Harp Academy

September subscriptions
Welcome back to all our harmonauts and parents. Please ensure your subscription is up to date and you have re-registered using the Gold Harmonica. Please also make a note of our lesson dates and times; they’re in the My School menu. And finally, please check you have all the kit you need. New items can be ordered through our Web Store.

Don’t forget your subscription includes access to our ‘backstage’ learning pages. The log in code is in your Music Diary. We look forward to enjoying some great new themes this autumn, and finishing with some great seasonal performances.

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…)

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!

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 have to blow up.’

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!