s our first Live at Five Rogues Gallery. From our Moments of Mischief, George is pulling a magnificent monkey face, while Atti is cocking a snook and blowing a raspberry. A proper pair of cheeky chipolatas.

For the uninitiated, our first two Moments of Mischief involved pulling faces and blowing raspberries at your harmonica teacher. Unlike sessions at School, you can’t be seen by the teacher during our broadcast, and it’s something every harmonaut would love to do!

So to the grand finale enjoyed by all; even Will. A custard pie in the mush for Richard! A Moment of Mischief if ever there was one. Ida certainly thought so!

Keep an eye out for the next YouTube code, which we’ll be emailing you this week. If you missed our pilot broadcast, here are the links. We hope you enjoy them and we look forward to seeing you for more music and mayhem on Live at Five No.2!

Part 1      Part 2