Monthly Archives: June 2012

Issue 44: Welcome to The Music Jungle

This week the three articles are; learning how to learn, Olympic Beat Boxing, and an account of a year 3 djembe/recorder lesson involving sheep, shepherds and wolves! I hope you enjoy your visit to the jungle.

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Issue 44: Talking to Yourself; the first sign of learning

The problem with playing an instrument is translating the static information on the page into small and intensely specific movements. In essence you are issuing instructions to your body. In the early stages of learning something, I find that it … Continue reading

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Issue 44: Olympic Beat Boxing

Here’s a YouTube “howcast” video which teaches you how to make beatbox sounds; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6-45rswo0o Many of the Olympic Sports could be used as a starting point for beatboxing. Football    Race (emphasise the “ss” – it will naturally syncopate)    Discus    Archery    … Continue reading

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Issue 44: The Shepherd, the Sheep and the Wolves (year 3)

“They’re a bit unsettled today” said the class teacher at lunch time. I recognised the concealed meaning in the careful phrasing. Too much wet play, too many windy days. The classroom was – shall we say “a hive of activity”? … Continue reading

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Issue 43: Welcome to the Jungle

Another week zips past, and another three articles for the Music Jungle! The Olympic item is a song from Lincoln Music Service.  I’ve also written about creating stories to go with the pieces that children are learning, to help them … Continue reading

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Issue 43: Olympic Song “We live and learn”

https://www.lincsmusicservice.org/olympics-2012/ The Lincoln Music Service seems to have had a great time with their Olympic music project, creating their song “We live and learn”.  I came across the website by googling “Olympic music”. The website has all the downloads you … Continue reading

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Issue 43: The story in the music

I find it can transform a performance if the player has some idea of the context and content of the piece of music. It is usually fairly easy for a beginner to interpret music from the romantic or modern periods. … Continue reading

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Issue 43: Music lessons out-of-doors

On several days so far this term I have been able to teach music out of doors. I think my favourite lessons have been have been the djembe lessons held in the “wildlife area”. It was a bit of a kerfuffle … Continue reading

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