harmonica in schools

Time to enroll for Spring Term 2026!

Richard

Calling all Harmonica Parents and Carers!

We very much hope you can join us for our 10 week music making programme this Spring Term. Please let us know your plans right away! Details on how to sign up can be found in our recent emails (check spam and junk folders if you can’t spot these in your inbox) and in the How to Pay menu here on our website. We also hope to organise more fun Harmonica Blow Outs at school and in public through the year.

Our Teaching Plan This Term
Our Spring theme is musical diversity. We will be celebrating different cultures and languages represented by our group members, and study pieces will be drawn from the popular World Songs section of our key stage music libraries. You’ll find these in the Learning menu at the top of our homepage. We’ll also be exploring composition, song writing and improvisation.

Structure and Texture
To complement our composition theme, we will be looking more closely at musical structure and texture and how songs are put together. New knowledge and vocabulary will include intro, outro, chorus, verse, bridge, middle 8, solo, ostinato, harmony, chords, round and mash ups.

We look forward to seeing you soon – and please tell all your friends!
We wish you all a Happy New Year 2026 and please help us pass the news about Harp Academy. It’s a fun and accessible way to learn music, which children can enjoy with their best friends. Why not recommend a free taster session to some of your harmonaut’s best friends. A free starter harmonica in their colour of choice is also included!

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