Recently Paul and I have been involved in a fascinating project - a 10-week harmonica course for primary school children that can be taught to large groups or individuals.
The Ocklynge School project is unique in this country; it’s never been attempted before, but we are doing the same at two West Country schools on the back of this project. Actually the school itself is unique; it has 842 children from year 3-6 and is the biggest junior school in Europe they tell me!
The music teacher, Jenny Johnstone, has worked with the Head, Mark Trott, to secure a grant in order to provide all the children with tuition in one instrument for ten weeks in terms 3 and 4. Jenny chose the harmonica as it is cheap, easy to learn, sounds cool right out of the box, requires no manual dexterity, encourages improvisation and reading music, and act as an excellent introduction to music.
The Ocklynge School asked me to be involved as I am the only full time harmonica teacher in the UK and currently my team (HarpsCool) teaches 600 children in 40 West Country primary schools.
I went for a day with Paul Lennon and we did four one-hour concerts for the different year groups and a team-building harmonica workshop for the 100-strong staff in December 2007. This was to create excitement and set the ball rolling for Jenny as she is the one doing all the teaching.
Paul and I then put together a plan for the ten weeks with all the play-along music tracks and the written music, as well as organising the instruments from my supplier. I then taught Jenny how to play the harmonica and how to teach it and and spent a week at the school in January teaching each class and demonstrating to Jenny how to use the resourses I had provided.
Jenny is doing all the teaching now and is working with each class of about 30 children. She has five or six classes a day for about 40 minutes per group. This goes on every day for the ten weeks! We are now in week six I believe. There is a performance with the whole school playing together on April 4th although I will probably be away.
The plan is for me to go back in April for a further ten weeks and offer tuition in small groups of 5 or so rather that the 35 children that are currently in each group. We will then produce a concert in a big venue with parents invited and the proposed date is Monday July 7th. We are currently talking to two BBC children's programmes which we believe are interested in reporting the progress.
Ben Hewlett
The school number is 01329 725 839
Email: office@ocklynge.e-sussex.sch.uk
Address: Ocklynge School, Victoria Drive, Eastbourne, East Sussex,
BN20 8XN
Comments