Re: [Harp-L] HELP!!!

[Roger A Gonzales <gonz1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Trip,

Wow!  I do this in school everyday but with recorder flutes.  30 minutes goes real fast so keep 
it going.  Stand when you teach and move around a bit when you are in front of the kids.  
This will help you keep their attention.  Remember they're kids and the attention level is what 
it is.  I agree with teaching them the train thing but also teach them the difference between 
getting a chord and a single note.  

I think its real important to make sure you teach them the correct way to hold the harmonica, 
right from the beginning!!  Show them to hold it with both hands or you will have them 
holding it all different ways.  
If you want to teach them the train whistle, prepare a simple handout to give the kids AFTER 
the lesson, don't hand it out at the beginning or they will be distracted looking at the paper 
and not paying attention to you.  I am assuming the kids get to keep the harps after the 
lesson. 
 
More important than anything else is make sure they know YOU ARE having fun and they will 
have fun.  Keep their attention and make sure that you expect them to be on their best 
behavior, if you don't do this at the beginning of the lesson, you will spend the entire 30 
minutes practicing classroom management techniques and not much more.  Set the tone for 
the lesson RIGHT AWAY!
I am a elementary music teacher and teach band and choir to 5th and 6th graders and 
general music to 4th grade kids everyday so these are things I do when I have my recorder 
(general music) classes which last 30 minutes.  
Best of luck.  If you have any further questions, contact me off list.

Teaching kids to hold the instrument correctly will hopefully prompt them to want to play 
long after the lesson with you and the handout will give them a reference to help them 
remember what you taught them.

regards,
Roger Gonzales
Fresno, CA.