“ONE GOOD THING ABOUT MUSIC, WHEN IT HITS YOU, YOU FEEL NO PAIN.”
Bob Marley
FLUTE
Playing flute is fun. To make a sound you just need to be able to blow bubbles. When you have a steady stream of air vibrating through the pipe you get a sound. Huraaaaa!!! Playing flute enhances your body coordination (hands, eyes, mouth), strengthens your core muscles (gives you a full body workout), improves your breathing and relaxes you (relieves stress), helps you develop music literacy and understanding of music theory concepts, helps you develop expressive abilities, finger dexterity, offers the space for musical interpretation and more.
The oldest flute ever discovered was in Slovenia, at Divje Babe, dated about 60,000 years ago. It was a fragment of a young cave bear and it has four pierced holes. It is the only one of this kind made by Neanderthals. Musical experiments confirmed findings of archeological research that the size and the position of the holes were made with the intention of musical expression.
Skills you learn are:
- beautiful tone, pitch and intonation
- steady and supported breathing,
- straight and relaxed body posture to maximise the air flow,
- lip strength and flexibility (embouchure – shape of the facial muscles, tongue and teeth when we blow into the wind instrument),
- use of tongue – articulation; slurs, tongues (single, double), staccato, legato
- finger fitness exercises, scales, arpeggios, discover the tools of interpretation
- complex rhythms and their understanding, speeds, phrasing,
- developing musical literacy, large and fine motor skills, problem-solving skills
- body awareness and understanding of music theory
- being able to tell a story with your playing (technical ability, sound expressivity and unlimited possibilities) – conveying any piece of music into a story
PRACTICE BOOST SESSIONS
Practice boost sessions are very popular. Students find it hard to practice on their own sometimes and with this boost sessions they get their motivation back, learn helpful tools to navigate through their daily practice, improve their playing, overall performance, deepen and strengthen their tone, gain more flexibility with finger technique, use their whole body and practice positive mind-set to accomplish their goals. It is energising and rewarding to play together.
RECORDER
Recorder is a beautiful instrument that has a rich history going back all the way to ancient times. Historically the sweet and clear sound of the recorder was associated with birds and shepherds. It responds very quickly to the air stream and a player can showcase their corresponding ability to produce a variety of articulations.
There are 5 different types but mostly used one is soprano recorder.
It is very easy to learn and when you master playing it the transition onto playing flute, clarinet or saxophone is easy. We learn how to use breath pressure and tonguing to perfect intonation and sound quality as well as intricacy of fingering. You can play recorder if you know how to read music or not.
TIN WHISTLE
Tin whistle has several names from penny whistle, flageolet, Irish whistle, Belfast Hornpipe. It is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. Principals of playing are the same as for recorder – you blow air into the mouthpiece and use your fingers to cover the six holes.
It can be purchased in range of keys but most common pitches are G and D. They complete most Irish tunes and are one of the easier keys to play. It is easy to learn notes and basic scales on the tin whistle. Mastering breath control, increasing the velocity of the air stream, good, clean tone, transitions between register and mostly embellishments, ultimately makes this instrument a challenge to master. The tin whistle player is called a whistler.
SINGING
Singing is part of human nature and increases a happy hormone serotonin.
We all have a voice and we need to learn how to use and nurture it. Talking, singing, humming, cheering ….it all requires a good breath, push of your diaphragm and opening your mouth. If we add a smile to it, it makes everything sound better.
We start our singing lessons with fun and relaxing exercises to warm up our body first and then our voice box. Throughout our lessons we get to learn how important part our body plays in producing/making/creating a sound. We do breathing exercises that are fun and relaxing. We explore your voice range, learn different techniques, phrasing, articulation and projection.
You bring a song of your choice and we work on it. We build your strength, breath, pitch, tone so you have reliable tools to play with your voice to explore and find different colours of your voice. We create a story within the piece so that you can project and translate the emotion to resonate with you and the listener.
Singing is fun and engaging and scientifically proven to have health and mental health benefits. It improves your oxygen flow, relieves stress, uplifts your mood, decreases pain, and you experience less fatigue
MUSIC THEORY
Music theory is like learning numbers or letters. It enables you to play variety of styles and it makes you more skilful and knowledgeable. You will learn how to read different clefs and notes through playing your instrument as well as simple and complex rhythms, how to write them down, how to decorate or ornament a melody, improvisation skills (making thigs up on the spot)
Music theory is a broad subject that covers many areas of music from reading notes, clefs, keys, scales, intervals and modes, to cadenzas and their alterations and extension, performance directions, modulations. It also includes composition, harmony, voice leading.
These are all important for understanding the music in more depth so you can build up your overall performance, improve your playing, have wider opportunities – joining an orchestra, band, choir and be able to sight read.
If you are still not sure learning Music theory is for you here are few of the facts: you will be able to play new music and expand your repertoire, write your own music, join a band, orchestra, choir, improve your playing, have a deeper understanding of music, you will be able to recognise different patterns, rhythms, chord progressions, ornaments…
UKULELE
Ukulele is a small, guitar-like instrument. It is a member of the lute family and easy to play. There are different sizes available; soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. The most popular size is soprano ukulele. It has four strings and produces bright, jangly sound.
You learn:
- how to hold the ukulele,
- different strumming patterns
- simple cords to play your favourite songs,
- to develop great listening skills,
- to improve your finger muscle memory and flexibility
- to write your own songs
- how easy it is to have fun