Monthly Archives: June 2013

Issue 93: Welcome to the Jungle

Posted on June 30, 2013 by

This week we have one, long, serious post, and then a series of frivolities inspired by the Tour de France bicycle race – it was a choice of bicycles, tennis or motor racing this week, and bicycles won. I’m about … Continue reading →

Posted in The Jungle | Leave a comment

Issue 93: After the Exams

Posted on June 30, 2013 by

What do you teach your pupils after their music exam? Do you plunge straight into the next grade?  I know of many a teacher who does exactly that, and also many a parent who also wants to get on straightaway … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning, Piano | Tagged | Leave a comment

Issue 93: The Sugar Plum Fairy and the Bicycle

Posted on June 30, 2013 by

    Here’s the video for this post. Short. Sweet. I like it because he included the sampled sounds at the end of the clip.   Here’s the Disney Fantasia version for comparison. I think I prefer the bicycle one!  

Posted in Listening Music, The Jungle | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Issue 93: Hoffnung and the Bicycle

Posted on June 30, 2013 by

I was certain – even without knowing it for sure – that a bicycle just had to be a part of the Gerald Hoffnung Legend. Here is the link to his official website, and here, on page 4, my suspicions were confirmed … Continue reading →

Posted in The Jungle, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Issue 93: Bicycles as Mobile Music Boxes

Posted on June 30, 2013 by

This is Jon Madin and his musical bicycles at Turramurra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZp5RSoudn0  It made me laugh out loud! I SO want to do this. However my bicycle is in several distorted and rusting pieces at the back of the garage. I am tempted … Continue reading →

Posted in The Jungle | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Issue 92: Welcome to the Jungle

Posted on June 23, 2013 by

Hello there! I can breathe again – for me the music exam season has finished and my teaching schedule can return to normal – NO – wait a moment! We are now entering the End-Of-Term Concert Time-Zone! This means that my schedule … Continue reading →

Posted in The Jungle | Leave a comment

Issue 92: Conducting at Keystage 1

Posted on June 23, 2013 by

I’m embarking on a few weeks of exploring timbre with my year 1 and 2 class. Last week we listened to three movements from “Carnival of the Animals” Saint-Saens, and discussed them as a class – what did we notice … Continue reading →

Posted in Composition, Lessons that have happened | Tagged | Leave a comment

Issue 92: Creating a New Samba

Posted on June 23, 2013 by

Most of the sambas that I teach come from the Beatlife book that I have mentioned before. I start with a fairly easy set of rhythms, at a moderate tempo, and work up to more complex ones as time goes … Continue reading →

Posted in Composition, Samba | Leave a comment