Monthly Archives: February 2016

12/100 I won a worm

No, not seriously (although I have just won a diary in an on-line competition…) This game has nothing to do with music, as far as I can see, but fills in a spare few minutes at the end of a … Continue reading

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11/100 Djembe Piece

I put together this simple djembe piece for a mixed year 3 and year 4 class I have this year. They year 4 children had djembe lessons last year with another teacher, and have already done most of my favourite djembe … Continue reading

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10/100 LH Keyboard – Fully fingered chords

I think I’ve got to step up my rate of posting if I am going to reach my target of 100 blog posts by the end of this year; this is week 6 or 7 (depending on how you count) and here … Continue reading

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9/100 Keyboards: Reading LH Chord Shapes

I remember the day I suddenly “got” the Grade 1 chords I was learning for my piano exam. How old was I? Probably about 7 or 8 years old. (Oh how I hate it when the children say “I don’t … Continue reading

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8/100 Colouring-in

A while back – couple of years ago? Can’t remember – I started using colour, especially when teaching in the early stages. I use colouring pencils to show the structure of pieces. Like this, perhaps: (from Kabalevsky Op 39)  The phrase structure … Continue reading

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7/100 Rain on the Green Grass – Ukulele

Lesson three with a very well-organised Year 3 class in a Wider Opportunities programme centred around this old favourite.  I’m a bit irritated that Sibelius has decided to notate G (Rain on the roof tops) as finger 3 on the … Continue reading

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