harmonica in schools

Summer Term Enrolment

Richard

We are really looking forward to sharing our 11 week Caribbean Music Celebration with you this Summer. We’re also excited to announce our Summer Harmonica Blow Out at The Alex Children’s Hospital. If you are new to Harp Academy Click here and we’ll send you a free taster invitation and further information. Our returners will find subscription renewal information below, on our How to Pay page and in our email reminders.


Subscription Renewals 
If you are returning, welcome back! Your full subscription of £82.50 for our 11 week summer schedule is now due. Alternatively, you can split your subscription payment into two convenient instalments of £44.00 each. Your first instalment is now due and your second instalment is payable by 15th May 2026. All payments should be made by bank transfer to Harp Academy / NatWest / 27231208 / 60 30 09 / Reference Your child’s name. You can also pay by credit/debit card or PayPal through our Webstore lesson payments menu (no log in required). Second child and staff discounts are also available on application.

Our Summer Teaching Plan
Our Summer theme this year is sunshine music from the Caribbean – from Salsa, Calypso and Soca, to Ska and Reggae. Amongst our favourite tunes are Feeling Hot Hot Hot, One Love, Enjoy Yourself, My Boy Lollipop, 10/10, Best Days of our Lives, Tingalayo, Hänschen Klein, Eat Chocolate and This Old Man. Our Musical Elements focus is on Pulse, Rhythm and Clave, where we will investigate time signatures, metronomes, syncopation and conducting.

See you this Summer… and please tell all your friends!
We wish you all a Happy Summer 2026 and please share our information with other parents/carers in your social media and WhatsApp groups. The harmonica is a magical way to experience music making, and children always enjoy learning with their best friends. Why not recommend a taster session to your harmonaut’s class buddies? Taster sessions are completely free and include a 4 hole starter harmonica to keep! Please note that our agreement with Westdene Primary includes a 10 hole Suzuki Airwave harmonica in lieu of a free taster session.

The P Word (Practise)

Richard

How to Practise Harmonica
It’s noticeable in our weekly school sessions when children have found the time to practise at home and have the support of their grown ups. Confidence levels are high, progress is swift and lessons are fun. Central to this process is parental encouragement, good use of our website, a music diary, a well managed music kit and a specific task or performance to aim at.

Of course some harmonauts tell us they don’t have time to practise, their grown ups won’t let them, or they’ve lost their music. And there was one harmonaut whose dog ate their harmonica – we saw the evidence, complete with bite marks. But practise needn’t be a torture. Here is our take on how to make it a purposeful and enjoyable habit.

Harp Academy Website
Many of our study pieces and exercise have a support page on our website. With help from their grown ups, harmonauts can log in and navigate to the appropriate page. Here they can find click-and-copy buttons to guide them through songs line by line. There is an explanation of what makes the song or music exercise unique, a list of key skills covered and practise tracks. Wider learning items also feature, touching on music theory, general knowledge and performance preparation. Read more