Monthly Archives: May 2014

Issue 131: Welcome to The Jungle

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

This sudden Summer weather has beguiled me out of doors to try and tame the wilderness which is what our back garden has become. I refer to it as an “Energy Conservation Zone”. Anyway, I have abandoned the brambles in … Continue reading →

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Issue 131: A useful little filler activity

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

One of my classes arrives in the school hall piece-meal from several different places. Consequently it is very difficult to plan a tidy start to the lesson. Yesterday, as they shambled in through the various doors, I struck upon a … Continue reading →

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Issue 131: The Chatty Djembe Class

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

  There is a class of year 3 and 4 children that I teach to djembe to who must take the gold medal for being the most chatty class anywhere! The big problem is getting them to watch and listen … Continue reading →

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Issue 131: Class Discussions

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

I find this one of the hardest parts of a lesson to get right. We listen to a piece of music, or look at a picture, or watch a video clip, and I ask leading (“open” questions) about it, and … Continue reading →

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Issue 130: Welcome to the Jungle

Posted on May 11, 2014 by

Hello again – your three articles for the week have been posted! This has been a rather more gentle weekend that usual. More and more, I find that I need the weekend to be a sort of reservoir, of peace and calm, after … Continue reading →

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Issue 130: Theory – Grouping of Notes

Posted on May 11, 2014 by

I have been teaching Grade 2 Music Theory for the first time ever this year. There are just half-a-dozen children, aged ten and eleven, taking the exam next month, and they are all at least Grade 2 or 3 on … Continue reading →

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Issue 130: Two new verses for “The Shark Song”

Posted on May 11, 2014 by

The shark song is a fantastically useful, wildly successful song that I use every Summer Term with years 3,4,5 and 6. I’ve found it to be just a little too gory for younger children, and had to edit some of … Continue reading →

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Issue 130: Sharks and Recorders

Posted on May 11, 2014 by

I’ve always tended to say “shark”, rather than “sharp” when teaching piano – as in “watch out for Freddy Shark” when teaching G major scale. It seems to make it more memorable. I have now discovered that children have absolutely no … Continue reading →

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