Harp Academy

Summer Term 2019 subscription renewals are due on 15th March
As we near the end of our Spring schedule, we very much hope you will continue to enjoy music making with us this summer, in which case subscription renewals are due on 15th March. Please also double check current teaching dates to avoid any confusion regarding your final session this term; we often finish ahead of school! Harmonica teaching dates are published here My School.

If you wish to secure your place for the Summer Term, there are two simple steps to follow. Firstly, if you haven’t already done so this academic year, please click the Gold Harmonica at the side of our home page to acknowledge our terms and conditions and register your child’s details. Secondly, please renew your lesson subscription. There have been no price increases. Here’s what to do..

If you pay termly, the subscription rate remains £71.50 for our ten sessions. Payment can be made by BACS, or through the Store menu above (no need to log in at any stage). We can also take your payment over the phone if you experience any difficulty. For monthly subscriptions, assuming you are up to date for March, please transfer £18.75 now for April, then set up a Standing Order with your online bank for the same amount to go out on 15th April, and 15th of each month ongoing. You can cancel your Standing Order at anytime. If you already pay by monthly Standing Order, just leave this ticking over. Further payment information, including our account details is available here. (more…)

All Shook Up!
From time to time we receive messages about lost property. At the end of our harmonica sessions, instruments and items from music folders can easily be left behind, so remember to take a quick look round before you leave.

Most importantly, every harmonaut should write their name on everything in their music pack. When things do go missing, it’s often because someone has inadvertently picked up and packed somebody else’s kit!

Recommend a friend and receive 2 lessons free!
We all enjoy learning with our best friends, don’t we? Well this includes music making on the harmonica. If you have a friend who might be interested in a Free Taster Session, just ask them to click the Golden Harmonica (on the right of the screen), and register using our promotional code harmonaut. We’ll supply their starter harmonica and music sheet completely free. And if your friend decides to join Harp Academy for a complete term (9 further lessons), we will credit you with two free lessons. That’s all there is to it!

Wilkomnen, bienvenue, welcome!

We are delighted to welcome everyone at Hopscotch Children’s Nursery, Peacehaven, to our harmonica community. Harp Academy will be providing weekly harmonica lessons for Pre-Schoolers in our new setting with Richard Taylor.

Harmonica at Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
In the summer of 2018, Harp Academy piloted an EYFS harmonica programme for Pre-Schoolers in collaboration with the Hopscotch Nursery team at Portland Road, Hove, and sixteen of their fabulous children.

It was an rewarding experience for everyone involved. Using everyday props and fun challenges, children adopted the physical processes necessary for playing a wind instrument; from a hand hold, to embouchure development, breath control, navigation and articulation. Through games, rhymes and exercises they also learned musical principles such as arpeggio, the major scale, decorative instrument skills (glissando and trills for example) and the musical elements.

They even explored the fun of improvisation and performance by bringing stories and songs to life through sounds and action. Repertoire included Twinkle, Twinkle, Four Little Speckled Frogs and Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight). Books included Waking Wendell and Charlie’s Harmonica.

Harp Academy is extremely proud to be working in collaboration with Hopscotch’s highly professional management team and amazing staff. Since launching our pilot scheme at Portland Road, we are now operational in their Preston Park, Seaford and Peacehaven settings.

Check out YolanDA’s Band Jam on Saturday 23rd Feb and Sunday 24th Feb at 10.20am on CBeebies, becasue you’ll see somebody you recognise on TV. Yes it’s our very own Will Wilde! He’s in the studio demonstrating the harmonica and sounding really cool! The series is available on BBC iPlayer. Catch Will in the offcial trailer below at the 37 second mark.