Monthly Archives: November 2014

Issue 144: Welcome to the Jungle

Posted on November 16, 2014 by

It’s done! Three posts, and I’ve also added to the ukulele page. My pizza is also done, so I’m logging off in order to eat it.

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Issue 144: Timing/Pulse/Rhythm in Performance

Posted on November 16, 2014 by

I’ve been ranting for several weeks now about the difficulty of accompanying children who do not play their pieces with a good sense of pulse. In the past I have accompanied Gershwin while the clarinettist (Grade 2, was it?) played … Continue reading →

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Issue 144: BBC Ten Pieces; Mars

Posted on November 16, 2014 by

I’ve just finished the second of two lessons based on Gustav Holst’s “Mars” from “The Planets”. It was particularly appropriate as it was composed between 1914 and 1916, so fits in with the World war 1 topic. If you haven’t … Continue reading →

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Issue 144: Once a man fell in a well

Posted on November 16, 2014 by

This is one of the first songs I learned to teach when I started teaching the Wider Opportunities Programme. Many of my colleagues will now scroll straight onto the next post as they have been teaching this to a dozen … Continue reading →

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Issue 143: Welcome to the Jungle

Posted on November 8, 2014 by

I admit it – I can only watch Dr Who with my back to the television. ESPECIALLY when there are Cybermen. Which is why this issue of The Music Jungle was being written while the rest of the family were … Continue reading →

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Issue 143: Ukulele – teaching the G chord

Posted on November 8, 2014 by

Tuesday is back-to-back ukulele day; three sessions in a row, and the day I decided to teach the year 3s how to play a new chord. I had intended to teach G7. It’s the obvious chord to follow F, which … Continue reading →

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Issue 143: Grandma, Grandma – a complete samba lesson

Posted on November 8, 2014 by

The toughest class I teach at the moment is the very last one on a Friday afternoon. It doesn’t really matter which class, age group, instrument – I’m beginning to think that the problem lies in the words “Friday Afternoon”. … Continue reading →

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Issue 143: More on that violin rehearsal

Posted on November 8, 2014 by

  Last week I wrote about rehearsing a with violin exam candidate, and looking for the “meaning” of the piece (a Bach Adagio). Well, funnily enough, a few days later I found myself going through the same piece of music with … Continue reading →

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