Whole Class Instrumental Teaching
Haringey Young Musicians, The School House, Inderwick Road, London N8 9JU
Tel: 020 8489 8960 | Email HMS@Haringey.gov.uk | Twitter @HaringeyYMusic
Hold each note for a full 4 beats, count the rests in your head and breathe nice and early so that you’re not late!
Still using E and D but instead of holding one long note for 4 beats as in Slow and Smooth, play four shorter notes for one beat each! The intro is short, so get ready!
Now put together what you’ve learned about reading E and D and long and short notes. Try practising the hard bit on the second line first.
Introducing C. Your music book will show you how to play this new note. Remember that the two dots at the end mean you should repeat the music straight away. Each verse will be twice through the music on the page.
This piece uses E, D and C in a more difficult pattern of long and short notes and rests. Can your brain handle it?! (Answer: YES!!)
Visit the ‘How To’ page for advice on tonguing. The words to this song tell you all you need to know about the importance of using your tongue when you play. Make sure you try to use it when you play the E’s, D’s and C’s in this piece.
Introducing F. This piece should sound spooky, try starting the long notse softly and gradually getting louder to the next note. You should try and click your keys without blowing to make a sound like shaking bones where marked with a picture.
This piece should sound slow and gentle. Make sure you move your fingers exactly at the same time when moving from D to F to avoid hearing any extra, unwanted E’s.
A waltz is a type of ballroom dance. It has three beats in every bar instead of four. Have a listen without playing first, can you hear the steady 1-2-3, 1-2-3 pattern in the music?
introducing quavers. The notes joined at the top are half a beat each, they move twice as fast as the pulse. Move your fingers swifty from one note to the next without rushing, Soppy is a slow and emotional piece of music.
Use your tongue to make the funky, dotted rhythms in this piece sound crisp and clear. Once you have played the tune you can have a go at improvising (making up) a solo – try using the funky rhythm from the tune to help your solo really stand out!
Keep the crotchets (one beat notes) at the end of each line especially short so that we hear the rests clearly. Watch out for the last line, it has fewer notes than the others!
Really listen to the beat as you play. Make sure that the notes are ‘walking’ along with the beat, exactly in time. Hold the minims for exactly two beats. remember, a two-beat note will finish on the third beat off the bar.
Sing through the song first, even if it is just in your head, as it will help you to play the rhythm correctly. Use your tongue to help the notes sound clear and you might like to practise the 6th bar on its own first as this can be tricky. Good Luck!
Introducing G.
Warning: there is no time between verses in this piece, so be ready to go straight back to the beginning after the 4 C’s.
A dot underneath a note means that you should play it short and spiky. it’s called a ‘staccato’ note. If you are struggling with anything in this piece, try watching the tutorial video below first.
A helpful tutorial video to help you learn and practice Pajarito.
Another piece that looks more complicated than it sounds. Try listening to it first, perhaps singing along with the words and you’ll pick it up in no time!
Take a moment to make sure you understand the ‘geography’ of this piece. Where to repeat, when to play a solo, when to go back to the beginning and where you should jump to the ‘coda’. When you see ‘sim.’ in the music it is an instruction to play the music in a similar style – in this case, a long quaver and short crotchets.
Remember to make the staccato notes (the ones with a dot underneath!) short and spiky to give the music more character – the pairs of quavers should be long-short. Count the rests carefully on the third line where the parts split.
Up and Down works together with Brain Twister, which is the tune you can hear in the video. Try playing along and hear how the two melodies work together!
Coming soon!!
Remember to play the notes staccato which means short and spiky. The rhythm is the same on each line of this piece. Also, try looking ahead during the rests so that you are prepared to play the next note.
Remember to repeat the first line, skipping the ‘first time bar’ the second time around. D.C. al Fine means you should go back to the beginning and then finish where you see the word ‘Fine’. Don’t do any repeats after a D.C.
Coming soon!!
This video shows only the hardest version of the first line. Remember that there are different, easier version of this music in your book.